Friction
by DarkElements10
Summary: SEQUEL TO FUEL TO THE FIRE. Barry thought saving his mom would fix his life; but Flashpoint made things worse. His best friend is doomed to die. Cadence thought she could handle the Assassination Bureau's plan. But what's harder; your rival being your best friend or knowing the impending destruction of the world is your fault? -S3- Barry/OC
1. Flashpoint

**Friction**

 **Full Summary: **Barry thought saving his mother would fix everything; that it'd heal his grief over having lost both of his parents to rival speedsters, that nothing bad would happen in his life ever again. It made everything worse. What was an idealistic life turns out to be a nightmare and Barry wants to change things back to normal. But when he goes back to undo his mistake, it continues to make things spiral in more ways than he thought possible. Now more people are becoming metas, his best friend is doomed to die, and it looks like he's not fast enough to stop it from happening. Cadence thought she could handle the Assassination Bureau; she wasn't working for them anymore, she broke their hold over her, she was her own hero. But they broke out of the Pipeline and are on the loose with more to prove than ever before. Now they can set their plan in motion. Barry's altering of the timelines proves Cadence is their continued pawn in plans to wipe out modern civilization and take over the world. But what's harder to deal with; the storm of your biggest rival being your best friend or knowing the impending destruction of the world is your fault? No matter the storm, Barry, Cadence, and Team Flash have to whether it together.

 **Rated:** T for language, violence, mature/sexual themes, and gore (heavy at moments).

 **Pairings:** Barry/OC, SnowHarry, KillerVibe,

* * *

 **01**

* * *

 ** _FLASHPOINT_**

Barry Allen had a great life.

His parents were happy and healthy and as in love as ever.

Though he didn't live with them, their arms were wide open for a visit. There was hardly a day that went by where Barry didn't visit. He stopped by their work places for lunch or 'just to say hi' when the feeling struck him. It struck him a lot, often like the lightning bolt that gave him his powers. Nothing brightened his day more than confirming they were, in fact, still alive.

His father's medical career continued to boom. As a well-respected surgeon in the Central City community, there were more mailings of thank you letters and cards than he'd ever received. Or maybe it was now that he saw them, Barry knew what his father's reputation had been before the night his mother was murdered. His parents were regarded as central figures to the city, going to nearly every city-wide meeting and on the board of numerous non-profits and volunteer organizations. How they managed to find the time Barry wasn't quite sure. Even with his own powers it didn't seem like there was enough time in the day to get it all done and they breezed through everything with a smile.

Barry missed those smiles so much he made sure to make them grin every chance he got. Even if it were a small joke he was sure they'd heard before, anything for that smile. Anything for their laughter. Anything to prove the life he had was the life he deserved.

That morning, as Barry strolled through the streets of Central City. It was a normal, sunny day. When it wasn't storming, Central City was always bright, but that everything looked brighter somehow. Golden, even. Almost as if a phot filter had been placed over everything even when nothing was out of place. And it showed on the face of every person he passed by. What was it about the day that was making everyone smile so much? That made them wave and greet each other as if they were best friends.

Central City had always been a friendly place, if Barry remembered correctly. But he also knew it could become darkened with a shadow of suspicions once people turned on you. He hadn't known what it was like for his father until they turned on The Flash and Flare. His heart hurt every time he saw the glances of disgust and distrust when he arrived on an active crime scene. It hurt even more when he saw those that wanted all metahumans to be captured and killed. Gotten rid of as if they were nothing but dirty rats trapped in a cage.

But _this_ Central City, this home, this life…it wasn't anything he was going to give up anytime soon.

Barry finally, _finally_ had everything he wanted. Everything he ever dreamed of. Everything he put his life towards. Why would he be crazy enough to let it go to waste? He grinned again, a fresh wave of content washing over him. He couldn't help it. Everything was turning out right.

 _Well,_ Barry thought. _Not everything._ He stopped at the street corner to let traffic pass, allowing his eyes to rest on Jitters. His palms started to sweat, nerves immediately replacing his otherwise complacent nature. There was just one thing he still needed to do. _Be positive, Barry. Everything's going to be okay._ Nothing could bring him down. Today was going to be a good day.

Finally, the traffic let up and Barry strode to the coffee shop. Even in this version of Central City, Jitters stayed the same. It was the first thing he found once saving his other, and the thing that gave him the biggest sense of peace. Barry walked inside and ordered a cup of coffee—the flavor truly didn't matter to him, though he couldn't help but notice they still had _The Flash_ as its top order—and a hot chocolate before sitting at one of the tables under the golden awning of the front patio.

Once he placed the cups down, Barry slid down in his seat then sat up, crossed his legs then uncrossed them. Pulled at his sleeves, the collar of his flannel shirt, then studied his beat-up Converses. Maybe he should've warn better shoes? Dressed up a little more? His mom did say that he needed to get a new pair of jeans. Barry traced his finger against the frayed edge of the hole in his knee. He had the time to go back and change if he left now…

Footsteps headed his way and Barry looked up and smiled.

 _No point in worrying about that now,_ Barry thought. _She's here._ He ran his hands over his hair, pulled down the bottom of his shirt, took a deep, calming breath and let it out. Nope. His nerves were firing off a mile a minute. Even faster than his muscles throbbed, twitched, and danced when he finished a long run.

Cadence Nash sat down across from him, carefully moving her two-year-old-son to her lap. But Brady Nash quickly wiggled out of her grasp and toddled over to Barry, warbling, "Barwy, Barwy," as he went. Brady latched onto his leg and smiled up at him as Cadence chuckled.

"Should've guessed he'd be excited to see you," she remarked. Her eyes flashed as she studied the scene. "Anything that's not the cadaver in my office and he's completely smitten."

Barry laughed and placed his hands under Brady's arms, lifting him up onto his lap. Brady turned and smiled at him, dimples appeared in his cheeks, before he started smacking his palms against the table top.

"I guess I should take that as a complement then," Barry said.

Cadence made a show of looking him up and down then smiled. "Well, I mean, you're as skinny as a rail but I don't think you like skeleton-like yet," she teased. "How're you doing today, Barry?" Barry lifted his eyebrows and Cadence gave him a funny look. "You've been in my office a lot the past couple of weeks," She commented. "For some…weird ailments. Honestly, if it wasn't for your shin splints and chronic pain I'd think there was something wrong."

Barry tried not to let his smile drop. As it was, he could feel his body temperature rise, the tips of his ears were probably starting to turn red as well. Barry cleared his throat. "Uh, well…"

So, he had made up a few white lies here and then. How else was he supposed to get a General Practitioner's attention? When she wasn't at work she was taking care of her son. When she wasn't taking care of her son, she was at work. So when it rained his shin splints started acting up. Or maybe he'd pushed himself too hard during his morning run. Anything that was believable. And she'd always greeted him with a warm smile so he couldn't have been too off-base. Finally, the opportunity arose when his father officially announced he was going to retire.

After a bit of small talk, Barry mentioned wanting to interview his father's colleagues as a gift. But that was neither here nor there. She was there and that's all that mattered.

Well, except for one other thing.

"Well, you know me…I grew fast and my body didn't seem to want to catch up," Barry explained.

Cadence's warm smile widened. "Well, things should probably slow down about now." She crossed her legs at the knee and rested her hands in her lap. "Now, was there anything in particular you wanted to ask me?" Barry looked at her again, this time he had been distracted by Brady repeatedly tugging at the bottom of his flannel shirt, practically choking him. "About your dad? Or is this a whole talk from the heart sort of thing?"

"Oh. Right! Yeah. That." Barry shifted Brady onto his lap and started to bounce his leg up and down, smiling when Brady giggled at the movement and clapped his hands. "Uh, well, this whole thing is about my dad's retirement. So why don't you just talk about how it is working with him. And please don't hold back on any secrets that you may want to share. He's very tight-lipped about his job and whatever embarrassing things that can go on."

Cadence laughed. "I'm sure you're eager to learn a few things then." She flicked her hair behind her shoulders, tapped her finger against her chin. "Has he ever mentioned the time he managed to stab himself with a pair of scissors because he was, in fact, running with them?"

Barry rolled his eyes. "And after all those lectures."

"Well, it was a bit of an emergency. We needed to cut some burning clothes off a guy and he tripped," Cadence explained. "Pretty nasty too." She shifted her gaze and snapped her fingers to Brady, who leaned forward and pressed his hand against the napkin holder. "Stop that," she warned. Brady looked up at her and continued to push his hand against it, inching it closer to the edge of the table. "Brady."

Brady brought his hands back at the warning in his mother's voice. But only for a second. Before Barry could stop him, he reached out and pushed the napkin holder to the ground. "Uh-oh!" It clattered along the pavement and napkins shot into the air like confetti. "I knock it down," Brady beamed, clapping his hands together.

"I'm sorry," Cadence apologized. She knelt to the ground and gathered the mess. "Usually he's a lot better behaved than this."

"It's alright, really," Barry said. He leaned back out of the way when Brady stood up and started to reach across the table for Barry's coffee. Barry pushed it away then Brady turned to the side and started to walk across Barry's legs with Barry grasping his hands to make sure he didn't fall over. "Just looks like he's a little bored."

"Actually, he just got out of daycare," Cadence explained. "So, he probably has residual energy to burn." She sat up, dropping the napkins in the nearby trashcan. "Ryder should be here to pick him up, soon. Then we can really talk."

Barry's smile waned.

There it was. The small set-back. It wasn't like they couldn't be friends. Friends were a good thing. And he was even friends with Ryder, so it wasn't entirely a bad thing. Ha! What a joke! He hadn't felt the green-eyed monster in a long time, not since Iris admitted she was dating Eddie Thawne—a college freshmen when she was a junior in high school. They'd been together since then and Barry had managed to move on. Went off to college and all that. It wasn't until he had met Cadence, who was working with his father that he had truly been sucker punched with attraction to her.

So, she had a kid, that wasn't a deal breaker.

On Earth-1 Brady was one of his good friends. It threw him for a loop when Barry first saw how young the boy was now. His affection for Brady hadn't changed despite everything else that had.

"Oh! There he is." Cadence turned and waved her hand towards Ryder Moseley, who pulled off his construction helmet and tucked it under his arm when he approached. "Hey!" She kissed the cheek he offered her and beamed. "How was your day?"

"Amazing, actually," Ryder replied. He turned to Barry and the two bumped fists. "Got another big contract today." He reached over and grabbed onto Brady, pulling his son into his arms. With his own hands empty, Barry crossed his arms. As usual, he started to feel a little uncomfortable. But it was okay? They were all friends, right? "How was yours?"

"Very uneventful," Cadence explained. "But that can be a good thing." She motioned to Barry. "We were just talking about Dr. Allen. Getting info for his retirement party."

"Right. Yeah." Ryder looked at Barry apologetically. "I'm sorry I can't make it. There's so much going on right now and—"

"—It's no problem, man," Barry replied, holding up a hand. "Just as long as we save you a piece of cake, right?"

Ryder grinned. "Right."

Barry twisted his mouth to the side, looking away for a moment. He ran the palms of his hands over the legs of his jeans. It's always how it worked out. Cadence and Ryder had been in an on-off relationship since they were teens and Barry was sure they were 'off' at this point. Was he wrong?

Yeah, they had a kid together and that was something that'd be hard to insert himself into but he and Cadence had grown closer over the last couple of years. He was going to ask her out today. But maybe, now, it wasn't such a good idea. She had kissed Ryder, it looked like they were back together again.

Cadence caught Barry's eye and smiled, making him smile back. There was something in the way she looked at him that made him think he still had hope. It was very much like the way she looked at him back before he saved his mother, with nothing short of love and admiration. Even now they were still great friends. She worked closely enough with his father that she came over for dinner multiple times a month and he always just so happened to visit when she was there. His mom loved to play with Brady and it gave her some time to herself. Plus, Barry couldn't quite ignore the way his parents usually insisted they go out and bring back some ice cream after dinner.

How many times could you 'run out' before it got to be too obvious? Then again, Barry did still have his heightened metabolism and it took time to adjust accordingly.

"So, I'm going to get going," Ryder said. He stood up, balancing Brady against his hip. "I have a lot of paperwork that needs to be done and chances are it won't be as long as this guy is awake." He shook Brady back and forth. "Say 'bye'."

"Bye bye, mommy," Brady said, waving his hand up and down. "Bye bye, Barwy."

"Bye," Cadence and Barry replied.

Barry waited, watching as Ryder walked way before saying, "So…you and Ryder got back together, huh?"

"Nope," Cadence said simply. "Still broken up. Actually, we were talking recently and we think it's better if we just stay friends."

"Really?" Barry tried not to let his excitement show. In his face or in his voice. "I mean, yeah. If…if it works out better for you that way…I mean, it's just…I don't know, you guys looked pretty happy together. Maybe? I don't know."

Cadence smiled as she watched him speak rapidly, as he always did when he was nervous. She always seemed to be laughing at him when he did it, but that just made him want to make her laugh more. "I mean, I was wondering if you wanted to have a coffee with me. Other than right now. Or, no, you don't like coffee. Of course! You like hot chocolate. So, at a different time and with a different beverage. Maybe wine or beer? Not that I'm not trying to get you drunk. We could get iced tea. Do you like iced tea? Would you want to get an iced tea with me?"

"Don't like iced tea, not a huge fan of wine. Beer's okay. I'm more of a whiskey girl," Cadence listed. She continued to smile at him with that peculiar smile. "But, sure, I'd love to get something to drink with you. Just have to make sure Ryder's okay watching Brady."

"Great! Cool. Yeah, so, I uh, I guess we should figure out when we should do this then," Barry said. Then he cleared his throat, suddenly leaning forward. "Am I talking too fast? I feel like I am. I'm talking too fast, aren't I?"

"Just a little, but I don't mind. I like listening to you talk, Barry. Actually, I think it's kind of cute." She crossed her arms and looked at him curiously. "Though, it does make me wonder, what else can you do that fast?"

"A lot of things," Barry said. "Speed has always been my problem." Cadence's eyebrows twitched upwards. It took Barry a second to figure out his mistake. Now the rest of his face turned as red as the tips of ears. How'd she always manage to do that? Even back on Earth-1 she managed to make a simple comment hold much more weight. "I don't…no, I don't mean like _that_. I just meant—"

"—Relax, Tholly, I know what you meant," Cadence said. "I was just teasing you." She looked at the time on her cell phone. "I'm sorry, I have to go. We didn't get to talk about your dad so much."

"Oh, well, that's okay. Some other time," Barry said.

"I'm counting on it." She paused. "Actually, why don't we change those drinks to dinner. If you're going to talk _that_ fast, I think it may take some time to get through everything." Barry started to agree then paused himself. No way. Things couldn't be going that good for him. It sounded like _she_ was asking _him_ out this time. When was the last time he'd been asked out? Or had asked anyone else out, really? Yeah, a while ago. The day was just getting better and better. She seemed to read his mind, "Yes, Barry, I'm asking you out."

"And I just asked you out," Barry replied. "So where does that leave us?"

"As two people who are going out on a date where it seems like, maybe, we're paying for our own food," Cadence said. Her comment made the two laugh. "We'll figure it out later. Bye." She hooked her purse over her shoulder and finger-waved to Barry before walking away.

Barry couldn't help himself. He had to do a victory dance. He didn't care if anyone saw.

But what he _did_ care about was the sudden streak of red and yellow lightning that shot across the street, the blowback nearly knocking him over as it raced by.

Cutting his victory dance short, Barry looked around for a moment before taking off after them, using his own super speed to catch up. Barry stopped on a dime, skidding in a circle around an abandoned alleyway, two larger office buildings flanking his sides. Tilting his head back, Barry watched as the lighting shot back and forth across the street. Police cars squealed to a stop at the same time as the lightning did, nearly colliding.

Across from him a yellow-suited speedster and a black-suited speedster came to a stop. The yellow-suited speedster took a step forward. "What do you want with my city?" he demanded.

"Nothing," the black one replied. "The city's fine. The people in it need to know that I have no rival. Especially not you, Flash." The black-suited speedster ran in a circle, creating a cyclone of red lightning. Lightning bolts arched across the street, towards the police officers who had climbed out of their cars, weapons drawn. They crouched low, the lightning racing by where they once stood. Then the lightning changed course and shot back towards Barry.

A sudden, hard shove on Barry's side broke his trance with his impending doom. Barry stumbled and looked over to see that he hadn't been shoved but rapidly moved. The yellow-suited speedster looked towards him, face vibrating to conceal his identity.

Barry smiled at the familiar tactic. He'd always done the same thing to make sure no one knew who he was.

"You okay, man?" The yellow-suited speedster asked.

"Yeah, man, I'm okay," Barry replied. With the yellow speedster's attention diverted, the black-suited speedster left the alley. The yellow-suited speedster followed seconds later. Barry crossed his arms, watching them. "You'll get him next time, Flash."

* * *

 ** _EARTH-1_**

It was hot. Too hot. And Cadence Nash sat right in the middle of it.

Sweat dripped down her forehead, dribbling around her closed eyes to drip off her chin. The droplets splashed onto the clasped hands in her lap but she made no move to wipe them away. Not when the rest of her body was as soaked. Cadence sucked in a deep breath through her nose and did her best to calm her nerves. Her claustrophobia was starting to rear its ugly head but she needed to keep calm. It was important, not just for her, but for everyone to get the results.

Still, her mind flashed back to the last time she'd been in a pod. She'd hoped it would've been back when she met Barry and the others. It was a precaution, she understood that. It was when she'd and Barry had seen Zoom kill Henry right in front of them. She'd tried her hardest to console Barry as he sobbed in her arms, but his anger was just too great. She knew that too, having had her own father pass from something she couldn't heal him from. Barry'd gone on a justified rampage, wanting nothing more than to get his hands on Zoom and kill him, to hurt him in some way. Knowing it was Jay behind the whole thing only fueled his fire to exact his revenge.

And yet the rest of their team had decided to lock them in the pipeline. They must've forgotten about Cadence's claustrophobia for they had to watch as she went berserk, trying to tear it down, trying to get some more space so the walls didn't close in on her. The memory still haunted her from time to time, became stuck in her dreams, in her subconscious, made her flinch and twitch when things were too quiet around her. She _had_ to have background noise for everything now. Add that to her ever-growing list of survival skills that slowly made her toe the fine line of her humanity and sanity.

Now, sitting in the Heat Locker, Cadence continued to breathe deeply. Outside, Caitlin Snow and Cisco Ramon monitored the levels on a tablet, with the picture that resembled her likeness with different levels of temperature levels. At the moment, she completely relaxed, letting control of her powers so they shone to their full extent. Cisco hummed as he looked over the tablet in his hand.

"What's wrong?" Caitlin asked.

"Nothing," Cisco replied. "Only that we've only seen her use her full power once and that was only for a second. It was so cool, too!"

Caitlin smiled, shook her head. "We don't want to see it again, Cisco," she reminded him. "Not after what happened last time."

Cisco shrugged. "Yeah, but that was all because of Zoom," he pointed out.

Again, Caitlin shook her head. It was so easy for Cisco to be amused by such things. Yeah, she could admit it was awesome, but that wasn't the point. They had to be vigilant in what was important first, then they could celebrate it all later. Cisco shared her smile then, with a swipe of his fingers over the tablet, he powered down the Heat Locker, signaling the training session was done. Once the generator that powered it stopped humming, the door opened and Cadence stepped out, draping a towel around her neck.

The last remnants of flames lowered until they puffed out. Almost as if a gust of wind had taken them out. Then she flashed her friends a curious eyebrow raise and a friendly smile as she asked, "So?"

"So, everything's as perfect as usual," Cisco said.

"Normal vital levels, normal heart rate, nothing out of the ordinary," Caitlin agreed. She clasped her hands together. "Your grasp on your powers is far superior than it has been in the last couple of months. Leaps and bounds from the first year we met."

"Good," Cadence said. She stretched her arms over her head. "Because I'm so ready to take a shower and get home." She started to swing back and forth, a warm smile coming to her face.

For a moment, Caitlin was confused by the sudden change in her demeanor. When it came down to it, Cadence could switch from a bright, excited smile of life to a serious frown of concentration when working at STAR Labs or stopping crime in the city. Other times she had a somewhat sinister smile on her face when she worked, which could be a little creepy at times. Then she thought back to what Cadence had said a few weeks ago and smiled.

"Oh!" Caitlin snapped her fingers. "He's coming back soon, right? In a couple of hours or so?"

"Yeah," Cadence agreed. "I haven't seen him in three months, I'm so excited!" She clasped her hands together then started to bounce up and down, her excitement unable to be contained. "It's kind of pathetic, seeing as it's really not all that long, but I missed him."

"I don't think it is," Caitlin reassured her. "It's the longest you've been away from him, right?"

"Right." Cadence draped her towel over her head and roughed it through her hair, drying the excess sweat before tossing it to Caitlin, who cried out when it hit her in the face. Cadence laughed and shot a lick of flame over her body to dry off the rest of the way. "And these last few hours are going to kill me, so let's do something else. Do you want lunch?"

"I don't know," Cisco said, turning his back to her, as if to leave the practice room. "I have a lot of inventory to catch up on and then I have to make sure your suit is up and ready to go…"

"It's my turn to pay."

Cisco immediately turned back around and lifted a finger saying, "Then again, it's not good to focus on work all the time. All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy, you know what I'm saying? And I'm not one to look a gift horse in the mouth. Especially when that horse is paying."

Cadence pressed her lips together, her eyes narrowing. Beside her, Caitlin's eyes widened and she turned away from, rubbing her fingers across her forehead. Cadence watched Cisco for a long moment, trying to determine whether he'd realized what he'd just said. When he looked back at the two with a tilt of his head. "Did you just call me a horse?" She finally asked.

Cisco's eyes widened at that. "What? Me? No. Why would I do that?" He gave a wheezing, nervous laugh, eyes darting back and forth. "I mean, it's not like I think you're…you don't look anything like…I mean, I'd love to…uh…" Cisco pointed a shaky finger towards himself. "It's just the hunger talking, I swear."

"Good save, Cisco, good save." Caitlin patted him on the shoulder and asked Cadence. "Will Barry make it?"

"I doubt it." Cadence folded her arms. "He's still at that science convention in Midway city, I think he's working with the Science Police on some stuff right now and you know he couldn't pass that up." She gave a fond smile, thinking of her boyfriend. The moment he heard he'd been chosen as one of those invited to attend and speak, he'd raced off in a flash…second before coming back, remembering it wasn't for another few weeks. "But you know Barry, he'll be back as soon as he can and if we need help even sooner than that."

"Sounds like a plan then," Cisco said. "And a good plan at that, there's only so much work I can do before I can't work anymore." Caitlin and Cadence exchanged glances, before shaking their heads. "I saw that! Y'all know I'm not blind. I've got eyes everywhere. I can see through dimensions and stuff."

"Can you see this?" Cadence made a move to give Cisco the finger but Caitlin slipped between the two, sliding her arms around their shoulders.

"Okay, okay, are you ready to go or what?"

"Oh, first thing." Cisco rummaged into his pocket for his phone then pulled it out, holding it over their heads. "Say _Queso!"_ he said before the three beamed, taking a picture. He looked it over, nodding then made the moves to upload it. "I think this is a good addition to our Instagram account. Though, I don't think anything can beat this _amazing_ shot of me taking down your average criminal."

"You think it's a good idea to have this secret account?" Caitlin asked, chewing her lower lip. "What if someone finds it?"

"Caitlin, I personally put every encryption you can on this account, so much that not even Instagram can figure out how to do it. Nothing's going to happen. And, PS, you worry too much."

"At least you didn't say she's uptight," Cadence added, smiling sweetly when Caitlin glared her way. She couldn't help but smile. There'd been nothing but peace and good times throughout Central City for the last few months—minus the few inconveniences of small time metas and criminals—and it was all any of them could ask for.

Work was going great; her family life was going great—enough so that she traveled to Metropolis to visit her mother more in the last few months than she had in the last few years, her friends were as amazing as ever, and her relationship with Barry was going better than she could ever hope. Compared to how things were going when Zoom was still around, it was like a flip of a switch.

Lifting her hand, Cadence ran her finger over the scar on her cheek, the one that ran from her jaw up to the apple of her cheek. It nearly disappeared every time she smiled but it was obvious it was still there. Zoom's attack against them had opened it to become fresh again. Now it held the memory of the Assassination Bureau _and_ an evil Speedster that may still be out there after taking the mantle of the Black Flash. There was enough going on that the last few months of just hanging out with her friends and family was more than she could've ever imagined it could be.

She certainly had taken it for granted.

Cadence dropped her hand from her cheek and said, "I'll just get changed and we can go." She found herself looking at her watch once more and sighed, realizing only a few minutes had passed since the last time she'd looked. "And maybe decide whether I want to start an electronic barbecue." Caitlin's and Cisco's laughter was cut off, and Cadence's groan started as an alarm went off. "Please don't tell me it's—"

"It's White Hot," Cisco reported, already having changed the screen of his tablet.

"I told you not to say that." Cadence tilted her head back, rested her hands atop her head, letting out a long sigh. White Hot had plagued her and Central City since her appearance in the metahuman army Zoom sent out over the city. Clearly there was something the evil meta had against her, but she wasn't sure what it was, yet. Her alignment with the Assassination Bureau hadn't been so strange, Breathtaker _had_ said something about her destiny. A destiny of which Cadence was still trying to figure out.

It made her skin crawl, thinking about how calmly Breathtaker had looked back at her when she broke down in the pipeline, screaming, demanding to know why Breathtaker had ruined her life so badly. What he wanted with her and Breathtaker's only response was a chilling, " _Nothing that wasn't already destined to you."_

Pushing the thought away Cadence asked, "What do you think it is this time? Boredom? Or do you think it's anything Breathtaker's cooked up?"

"Breathtaker and the rest of the Assassination Bureau have been pretty quiet since they got out of the Pipeline," Caitlin gently reminded her.

Caitlin didn't know Breathtaker the way Cadence did. If he was quiet, it was because he was up to something. So far Cadence had never seen Breathtaker defeated and it was naïve to think it'd happen now. "Yeah, but that didn't stop White Hot from aligning with them," Cadence said. "If what she's saying is true, anyway." She leaned over Cisco's shoulder and watched the footage on screen of White Hot sending a fiery heat wave over the city and waved her hand. "Ah, this is nothing but causing a minor inconvenience. So long as she doesn't ruin Captain Singh's wedding, I'm good."

"Is he still asking you about—"

"—Everything? Yeah." Cadence laughed. "You'd think he'd never been to a wedding before." Then again, it was very fun to watch Captain David Singh of the CCPD breeze through headquarters in a tizzy as his wedding grew closer and closer. He was so frantic he'd stopped nearly every person that walked by his office to ask which flowers went with the color of the suits he and his fiancé were going to wear. "Tell you what." She cracked her knuckles. "I'll handle her and then we can get lunch."

"You've got a lot of faith in yourself, don't you?" Caitlin asked with a teasing smile.

Cadence shot a smile and a wink back at her and Cisco. "I have to," she said. "Or else the city would fall apart." She made a face, sticking out her tongue before teleporting into her suit. "And we can't have that can we?"

With that, she teleported from STAR Labs to downtown Central City by the harbor. The sparkling water reflected cross the buildings. If it wasn't for her goggles she'd probably have gone blind within the first few seconds. Her eye shifted back and forth, trying to find White Hot, but found no indication of her.

"Okay," she muttered under her breath. "Where are you?"

She blinked once and shifted her eyes left and right, the movement that was needed to activate the new setting on her goggles. It'd certainly come in handy since Cisco had upgraded her suit before the fight against Zoom. The image on Cadence's goggles changed so that it showed the structural integrity of each of the buildings around her as well as the speed of the cars moving around the streets—the new heads-up display capability. Nothing had been attacked yet, that was good. In another sense it meant White Hot was waiting for her.

With another blink of her eyes she switched to infrared mode, looking to see a little further through the structures around her. Still nothing. _Okay, meta thermal vision it is,_ Cadence thought. She should've gone with that in the first place, she realized, knowing White Hot's abilities similar to hers, would've made it difficult for infrared vision to capture, she was a meta so she'd have far great outputs of heat.

There she was, standing in the middle of the docks.

Cadence teleported to her and White Hot smirked, crossing her arms over her chest. Her white-blonde hair gently waved around her cheeks, her ice-blue eyes trained exactly on Cadence, who pulled her goggles down around her neck to see her clearly. Cadence slowed to a stop in front of her, placing her hands on her hips.

"We've already gone through this, White Hot," Cadence said. "There's nothing you can do to—"

"Oh, I'm not here to attack you," White Hot said, her mirk widening. She tilted her head to the side, icy blue eyes boring into Cadence's. She lifted her hands and removed the belt that sat around her waist to prove her point. It dropped to the dock with a low _thunk._ Cadence had enough run-ins with the meta to know she kept her explosive powder in there. If she were getting rid of it, there wasn't much White Hot could attack with. "I'm here to warn you."

Cadence shifted her stance so that with only a simple flick of her wrists she could reach down to her gun holsters and pull out the weapons or create a wave of fire so bright it'd blind her. "About what?" She finally asked.

" _Cade, what's going on?"_ Caitlin asked.

 _"What does she have to warn you about?"_ Cisco added. " _Other than the probability of lung cancer from your powers, I mean._ "

"I'm not sure," Cadence murmured in reply. She continued to watch White Hot, taking in her stance. Nothing in her body language showed she was lying. Her body temperature hadn't changed either. Still, she wasn't about to let her guard down. "Warn me about what?" She asked White Hot.

"About the end of the world." White Hot said it so casually, she may as well have been conversing about her weekend plans. "You know, the destruction of mankind and all that goes with it. Metahumans will reign supreme and you may or may not live to see the day it happens. Or else…" she brought a hand up to tap her chin. "Breathtaker can make a case for you."

Cadence glared, gritting her teeth. After so many months of not hearing from them since they escaped the Pipeline… _Don't kid yourself, Cade, you know they didn't escape,_ she reminded herself. She shook her head. No need to dwell on that now, they were gone and that was all that was important. She should've known it was coming sooner or later, Breathtaker wasn't someone who took betrayal lightly and found ways to use people until all their energies were exhausted.

Her getting out simply put a target on her back that wouldn't be removed until one of them was destroyed. And if that meant taking down Mindboggler, Stratos, and Incognito as well, then she could do that, too. But only after finally getting some answers.

"I want nothing to do with him," Cadence snarled.

"Oh, I know. That's why he chose me to take your place. But the thing is, there's always going to be something that will try to oppose him so I'm warning you now, if you don't join with us…you'll live to regret it."

Flames erupted around Cadence's arms. She was tired of this, was hungry, and would do anything to keep Central City safe. "Funny, I was about to say the same thing to you."

White Hot knelt and grabbed her utility belt, fastening it around her waist once more. "Don't say I didn't warn you." With that, blue flames appeared around her arms. The two stared at each other for a long, tense moment before launching forward in a fiery blaze.

* * *

Watching the battle from the back of his limo with a sinister smile on his face, Lex Luthor arrived in Central City.

* * *

 **A/N:** So, what did you guys think of the first chapter? I'm especially excited for this story, maybe a little bit more than the last few, I don't know, it's only just gotten started. Anyway, let me know what you think. And welcome to the new story! Let me know what you think, I respond to all reviews, even anonymous ones.

 _Also!_ Don't forget to check out my sister's story _In a Flash_ following the optical metahuman Averey Moore (also found on this profile). The story is almost done and the sequel is coming soon. And check out my other sister's story following the ice metahuman Sage Moreaux, _The Mark of Sage_ by Cerulean Musings. (Formerly Crystal Manning). You won't regret it, check it out!

 **Cheers,**

 **-Riley**


	2. Who's The Villain?

**02**

 _Who's The Villain?  
_

* * *

 **A/N:** Since I've had a few people mention it, Flashpoint and Earth-1 are happening simultaneously. We saw everything that went on with Barry in Flashpoint, but never saw what was going on with the changes that had been made on Earth-1, so here we go.

* * *

 ** _FLASHPOINT_**

Barry whistled a merry tune to himself as he approached the abandoned warehouse near the Ferris Air Strip. He knew no one went there. There had never been anyone there when practicing back on their Earth. It was a place that made him smile wistfully every time he went there, the first place he and the others tested out his powers when he came out form his coma. Back when he had that ugly red jogging suit and cameras attached to his head. When he first figured out what happened to Ronnie and Caitlin, where Cisco was working out names for him and was excited to try out his new equipment to deal with a speedster. It was where Dr. Wells, who they hadn't known was Eobard at the time, really stepped up and became a mentor to him.

It was the first place they worked as a team, even when he had a major learning curve to it all. The first place where he felt—what he now knew was—the Speed Force move through his body, propelling him forward. And now it was where he was keeping his worst enemy. The same enemy that glared at him from the cell he was inside. The glass box made of the material that was thick enough to keep a Speedster from getting out.

Who would've thought Zoom would've taught him anything.

Barry's whistle turned to a smug smile when he noticed the glare Eobard was sending his way. Undeterred, Barry swung a bag of Big Belly Burger in front of him. "Dinner."

Eobard lifted an eyebrow as he eyed Barry. Then she sighed and stretched his arms above his head. Almost as if he were waiting for room service in a hotel room. "There better be curly fries in there," he said.

A chuckle escaped Barry's lips. Maybe he was taking a little too much entertainment out of this. But it was good to see Eobard was on the other end of despair this time. Grabbing a paint bucket, Barry dragged it over to the glass case and sat down, dangling the fast food bag between his legs.

"Humans can go three weeks without food," he pointed out. "I'd be a little more grateful if I were you."

Eobard wagged a finger, much like one would do to a dog that had just done something bad. "You wouldn't do that to me. You're the hero." He titled his head to the side and studied Barry curiously. "Or did you forget? Too busy leading your reverse _it's a wonderful life_. How ironic." His voice went flat and he stretched out his legs, crossing them at the ankle. Eobard placed his hands in his lap and leveled his gaze to Barry, who had slowly stopped smiling. "So what should we call this world you made for us? I'm thinking Flashpoint."

 _Does he ever know when to shut up?_ Barry rubbed his forehead. Couldn't the people he captured just know they had to be quiet and understand they weren't going to get away. Eobard certainly knew how to push his buttons. Must be true when he said they'd been rivals for centuries. Or else he wouldn't know how to get to Barry so easily. "You don't want this?" Barry asked, gesturing towards the bag of food.

Eobard's lips pulled back into a snarl. He clearly wasn't getting to Barry and wanted to expedite things a little bit. He got to his feet and pressed his palms against the glass. He spoke rapidly and in a harsh whisper. "You may think you've ruined me with this glass cage. With this speed dampener. But I _will_ get out and ruin your life."

Barry shook his head. "Nope," he said simply. "Because you'll never get out and ruin anything again." He tossed the food aside and folded his arms, walking closer to the cage. "I have everything back that you and Zoom took from me." He held out his arms in victory. 'I'm free. I'm home."

"This isn't your home, Barry. It's a mirage that will end us both unless you let me the _hell_ out of this thing."

"Why would I want to get out of here? I'm whole here. There's even the flash so I don't have to be."

"You must not have learned your lesson the last time you traveled through time. Everything you do changes something else. You may not be the Flash here, but what does that mean for The Flash as a whole? Who is this new guy? Do you know? Do you care? While you sit here and hide like a lost lonely boy, our common enemy is coming for us both. Time. It's already screwing with you and everyone you love and soon it's going to take me with you. The sad part is that you don't care. You don't care what's going on with everyone in your life, in our old life. Do you even remember your old life?"

Now Barry felt anger flash through him. Enough so that he walked up to the glass case and pressed his hands against the glass in the same placement as Eobard's, putting his face close to his. "You've got some nerve, I'll give you that. Warning me about messing with other people's lives. I did this because of what _you_ did to _my_ life, to _my_ family. To my _mother_." He shook his head, pressed his hands into the glass as hard as he could, to focus on the pain than anything else. "If you hadn't had done this, none of this would've happened."

Eobard threw his head bac and laughed loudly. Laughed so hard that he was out of breath even before he finished. "Your sense of selfishness is funny. I have to give it to you. There's always something that I've at least admired about you. How you can continue to go around and act like you're doing everything for other people when you're the most selfish bastard I've ever met." Eobard licked his lips and stood up straight, folding his arms. "But here's the thing, Barry. I did kill your mom. And one day soon you'll be begging me to kill her again."

Barry shook his head and backed away from the case. He couldn't give a good response, didn't want to give him the satisfaction. Instead, he opened the side of the case, the small opening that only he could reach, and slid the food inside. He slapped the case closed once more and backed away.

Eobard picked up the bag and peered inside. "You forgot the curly fries," he said.

Barry merely shrugged and walked away, leaving Eobard and everything he said behind him. No. He wasn't getting out of his jail and he wasn't going to kill his mother again. And to prove it, Barry went to his parent's house. The house he grew up in, the one that had been condemned after he murder back in the past. But she was alive now, he saved her, saved his father, saved his life from countless amounts of grief.

He arrived just as his parents pulled up to the house, climbing out of their station wagon. Barry always asked them to get a better car, but it had run efficiently for years. So much so that while the exterior looked old, the interior had been upgraded with the latest technology. USB ports to charge their phones, Satellite radio, auxiliary cables to use music from their phones and music players, and revere camera when needed. Funny how it was the same for life, things could stay the same on the outside, but on the inside they were different and up to date.

Even his parents, who looked older, with graying hair and glasses, were still the same people he'd always known and loved. His father was the first to notice him. Henry Allen smiled and lifted his chin to nod to his son as he greeted, "Hey Slugger."

Nora Allen smiled next, walking to her son with open arms to envelope him with a hug. "There's my beautiful boy." She wrapped her arms around him and Barry brought up his hands, hugging her tightly. He'd saved her and here she was. As she always had been. And yet, no matter how many times he'd seen her recently, he was excited and always willing to give her a hug. Nora chuckled when she felt Barry held her tightly. "Is everything alright?"

"Everything's great," He said honestly.

"Are you sure? Lately, every time you hug me it's like the first time I've seen you in months."

"I'll stop if you want me to." Barry grinned at his mother.

Nora smiled back at him, her eyes shining behind the lenses of her glasses. "Never. I love it."

Barry grinned. As long as they were alive, things were great. Nora smiled and nodded. She dropped her arms from her son and grasped her husband's hand in hers as they walked into the house. Henry reached out with his free hand and patted Barry on the shoulder. The two shared identical smiles before heading inside.

Henry and Barry sat down at the dining room table as Nora flittered back and forth from the kitchen, bringing food to them. Henry flipped open the newspaper—the never ending newspaper—and started to read while Barry watched his mother. When she finally finished, she sat down at the head of the table with her husband and son. "So, I sold a nice house to an older couple a few weeks ago," she said, spreading a napkin across her lap. "Finished the paperwork today. They emailed me this morning to say they wanted to rent out their basement apartment. Very reasonably."

Barry smiled at the good news, focusing on the food in front of him. He still had his high metabolism as a speedster, but nothing was better than this mother's cooking. So he ate as slowly as he could, trying to enjoy it as much as he could. Then he realized the silence that stretched around him and, mid-chew of a bagel, asked, "You want me to move out?"

"We don't _want_ you to," Henry said quickly, lowering the newspaper. "It's just…most people at your age aren't living with their parents anymore. They have their own space and are figuring things out on their own."

"And, sweetie, we were wondering if you've ever put any thought into dating?" Nora added.

Barry gave them both a look. "Have you gotten tired of playing matchmaker for me, already?" He asked. Nora started to protest but Barry cut her off. He placed his hands in his lap, nodding. "Actually, I, uh, I haven't told you. You know, uh, Cade, I, uh, finally worked up the courage to ask her out and I did and she said yes."

Henry and Nora both cheered. Barry was a little taken aback at how excited they were. Yes, it's been a while since he dated—at least dated in this existence—but considering their reaction he may as well have just said he won the lottery. "it's about time," Henry said once he calmed down. "How many times have you been in my office this last week?"

"Right," Barry shot back sarcastically. "All the times you'd subtly tried to get us together really put a notch in my plans."

"We were just looking out for you, honey," Nora said.

"I don't think all but asking her what her wedding plans were was helping."

"Well, she just got the best boy she could have so I don't know what you're talking about."

"Mmm, I think Brady'd beg to differ."

Nora clasped her hands together. "Then that settles it, we'll watch him and you two go and have a good date."

Barry's head jerked back in surprise. Okay, he was definitely living in the twilight zone now. Still, he couldn't help the teasing smile that came to his face. "Is that a threat?"

"It is." Henry nodded slowly, seriously. Then he lifted his hand and pointed directly towards Barry's face. "If you don't have a good time, I'll kill you myself."

Barry laughed and nodded. They changed the subject to talk about Henry's and Nora's work as they finished dinner. Then Barry glanced at his phone, realizing he was going to be late for work. He made it just as Captain Singh demanded, "and where is Joe West?" The moment he stepped in the front doors of the CCPD.

His shoulders hunched. Barry tried not to let anyone see him as he immediately back peddled out the door. The less Captain Singh saw him, the less he had to be asked about Joe's whereabouts. The less he had to try and cover for him. Not that he wasn't going to do it anyway, he couldn't have Joe lose his job. Barry raced to Joe's house and phased through the front door. No need to make it obvious that he'd broke inside.

"Detective West?" He called, realizing the silence in the house. It was unsettling. The West house _he_ knew was always loud, always had something going on. Not to mention, hearing himself refer to Joe as detective. That was one of the hardest truths he had to get used to when being in this new place. He didn't have the same relationship with Joe as he used to and had to keep his distance. How was he supposed to keep his distance of someone who was as much of his family as his own parents were? "Detective?"

Joe slept soundly on the couch, an empty bottle of scotch laying on the floor beside him. "Oh no," Barry whispered, feeling panic rise. It was one thing for Joe to be late, but to be hungover as well? It was too big a threat to lose his job and livelihood all together. Especially when he'd already lost his family… "Joe. Hey Joe, you gotta wake u—" Barry cut himself off, choking when Joe turned and coughed a cloud of alcohol into his face. Barry waved a hand to clear the noxious air in front of him. _Sorry about this, Joe,_ he thought before grasping Joe's arm and raced him into the shower, brushed his teeth, changed him, and raced him all back to the CCPD in a matter of seconds.

Barry stopped in the elevator and casually leaned against the side of the elevator as Joe, eyes growin wide, looked at his now clothed body. "What the hell?" He whispered.

"Afternoon, Detective," Barry said suddenly, making Joe jump.

"Oh." Joe looked at him with disdain before turning his back on Barry. "Hey, Allen. What do you want? What did you do? How did I get here?"

Barry could've answered all of those questions but didn't know how. The Joe here didn't know he was The Flash, didn't know he had powers. Didn't like him. There was no point to rock the boat even further than it already had been. "I was just…helping you out, man. I don't want you to be fired or anything."

Joe snorted. "Am I wearing a sign that said help me?"

"No," Barry said honestly. "But you may as well be." He looked up as the doors dinged open and waved an arm for Joe to leave before him. Joe did so and continued to glare at Barry as they walked towards their offices.

"Look, we are not partners, we do not work together. I work alone. You don't know me or my life or what's going on with me?" That wasn't quite true, but Barry wasn't going to say so. "And what makes you so interested in me Mr. Allen?" He waved a warning finger. "And remember, I have a hangover and a gun."

"Well, it's just that we…uh…I don't want to see anyone lose their job when they're so good at what they do," Barry said. He backed away from Joe, holding up his hands. But couldn't help but add with a bit of snark, "When they're here." With that, he turned on his heel and went to his lab to get to work.

Anything that would take up some of his time before his date. But he couldn't help but think about Joe. This Joe would never know why he wanted to help him so much, that they were like father and son, that he was some of the best family Barry had ever had. It was jarring to see what had changed with that since Barry had gone back to save his mother. He'd expected things to be the same as they had been up until that moment; where his father and Joe were best friends, where he and Iris hung out with each other at school. Where he had the life he was supposed to have.

But was it the life he still wanted?

His parents were alive…he didn't have his friends. Caitlin was a pediatrist who worked at his father's office. She and Cadence talked to each other every now and then but they weren't the same best friends they used to be. Caitlin was married to Ronnie and went home to her husband every night while Cadence had an ex-boyfriend and a toddler to handle. Then Cisco…everyone knew who Cisco was. Ramon Industries had taken over what STAR Labs used to be and was doing so much for Central City. And yet, his fame and fortune had gone to his head and it was obvious from the way he acted.

Cisco threw parties nearly every night, all of the biggest female socialites made sure to get an invite so they could fawn over him. With his press conference, Cisco spoke about his new technology with a smug air, condescension, and displeasure for any questions that were deemed unworthy of him. Barry tried to get in contact with him, to try to be friends again, but found himself unable to get close to the new mogul.

He even didn't see Iris so much anymore. Since she and Joe had their falling out she made herself scarce. Text went unanswered for days and she always seemed to have something to do whenever they tried to hang out. If she wasn't suddenly running away with lame excuses he could think of.

And it all went through Barry's head as he sped through his work. As he thought about it, Barry froze. Something was going on in his head, a hazy fog swirling over everything, making it more difficult for him to remember even what he had just been thinking about. As it rolled in, Barry struggled to figure things out, pressing his fingers into the pencil he held onto. An anchor to focus on so that he could get his mind straight. But with no luck, whatever he had been thinking about was just gone.

"That was weird," Barry murmured, eyes shifting back and forth over the papers in front of him. He leaned back in his seat and ran his hands over his face. He was just tired, that was it. He'd pushed himself too hard when doing patrols that day, when speaking to Eobard. There was so much going on, he needed to sit back and relax. He needed to…Barry glanced at the stacks of paper around him. Get to work.

Finally, he made it to the end of the day and clocked out of work, hurrying down the steps that led to the lobby of the CCPD. Cadence stood at the front desk, looking around at the sprawling golden mural at the front of the CCPD. The same one each officer touched when they came in to work as a sign of good luck.

Barry took a deep breath and walked up to her. "You see it once, you see it all the time," he said, getting her attention.

Cadence smiled, turning to face him. "I don't know, it looks really cool. Must be nice to see every day." It was then Barry realized how much he missed her working at the CCPD. That had been another obstacle to get over, not being able to take lunch breaks with each other to go to the nearby park before going back to work. There was only so much he could do now with Captain Singh breathing down his neck more often than usual. "Are you ready to go?"

"Yeah, yep. Ready, willing, and able," Barry agreed. He clapped his hands together then let out a long breath. His palms were flooded with swat. How funny, he'd been seriously dating her back before he changed things, and now it was like he was a little boy with his first crush all over again. "Um, yeah, so let's go."

Cadence smiled and nodded and the two left the CCPD and started to stroll down the street. They went along in silence for a few moments before Barry finally thought of something to talk about. Thankfully, his father had mentioned it when during their time together earlier that day.

"So what's been going on at work?" Barry asked. "I think my dad mentioned something about a bad patient."

"Ah." Cadence's smile widened as she nodded. "You heard about that?" She ran a hand through her hair. "Yeah, I know there are some people that can get really strong when being strapped down, but this was ridiculous. Somehow, I managed to keep my cool."

"Well, that really seems a lot like you," Barry said. Then he paused and looked at her curiously. "Is that weird? I mean, I feel like I know all about you." Much more than she could ever know.

"No." Cadence shook her head. "It's not weird. We've been friends for a long time, Barry. I'd hope you feel like you knew me." She reached out and gently pushed him on the arm, her smile illuminating her face. "Just like I know you."

"Right. So, uh, how are your mom and dad?" Barry asked.

"Alive and well. Doting," Cadence explained. "Actually, we're going to see them next weekend. And as in love with each other as ever. Like-"

"—stupid in love?" Barry interrupted.

"Exactly."

"Same as my parents," Barry said. He shook his head as he continued along. "I hope I have what they have someday."

"Just haven't met the right girl yet?"

The irony was not lost on him. "Well, she's out there, waiting." He smiled at her, hoping she understood what his smile meant. How much they meant to each other before and how they could get back there if they tried. "Just have to be lucky enough to find her."

"Maybe you already have," Cadence said.

Barry's smile immediately turned to a frown the moment the words left her mouth. Something was wrong. It was like a faucet in his brain had turned on and everything was spilling away. Everything they'd been through together on their Earth, it was all gone. Their meeting, their friendship with each other, their first kiss, when they said they loved each other…all gone. Just the same as when he was thinking about Joe and his friends earlier that morning. Everything he knew about them was gone. Erased from memory with a big struggle trying to get it back.

"Barry?" Cadence grabbed his arm. "Barry, are you okay?"

"Yeah, I, uh," Barry started to stammer. His feet shifted beneath him, threatening to make him fall on his butt. It was disorienting, his brains shifting like that. It must've been what Eobard was talking about. Things he didn't know where going to change, it'd affect him…"I'm sorry," he said. "I have to…" he backed away, her hand sliding off his arm. Cadence frowned in hurt confusion. "I have to get out of here. I'm really sorry, something's come up that I…I have to take care of." He turned and grabbed her hands. "I promise I'll make it up to you."

Cadence started to say something but stopped when their palms pressed together. A tingling sensation shot through Barry's hands and hers. He looked down to see some lightning sparking between them, enough so that he could see little flickers of flame in them as well. The same it always did when their powers came in contact with each other.

In this world she still had her powers.

"I have to go," Barry repeated. "I'm sorry." He backed away from her and started at a light jog down the street. He waited until he turned the corner before tapping into the Speed Force and using his powers to get away as fast as possible.

He needed to figure out what was going on and fast. And as much as he disliked it, there was only one person who could have some insight to what was going on. The man who Barry hated more than anyone else in the world. He went back to Eobard's makeshift cell and stormed towards him.

Eobard didn't even glance his way as he drawled, "And to think I was wondering you'd forgotten about me." He looked at Barry out of the corner of his eye and asked, "Did you remember to get my curly fries this time?"

Angrily, Barry strode towards him. He ignored the taunting question Eobard threw his way and slammed his fist against the glass. It shook rapidly, but didn't break. Eobard's face, which brightened at the vibrating glass, held steady when he looked at the pure fury that moved over Barry's face. "

"Oh, you're finally starting to realize the problem now aren't you?" Eobard asked. "What's the matter? Did it interrupt some fun times?" His eyes narrowed. "No, you're never that forward. You prefer to sit and dwell in your misery. But that's what they say right? Misery loves company."

Barry clamped his teeth together. His jaw throbbed, a headache formed. Throat burned as he hissed, "I'm forgetting. I'm forgetting everything. I'll be thinking of a moment form my past and it vanishes."

"Flashpoint." Eobard shrugged. He picked an imaginary piece of lint off his shoulder and flicked it away. "It's a side effect. You really don't know what you're doing with this power, Barry. This reality that you have is starting to override everything else. Your original life, your friends and family…" he fluttered his fingers like a butterfly flapping its wings. "Is starting to fade away."

"Why isn't it happening to you?" Barry demanded. They were the same in many ways. They were speedsters and had an equal share of hatred towards each other. Eobard had traveled through time more than enough times that Barry had. He'd been there the night that Barry saved his mother from dying, equally saving his father as well and had been in this place, in Flashpoint, for just as long. So, what was going on? "Why?!"

"Not sure," Eobard said flippantly. He paused, eyes shifted. "Unless…" Then he stared to laugh hysterically. So loud and so long that numerous times he placed his hands on his knees to catch his breath before starting to laugh once more.

Barry clenched his hands into fists, bounced back and forth on his feet. And Eobard continued to laugh at him. His voice swirled through the tiny space and Barry's anger only grew until he turned and knocked over a workbench nearby. Eobard's laughter faded while Barry screamed out a curse before whipping around to face Eobard.

"What the hell is so funny?" He snarled.

" _Your speed_!" Eobard finally, gleefully shouted. "The more you use it. The faster you lose your memories."

"You're lying. You just want to get out of there out of here."

With a roll of his eyes, Eobard shook his head. He dropped it then lifted it once more to look Barry directly in the eye. "The you I know from the future isn't so stupid," he drawled. "Soon you won't remember you're the Flash. Then this world will be permanent and nothing can change it back."

Barry shrugged. "It's fine by me."

But there was a little bit of doubt wiggling at the back of his head. If he stayed there and he forgot his friends…would they ever become friends again? Would Cisco continue to be an asshole mogul? Would Caitlin only have Ronnie as her social group? Would he and Iris and Joe still be estranged from each other? His parents would be alive but…there'd be now Team Flash. He _wasn't_ the Flash in this world, someone else was. Someone he'd seen fighting against another black suited speedster.

Barry wasn't the kind of man that sat back and waited for things to happen, he went out and fixed things. Could he fix this, too?

"You know you have to let me kill your mother."

Eobard's words cut through Barry's thought and he glared at Eobard once more. He'd never hated anyone more in his life. "Go to hell!"

"You're taking both of us there," Eobard snarled back. He slapped his hands against the glass as Barry walked away. "Now who's the villain, Flash? Now who's the villain?"

* * *

 ** _EARTH-1_**

Cadence sucked in a deep breath then blew out, sending a line of fire mixed with ash out towards White Hot. White Hot skidded to a stop, throwing up her arm to keep herself from getting struck by the flame. What she didn't expect was for Cadence to propel herself forward right behind the blast of fire to be punched directly in the face. White Hot's head knocked backwards with a loud clicking sound. She flailed her arms, stumbling backwards, allowing Cadence the opportunity do an illusion; spinning on the ball of her left foot and extending her right leg as high as she could as she bent towards the ground.

The heel of her right foot snapped into White Hot's cheek, sending her spinning to the ground. White Hot glared back at Cadence and shot out her foot, doing a sweep that knocked her feet from beneath her. Cadence landed heavily on her side then rolled up onto her shoulders, getting up in a kip-up before immediately launching herself into a back tuck when White Hot tried to strike her again.

White Hot smirked and pulled a smoke bomb out of her belt and threw it as hard as she could. There was a sudden flash before black smoke encircled around the two. White Hot swung her arm back and punched Cadence hard in the stomach, knocking her in the air. Cadence flipped over her head and landed on her back. A crater erupted beneath her. Cadence felt her arms and legs fall into the asphalt as if it were butter. Standing up, Cadence shook rocks and loose debris from her arms. It was pitch black around her, the cloud of smoke continuing to pull in.

There was a sudden shot of light that erupted from in front of Cadence accompanied by a strong wind that blew the smoke away. Cadence stepped forward then frowned. White Hot was gone. Just as quickly as she came.

"Dammit," Cadence murmured.

The longer White Hot was out, the longer it meant the Assassination Bureau were going to have the means to get to her. To do…whatever it was they were going to do. She hadn't gotten as much information as she wanted so far, that any of STAR Labs could use. That was equally good and bad. Has White Hot managed to get captured so easily, then the rest of the mercenary team would've come after them.

They weren't ready for that yet.

"Are you okay?" Lowering her goggled, Cadence turned to find Brady jogging towards her, pushing his slingshot into the pockets of his jeans with Ryder slowly coming up behind him, swinging himself forward on a pair of crutches, his left foot in a cast dragging behind him.

Cadence grinned and immediately started to bounce on her toes when she spotted her son. He smiled and opened his arms, allowing his mother to collide into him in a tight hug. Three months was certainly too long to be away from her family, especially when that family was her son. She hadn't been gone from him longer than a day since he was born. It surprised her that she could hold back her emotions os well, even when tears came to her eyes.

"You got taller," Cadence finally said, backing away so that she could frame her son's face in her hands.

"So did you," Brady mumbled back, smirking around her grasp. Cadence smiled and gently smacked him on the arm. "I didn't think that was possible."

"Ha ha." Cadence smiled and hugged him again. This time, however, she couldn't help but notice he didn't hug her back. Instead of being offended, she studied him, noticing his eyes flickered back and forth over the docks. "What's the matter?" She asked then figured it out quickly. "Oh. Are you embarrassed?"

Brady nodded.

"Why?"

He shrugged. "I missed you."

"I missed you, too." Cadence ruffled his hair then moved to give him a kiss on the cheek. He quickly ducked his head out of the way and Cadence laughed. "What? I can't kiss you now?" But she stepped aside so that Ryder had room to move in to greet them.

"Trust me, buddy, you're never too old to kiss your mom," Ryder said, his voice holding a slight warning in tone.

Brady rolled his eyes and stepped forward, pressing a kiss to his mother's cheek before standing back, folding his arms. Cadence shook her head and turned to address her ex-boyfriend. "So you never ran into your parents while you were travelling around?"

Ryder snorted. "They'd be more likely to actually remember my birthday than to want to spend time with me. Them not being there is the best thing that can ever happen."

Cadence gave a small smile. It wasn't a good thing that he hadn't seen his parents in over ten years, but she was the only one who understood his increasing dislike of them as they went on. While her parents realized the error of their ways and wanted to make amends, his parents had gone far enough to legally disown him. No chance of them ever able to make things work.

Instead of pressing the topic even further, Cadence changed the subject, taking stock of the cast that went to his knee. "I knew you broke your leg, but I never thought you'd turn down my offer to heal it for you." She clearly remembered how pissed he'd been when he tore his ACL in high school, but a broken leg? That was a little different.

"I had too many doctors looking at it already," Ryder said, shaking his head. He sucked in a deep breath, hoping to even out his breathing from having had to work hard to catch up to them. "I think it'd look suspicious if I'm three weeks away from getting my cast off and being completely healed."

Cadence nodded. "Fell out of a tree, huh?"

Ryder shrugged. "That's what you get for trying to get some of the best views of the sunset," he explained. "At least it was towards the end of the trip."

"Can only ask for small favors," Cadence agreed. She looked around. "They got you on anything?"

"A couple of painkillers, nothing too big."

"Good." Cadence listened to see if there were any sirens coming closer. "We can talk more, but we should probably get out of here."

"Yeah, you may want to get back to STAR Labs," Ryder agreed. Cadence looked at him funny. How did he know they planned to get some lunch once she was finished dealing with White Hot. It was then Ryder motioned towards the side of her face and Cadence reached up, wincing when her fingers moved over the burn that rested there. White Hot must've gotten her before he'd been able to move from the way.

It'd heal fast, but she knew Caitlin would insist on looking at it, let alone needing to be debriefed on what happened. "Probably not a bad idea." She reached out to take their hands to teleport them back but Brady grabbed Ryder first.

"I can take him," Brady said, still mumbling. Cadence's eyebrows came together. "If the police come you want to see if there's any information they have on White Hot."

She nodded in agreement and went back to where she'd been fighting White Hot. She looked around the area, kneeling to study the soot that stained the ground. It came from gunpowder, not from White Hot's fire power herself. That was something she was always confused about, the extent of her power. Zoom had contacted her and another metahuman named Black Blade when he'd arrived on their earth. But there were still too many things that made it difficult to figure out the point of it; White Hot had quickly left Zoom's side after the Metapocalypse to join the Assassination Bureau.

Was Zoom aligned with them? She doubted it, on Earth-2 they didn't work with each other at all. Burnout had mentioned she continuously fought against what Zoom wanted to what Breathtaker wanted, taking time away from their kills to do it. If that were the case, then White Hot and Black Blade were free agents in a way, working like Captain Cold and Heat Wave in doing whatever they wanted with the power they had.

It was possible they were doppelgangers of those Zoom knew on Earth-2. But Zoom had been someone who talked a lot about his plans once he had the means to do so and he hadn't said anything about them. _Then she was telling the truth,_ Cadence realized. _Breathtaker recruited her for something he wanted me to do._ She frowned. _But what?_

Cadence was broken out of her thoughts when a police car screamed to a stop. She looked up, finding Joe barrel out of the car with Captain Singh, both holding out their pistols. Rather than activating her choker—that would disguise her voice—she put up a fire aura around her that made the air shimmer, making it harder for them to see her face.

"White Hot was here," she explained. "Nothing that'd lead her to the Assassination Bureau."

Joe let out a breath, lowering his pistol back to his belt as he looked around. Captain Singh, on the other hand, let out a frustrated sigh but asked, "No other casualties?"

"No." Cadence shook her head. "She was just giving me a message."

"What sort of message?" Joe asked.

"The same kind we always get." She smiled. "That the world is going to end and there's nothing we can do about it." She placed her hands on her hips. "But if you ask me, if Flash and I have already managed to keep the city safe from a speedster that was trying to destroy this world and Earth-2, then this is something we can handle."

"Earth-2?" Captain Singh repeated. He scratched the side of his neck. "Is this something I really want to know about?"

"Probably not," Joe said.

"That's what I thought." Captain Singh let out a long sigh. Then he nodded to Cadence. "Thanks for your help." He nodded towards the man that crouched over the scorch mark beside him, examining it with a magnifying glass. "Albert's going to canvas the crime scene while we look for any witnesses. Thank God no one was hurt."

 _Not yet,_ Cadence thought.

She didn't get the chance to say it out loud as Julian Albert beat her to it. He lowered his magnifying glass to replace it in the briefcase beside him, the letters _CSI_ written on the side. "These metahumans are ruthless creatures that have no care for anyone but themselves," he said, his British accent a stark contrast to the others' American ones. They sounded more gruff. He looked over at Cadence as she placed her hands on her hips and lifted an eyebrow. "Though I suppose not all are bad. But they can still hold themselves responsible for the problems they cause."

"You're right," Cadence agreed, trying to keep calm. Julian Albert had a habit to get on her nerves a bit quicker than most, though he did do a good job with his work. If only he could do it without having to put Barry down all the time. "I'm sorry for creating the scorch marks all over when I was trying to save some people. I'll be sure to clean it up the next time I'm here."

Julian rolled his eyes and went back to his examination of the scene.

Cadence nodded her goodbye to Joe and Captain Singh then ran towards the parked police car. She ran up the front of it then leapt off the roof, flipped once and with a cry of, "Whoo!" teleported back to STAR Labs. Disappearing in a cloud of smoke.

She arrived in time to see Caitlin had Ryder up on an examining table, poking and prodding his leg with a pen asking, 'Does this hurt?' every time she did. Cadence pulled off her goggles and handed them to Cisco to look over before folding her arms. "Cait, I know you really like to help people, but it doesn't help if you torture them."

Caitlin shot her an exasperated glance. "At least I'm working on my bedside manner," she replied.

Cadence shrugged. "Bedside manner doesn't really work when the people that expect you to feel bad for them are the ones that are constantly putting their kids in danger."

"How's that going, anyway?" Ryder asked. "Your new job and everything?'

"Very well," Cadence said.

And she wasn't lying. Her new position with Child Protective Services was a lot more rewarding than her last one. It was something she very much enjoyed, no matter how frustrated and angry it could make her. There were some cases of new parents who didn't know what they were doing was neglectful and she'd be called over to teach them about the resources they had to take care of their baby and toddlers. Those were the nicer calls, that she could help those that just didn't know what they were doing.

The harder ones were the cases of terrible abuse and neglect that was hard to prove. Case in point, Frankie Kane and her father, the one she was consistently going to see for one reason or another. Every time she arrived at the rundown apartment, Frankie would feed her lies over how someone else would call and the problems were a misunderstanding. But Cadence had to walk around and talk to her and her father anyway, knowing he was hiding something behind that smug smile and insistence they really did love each other and he 'couldn't understand why anyone could call CPS on me'.

Cadence knew it was a load of crap. She'd met and talked to Frankie at the hospital many times during her residency at the hospital. Had treated her broken bones, scrapes, bruises, and bones, enough times to know there was something going on. But Frankie continued to say with wide eyes filled with fear that things were. And Cadence wasn't going to stop until she knew for sure Frankie was okay.

"And everything with Miss. Ramirez is okay?" Ryder pressed.

"Yep." Cadence popped the 'p' on her word, resting her hands on her hips. "Once we figured out that the one who talked to you was the doppelganger Zoom used to get to us, it at least made things easier. She's my boss, actually."

"Small world," he said. He snapped his fingers. "Speaking of, guess who we ran into when we were out on our trip?" Brady made a loud snorting sound, attracting the attention of his parents, Caitlin, and Cisco. Whoever it was had to be someone they didn't like so much if Brady had a visceral reaction to it.

"Let me guess, another meta who is hell bent on making our lives miserable, right?" Cisco asked sarcastically. He threw his hands in the air. "Who would've thought another one would've popped up so soon?" Caitlin gave him a teasing smile and he turned it with one of his own.

"We ran into Chief Paulson and his daughter," Ryder said. He shook his head. "We got to talking but...even some time away doesn't seem to have changed his mind about metahumans."

Caitlin shook her head, letting out a quiet sigh. That seemd to be the hot topic conversation throughout Central City as of late. What was gong to happen to metahumans now. Even with the MRA being opposed there were still daily protests about metahumans needing to reveal themselves. "The Metahuman Registration Act was completely closed down, Flash and Flare saved the city again? Why would he still be against them? Us?"

"Why would anyone be against them at all?" Cisco shot back. "There's too many cool abilities we can learn from with them. And, besides, we all know our lives would be very boring without them around."

"I don't know about you, but I've already got enough excitement in my life," Cadence said. "I'm not sure if I can take much more of it."

"Don't jinx yourself," Caitlin teased. Then she turned her smile towards Brady who sat quietly in the corner of the medical room. "What about you, Brady? Are you ready to go back to school?"

"Yeah, I bet you're just so excited to start 6th grade," Cisco added.

Brady shrugged.

Ryder sighed and shook his head, noticing the confused expressions on Cisco's and Caitlin's faces. Normally Brady was one of the sweetest and most excited boys they'd met, having more energy than Barry. He'd never been so quiet. "His voice is cracking," Ryder explained. "So he doesn't like to talk so much."

"I don't know, that may work out for me," Cadence teased. Brady glared at her and she laughed. "I'm only kidding, bud." But he still looked away from her. "Anyway, now that Joe and Captain Singh are taking care of White Hot's mess, we going to go out to get some food if you guys wanted to come with."

"If it's alright with you, I'm just going to head back to my place," Ryder said. "We were headed there when we heard what was going on with White Hot. I'm wiped."

"Yeah, Caitlin and I can meet you there," Cisco said quickly. "Reserve a table and start ordering and all that." He noticed Cadence's knowing smile and looked away before his blush could give him away. "I mean, once we get the gymnastics room and everything cleaned up."

"No problem, we'll just meet you there." Cadence teleported out of her suit and into her street clothes, giving Cisco her suit to clean then left to take Ryder to his townhouse. Then she drove herself and Brady back to their apartment where he sat sullenly in the passenger seat, barely responding to Cadence's questions. "You sure you're ready to go back to school?" She asked.

Brady made a face. "No," he said. "Who likes _school?"_ His voice cracked on the last word and he let out a sigh of frustration. Clearly, it had been going on long enough for it to be an issue. "I mean, at least I didn't miss a lot."

"Yeah, the repairs that needed to be done are so convenient," Cadence replied with a hint of sarcasm. "Don't forget the citywide curfew we have now."

"That's so stupid. Zoom and the Metapocalypse aren't threats anymore."

"You and I know that, but Chief Paulson and Mayor Bellows don't. They're just trying to keep the city as safe as they can." She shook her head. "Which, honestly, I think is starting to go a little overboard. But there's not much we can do about it."

"I thought Tess and Harrison were trying to give metas more rights," Brady said, his face scrunching up.

"They are. But it's not going to happen in a day."

"They're already moving slow."

"You're telling me." Cadence smiled at him. Brady smiled back then sat up straight, his eyebrows coming together as she scratched at his leg, which was lined with a bunch of bruises. "What the hell happened to you?"

"Dad and I were playing some lacrosse while we were on our trip," Brady explained. "Conner and I were thinking of playing it this year instead of just soccer. But I don't think we're going to do that anymore." Cadence noticed the low, almost sad note that came to his tone.

"Why not?"

Brady just shrugged.

Cadence pressed her lips together. She was starting to hate how he was doing that so much, shrugging. On one hand she knew he was getting into his teen years and that he was going to pull away a little bit. But on the other, they had always been open with each other. It also didn't help that she always knew when people were lying and he wasn't being so forthcoming.

She started to ask him about it then stopped, letting out a quiet gasp. Everything around her turned back, pressing in on all sides, just lie it had been when she was fighting White Hot. But this was different. She immediately recognized it as the work of Mindboggler.

Screams filled her ears and the smell of smoke entered her nose at the same time, choking her. For a few terrifying seconds it was all she could sense. When it finally faded away, she realized Brady was calling for her attention over and over again and that she had, somehow, made it to park in front of the apartment building without having the memory of doing so.

But the part that scared her the most was that she quickly recognized Mindboggler's projection as not just any projection, but a project of what it would be like when the world ended. And It truly was going to be her fault. The worst part of all was that she knew if Mindboggler could get to her now she either had gotten stronger, or Breathtaker knew were to find her.

The thought alone filled her with so much rage it terrified her, especially when she looked at the rear view mirror and saw her eyes change to become lizardlike in appearance. _"Nothing that wasn't already destined to you."_ Her powers were changing and she wasn't sure there was anything she could do to stop it.

* * *

 **A/N:** Well, we're really getting right back into the swing of things. This chapter, or at least the second half, was more to give you background info on what's changed in Flashpoint as well as to Earth-1. Still, I hope you guys enjoyed it. I especially enjoyed bringing in Julian already. Yes, Barry and Cadence will be reunited soon, I had planned on doing it at the end of this chapter but found a better way to do it.

Let me know what you think. I respond to every review, even anonymous ones, and will take constructive criticism.

Also, if you want to read a really fun Flash story, go check out DarkHelm145's story _V_ _oices of the Past._ It's a crossover with the anime Kuroko no Basuke. You don't need to know a lot of it to understand, all you need to know is the Arrowverse characters play high school basketball with their meta powers. It's really cool and you may see some familiar faces in them. ;)

 **Cheers,**

 **-Riles**

 **Review Replies**

 **DarkHelm145:** Yes, it's happening at the same time. I'm sorry that wasn't so clear.

 **Ethan:** Yes, it as Brady that was gone. He was on a trip with Ryder. It'll be explained further in the next chapter. Glad you liked the first chapter and hope this one was just as enjoyable.

 **yummers:** Thank you, I'm glad you liked it!

 **spinquin142:** I really like to start with a bang and I hope that flowed well with the second chapter in both parts. Of course, the difference here being that this time Caitlin and Cisco know about the Assassination Bureau so let's see how Cadence handles things with them once and for all.

 **PowerHero432:** Well, I think it make sense if Barry is still trying to figure things out form being in two different places. It just remains to be seen how things work out around him with it because no one else will know that he was gone. Or maybe not. :) Yes, Lex Luthor is the Smallville character I was talking about. But I do have a plan to bring in someone ele. Thank goodness for entertainment for readers that they're out, maybe not so much for Cadence.

 **josephguy217:** Thank you! That's quite a complement. I try my hardest to make each story better than the last so I'm glad the start has been holding up.

 **babyj:** Glad you liked the start, hope you like this one as well.


	3. Cracks In The Wall

**03**

 _Cracks In The Wall_

* * *

 ** _EARTH-1_**

* * *

Iris's footsteps crunched over the fallen leaves as she made her way through the cemetery. Though there was a specific headstone she had in mind to stop at, she couldn't help but be sidetracked as she went along. Her eyes swept over the names on the headstones. _David Chyre. Eddie Thawne. Patty Spivot. Henry Allen._ Not to mention those that had been friends of her family as long as Joe had been part of the CCPD. Those who'd passed years before and those that had passed recently, struck down by Zoom in his bid to take over Central City.

So many lives that were gone too soon. It was devastating. The city went into mourning of the police officers and the man that had been found innocent of the crime that had turned him into a social pariah. For nearly a week people wore black, spoke softly, reminded their neighbors and friends they were there for each other if needed. She hadn't seen the city take such a call to action before.

"It's too bad it had to be under such sad circumstances," Iris murmured. She hugged the bouquet of flowers closer to her chest and continued through the rows of headstones. She sucked in a deep breath of the crisp, cool air and let it out, a fog moving in front of her. Tilting her head back, she looked at the sky. The perfectly clear sky with the sun shining brightly.

How was it possible for some of the days with the most beautiful weather to be during some of the most difficult situations? Iris slowed to a stop when she spotted a familiar figure kneeling by the headstone she had come to visit. It took her a few seconds to recognize Wally, he hadn't seem to hear her approach he was staring so intently at the name that sat across the face of the concrete slab.

 _Francine West._

Wally sniffed and pulled his arm beneath his nose, only looking up when Iris knelt next to him. He looked at her in surprise and she put the bouquet she brought on the patch of grass in front of the headstone. Then she placed her hand on Wally's shoulder and gave him a tiny smile. Wally smiled back, but it faded after a moment. Iris understood. Francine hadn't died too long ago and while they had all known she was sick, they never knew the depths of her sickness. She kept it a secret, the cancer that had come after her long struggle with a pill addiction. Hadn't wanted anyone to worry.

Joe stepped up the best way he could through the last of her life. They spoke with each other often and he visited her in the hospital after every shift. They relayed everything to their children, what was going to happen once Francine passed. Wally would move in with Joe, he'd go to counseling sessions to wrap his mind around what would happen, Iris was to go, too. In her own sessions as well as ones with Wally, they had to learn how to be family. Iris had smiled and shook her head in at the notion.

 _Learn_ how to be a family. How funny. Wally was already her family, the moment he was born. Sure, she had been shocked and angry at first to know what her father had kept from her. Just as Wally was with his mother for keeping Joe from him for so long. They commiserated with each other and grew closer with the childhoods they missed being a part of. Her little brother. Iris always wanted to be able to say that.

It hadn't been too long, a few months.

It'd come so suddenly.

And her father hadn't taken it very well. He was distancing himself. She could tell, he didn't have to tell her, that her father blamed himself for what had happened. Blamed himself that their family couldn't have been complete years before, when they would've have the time to be back together. Blamed himself that he wasn't wealthy enough to afford the best hospital care she could need in her final days. Blamed himself for the pain she felt the last few days before death had finally, peacefully taken her.

Iris did her best to talk him through it but he continued to shake her off, burying his head into his work at the CCPD and as his position as Best Man for Captain Singh's wedding.

"How long have you been here?" Iris asked after a few long moments of silence.

"Not long," Wally said. "I only had one class today."

"Well, it's good you're not skipping anymore."

"Yeah…my GPA couldn't handle it." Wally managed to chuckle. "It doesn't take long for your grade to plummet but it takes a long while to bring them back up." He shook his head. "My advisor has said that to me before, but I didn't realize how true it was."

"You're telling me," Iris agreed. She sat on her heels, dropping her hands to her lap. "My first year of college I was so into socializing and the parties and everything that when I got my grades back for the first semester, dad nearly blew a gasket. And then my advisor was on my butt to make sure I brought them up again."

"You? Skipped classes to go to parties?" Wally asked.

"And what's that supposed to mean?"

"That the perfect Iris West doesn't seem like the class skipping type."

"I'm not _perfect!"_ Iris reached out and jostled Wally on the arm. The two laughed and leaned against each other as they continued to look over Francine's grave. She moved her arm around his shoulders and said, "You know if you ever want to talk about anything, I'm here. And so's dad."

Wally shook his head. "Dad hasn't been around much lately."

"You know he's hurting, too."

"You've never know it," Wally said bitterly. "From the way he acts. He just keeps—"

"—Pushing his nose into his own work, gets tunnel vision, throws himself into danger with his job?" Iris gave a teasing smile. "Sort of sounds like someone I know." Wally shook his head. "You're exactly like him, Wally, the way you were trying to help out with the Flash…"

"That's because I can help people," Wally said. "I _want_ to help people. I want to make the world a better place and all that but…I don't know." He licked his lips and finally turned to look Iris in the eye. "Something's different since we were there, seeing Zoom fighting Barry. _Knowing_ Barry and Cadence are Flash and Flare and that you guys are doing everything you can to protect the city…since then, recently, I've gotten the feeling that I'm destined for much more than classes and grades."

"Or maybe you got knocked silly by that energy wave," Iris teased. She reached up and gently rocked Wally's head back and forth. "Or all of that street racing has rattled your brain around a bit. Makes me wonder if my little brother could ever have been normal."

"If I'm not normal, it's only happened since I met you," Wally teased. "You must've rubbed off on me. I'm sure Barry would agree."

"Barry liked to watch zombie movies and rate them on a scale of realism," Iris said, voice dripping with sarcasm. "So, I think you'd find yourself SOL on that one." They laughed again. "Come on, let's get something to eat."

"I hope it's on you, I'm starving," Wally said, climbing off the ground.

"What happened to the money dad gave you?" Iris brushed off the seat of her skirt as she got up as well. She eyed Wally suspiciously when he looked away. "Don't tell me you lost it with another one of your street races."

"Okay, I won't tell you."

Iris sighed and rolled her eyes. "You know how people wonder what they did before they had siblings? I'm sure I had a lot more money."

Wally laughed.

* * *

Cisco walked into STAR Labs with two big bags of Big Belly Burger clutched in his hands. He looked over as Caitlin gently pushed herself back and forth in her chair, phone pressed to her ear. He walked in front of her and held up the bags. Caitlin glanced at him and waved her hand, pressing her phone together to her ear.

"No, I'm sorry. I told you that I didn't make that purchase," Caitlin said firmly. She listened for a moment and closed her eyes. "There has to be some mistake, I wouldn't spend that much money on one pair of shoes." She paused. "Then someone forged my signature. I…yes, please keep me informed of this." She hung up her cell phone and set it aside so that she could write a note on her tablet then turned to him, brown eyes wide. "That was my bank, this is the third time I've had fraudulent charges on my credit card."

"For shoes?" Cisco asked.

"For a pair of $500 leather stilettos," Caitlin said. She motioned to herself. "I can't afford to buy those shoes."

Cisco gave her a funny look, sitting down next to her. He set the bags of food by their computers. "Cait, you're freaking loaded." He backed away when Caitlin glared at him and he held up his hands. "Okay, okay, your _mom's_ freaking loaded. But, still, you're pretty well off and you know, we're being paid well, too. Who thinks you wouldn't buy a pretty good pair of shoes as a treat to yourself?"

Caitlin's eyebrows rose in amusement. "Leather stilettoes?"

Cisco shrugged. "You've got the legs for it." Caitlin laughed and thanked him before turning his attention back to her computer. Cisco beamed, pleased that he managed to ease her mind a little, and motioned to the bags of food. She took one and opened it. "I got your usual if that's okay. My treat." Caitlin smiled her thanks, though it was obvious she was still preoccupied with her banking issues. "Third time, huh?"

Caitlin nodded around her bite of food. "It has to be the same person, because each time they keep buying leather things. A jacket here, shoes there. A bracelet. Next thing I know, they're going to be knocking over jewelry stores and banks." She bobbed her head back and forth. "If they had any taste they would've gone to a book store or a tea house or something."

"So other than this banking fixation, how was your night last night?" Cisco asked. He grinned around his burger. "Did you get into any wild and crazy parties? Check out any new romance novels? Is Fabio still modeling for those?" He lifted a finger. "You know, I should get all of the credit for him deciding to stye his hair like that."

"You weren't even born yet."

"Maybe I vibed it to him."

Caitlin laughed again. She shook her head, started to answer, then stopped, eyebrows coming together. "Actually, I don't remember too much from last night. Got home from work, had some dinner…was conked out by ten."

Cisco snorted, shaking his head. "You really know how to live a rock and roll life, Caitlin." She shoved him on the arm and he smiled at her. Feeling his cheeks turn red, he turned to face his computer screen, hoping she'd do the same. It was starting to get out of hand now, how much he looked forward to seeing her. How a touch on the arm would make his skin burn for hours on end.

They were friends. He knew that. But lately….it was hard to see her as _just_ a friend. Their relationship— _friendship_ he quickly reminded himself—had always been good from the beginning. Caitlin was the first one to be friendly to him once Harrison Wells hired him to be part of STAR Labs. She gave him the tour around the facility and warned him about things to stay away from and how to get along with some of the other workers. (Though Hartley Rathaway was always going to be a pain in the ass).

And now over the last three years they'd grown to be like family. But what did you do when you started to feel something different after that? _I should probably talk to Barry,_ Cisco thought. He looked up as there was a _bamf_ sound and Cadence appeared in front of them.

"Hey guys," she greeted with a wave.

"Hey." Caitlin look at her watch. "Lunch break already?"

"Yeah, I've only got about a half hour," Cadence said. She grabbed an empty chair and pulled it over to join them at the computer desk, taking the bag Cisco offered to her. "I thought I'd come by to see if I've missed anything? The meta app has been pretty silent."

"Nothing over here," Cisco said, typing a few keystrokes on his computer. A map of Central City opened to track movement within the city. Caitlin glanced over then picked up her phone to check it. "Looks to me like nothing's been going on in Central City."

"Cool," Cadence said. "A free day." As if on cue, the three reached out and knocked on the counter of the computer desk at the same time then laughed.

"By the way, Harrison and Tess are on their way back from the Metahuman conference," Caitlin said. Cadence nodded in response to acknowledge she heard her while Cisco added, "At least _someone_ is acknowledging metahumans."

"And as anything but threats to the city," Cadence agreed. She frowned, checking her phone and seeing that she didn't have any messages. "When'd they call?"

"I was on the phone with them before the bank called. They were checking in to see what's going on here. Nothing with the Assassination Bureau so far. No signs of White Hot, Breathtaker, Mindboggler, Incognito, or Stratos today. Not that that's a good thing, it could mean anything."

Cadence nodded in agreement. "After what happened yesterday…with that vision…" She shook her head. "They may already be planning something. Other than trying to drive me completely crazy."

"You haven't had anything before then?"

"No. Nothing. White Hot would pop up every now and then to bring me messages and we'd fight. But that was it. It wasn't until then that I got a vision. If it wasn't that I knew Mindboggler' tactics, I probably would've thought I was just hallucinating." Then her eyes narrowed and she turned her attention back to Caitlin, suddenly asking, "The bank called _again?"_

Cisco laughed at the abrupt change of subject. "Apparently whomever is stealing her identity has a fixation on leather," Cisco said. He hid a smile as a wide smirk slid onto Cadence's face.

"Well, well, I always thought there was some sort of a dominatrix inside picture perfect Caitlin Snow," She teased. Caitlin balled up a napkin and tossed it to Cadence, who caught it and immediately reduced it to ash. "Geez, Cait, it's like you can't take a joke. I'd hate to see what happens when you _really_ let loose." She and Cisco broke out into laughter again and were so preoccupied with teasing Caitlin that they didn't notice Barry arrived until he sucked in a sharp gasp of air.

"Barry!" Caitlin said in surprise. She looked at her watch. "You made it back in record time." She, Cadence, and Cisco got up from their seats and went to greet him. "How was the convention?"

Barry's face screwed up in confusion. "Convention?" He repeated, but allowed the hug she gave him.

"After a few days with all of that knowledge being put in my head, I think I'd be a little delirious, too," Cadence teased. She threw her arms around Barry's neck and gave him a kiss. "Hi," she said.

"Hi," Barry said quietly.

"I missed you," Cadence said. "Well, as much as I could." She shrugged and tossed a smile over her shoulder. "I guess I'll have to share the limelight with the citizen of Central City again. It was fun while it lasted."

"Hey man." Cisco reached out and slapped his hand into Barry's. The moment their palms touched, everything took on a blue-gray tone and Cisco felt himself vibing. A gasp escaped his lips as everything came to him at once, swirling around until he came to a stop in…was that STAR Labs?

"Trippy," Cisco muttered. He was in STAR Labs _in_ STAR Labs. But, this other STAR Labs looked a little different. The decorations were different, holding gold and green colors rather than the silver and gray that had been a STAR Labs staple since Harrison—Eobard—created it. No, this was different, it looked…like what he would do if he were ever given the chance to decorate their technological space.

"Is there a better way to get to work than a helicopter?"

Cisco's eyes widened and he turned around, hearing his own voice. He gaped, watching a well put together version of himself walk into the Cortex of this other STAR Labs, a tall, leggy blond hanging off his arm. His hair was pulled back into a ponytail, a sleek as the rest of his suit, and a pair of glasses perched on his nose.

The woman who stood beside him shook her head and giggled as Cisco agreed. _"No! There's no other way to go to work than a helicopter. You'll never want to take any poorer transportation again."_ That Cisco turned and the real Cisco followed his gaze to see Barry and Wally walked into the Cortex. The other Cisco's nose wrinkled as irritation crossed his face. _"I told you never to come back here."_ He pointed at Wally. _"I make you a suit so your clothes don't explode and you leave me out of everything. That was our deal! Deal?"_

 _"But we need your help,"_ Wally pleaded. He took a step forward and motioned to Barry, who stood beside him, staring at Cisco in surprise. _"You've seen the Rival on TV, God knows what he's going to do next. We have to stop him."_

 _"Then stop him."_ Cisco waved his hand. _"You know what happens if you mess with a speedster? A vibrating hand through the ribcage."_ He tapped his chest. _"That's what happens, okay? No!"_

 _"Cisco, you're not going to help us?"_ Barry finally asked.

Cisco looked him up and down, upper lip curling. _"Who the hell is this?"_

 _"Cisco—"_

 _"—uh-uh—"_

Barry rolled his eyes. _"—Mr. Ramon, you want to do this. You care about helping other people. I heard a story about you when you were fifteen and your brother Dante owed a bookie, you gave him all of the money you earned delivering pizzas to help him."_

 _"How did you know that?"_

As quickly as he started to vibe, Cisco was brought out of it. He gasped and dropped his hand from Barry's and looked his best friend in the eye. Barry looked back at him, eyebrows furrowing together before his eyes widened in recognition. He realized Cisco had vibed him and saw everything.

But what was it he had seen exactly? A life where Cisco was clearly very wealthy and…Wally was The Flash? "What the fuck…" Cisco whispered.

"Cisco," Barry said.

Caitlin and Cadence exchanged glances. Before anyone could ask what was going on, an alarm went off and Caitlin hurried back to the computers to read it. "We've got a thief," she explained. "Has already targeted a bank and a few jewelry stores."

"I got it," Barry said quickly when Cadence moved to go.

"Are you sure?" She asked. "You just got back, you don't want to rest a little bit?"

"Trust me, I've rested enough," Barry said. He looked at Cisco before turning and racing into his suit and out to the field. Cisco walked over to Barry's mannequin and looked it over. He started at it for a long moment then pressed his hand against the mannequin and vibed everything that had happened in Flashpoint.

Every. Last. Thing.

Cisco lowered his hand from the mannequin just as Barry came sliding back into the room with a bright smile on his face. As if he was happy to be able to stretch his legs again. _Not like he hadn't had time to do that when he was out in Flashpoint,_ Cisco thought. _Being able to run that far and do whatever he felt like while ruining the rest of our lives._

It took only a minute for Barry to come back, his foot sliding across the ground. He stood up straight and tossed a couple of bolts into his palm. "Looks like this guy is going to be in for a nasty shock when he tries to ride again."

"Well, he's not going to be the only one," Cisco said, voice dripping with ice. He folded his arms and stared hard at Barry. "Right, Bare?"

"Okay, what's going on?" Caitlin asked.

Barry waved his hand. "Nothing." He quickly took in a breath, his eyes flickering to Cisco's and he changed the subject to a lighter conversation topic. Cisco could hear the nervous quiver in his voice. "But what kind of idiot thinks that I can't outrun bullets? They should know by now there's not much that I can't outrun. Now, what should we call him? The crook?" Barry asked. He looked around the room as they made a face. "Lame, huh? Okay, how about—"

"How about thief?" Cisco interrupted. His eyes narrowed. "He robs stuff, he's a thief." A sarcastic chuckle escaped his lips and he pointed at Barry. "But you'd know a lot about that, wouldn't you?"

Barry took a breath through his nose. "Cisco, not now."

"When would be a good time for you, then, Barry?"

"Okay!" Cadence stepped between Barry and Cisco and looked back and forth between the two of them. "What is going on? The second Barry got back, you want to rip his head off. I know you have a bromance that's big enough to threaten my relationship with Barry, but I didn't think you were that mad he went to the convention without you."

Cisco snorted. It had nothing to do with the convention. He opened his mouth to reply when another alarm went off. He sighed in exasperation and turned to Caitlin, who was still standing at the computers. Funny how they were just saying nothing was going on.

"Guys," Caitlin said, her eyes wide as she lifted her head. "A breach is opening."

* * *

Barry and Cadence grabbed Caitlin and Cisco and hurried them down to the basement of STAR Labs. Once they arrived, Cisco went to a nearby cabinet and pulled out an assault rifle, pointing it directly at the swirling blue vortex that slowly opened.

Barry exchanged a glance with Cadence before turning back to the vortex. Cadence ignited flames up and down her arms, falling into a fighting stance as she waited. She held her breath. Anyone could be coming through the breach at that moment. Burnout. Killer Frost. Other Earth-2 doppelgangers. Zoom. But Zoom had been defeated hadn't he? They'd seen it with their own two eyes.

 _Speedsters can come back from a lot of things,_ Cadence reminded herself. _Don't let your guard down._ She clenched her hands into fists, steeling her muscles. Finally, she could see a dark shape start to move through the breach before landing on the ground in front of her. She immediately relaxed when Harry took a few steps to keep his balance.

Harry Wells sucked in a deep breath and held up his hands, noticing Cisco's gun. "I come in peace," he said sarcastically.

"Man." Cisco lowered his gun, but just barely. "It's only Harry."

"Allen," Harry said.

"Wells," Barry said back.

A smile started to form on Harry's face. "I need your help."

"With?" Cadence asked. The word barely escaped her lips before she was smacked with a harsh gust of wind that shot out from the breach. Her hair and clothes were whipped by the wind a streak of golden lightning circled them. When it stopped, Jesse grinned at the group. "Jesse." She walked forward and gave her a hug.

"Hey!" Jesse hugged her back then turned to the others, lifting her hand to wave to them. They didn't wave back. As a matter of fact, they were all stunned. "How's it going?"

"You're a speedster?" Caitlin asked eyes and mouth open as wide as the rest of Team Flash.

"Yeah." Jesse's grin was unflappable as she rested her hands on her hips. She tucked her hair behind her ears and waited for someone to say something. "it's pretty cool right?" She prompted.

It took Barry a lot longer than the others to recover. He repeatedly opened and closed his mouth, trying to figure out what to say. Finally, he stuttered, "H-h-how-how did this happen? Wh-when? W=what?" Barry asked. He rubbed his hands over his forehead.

"A couple of days," Harry explained. Barry let out a quiet 'oh my god' in response. "I guess when Barry got his speed back, when Wally and Jesse were hit with that wave of energy, it was a wave of dark matter. And she was affected. Totally affected. I want to run some tests and see how much."

"We could always use the Speed Lab," Caitlin suggested, recovering from her surprise. Cisco folded his arms and nodded quietly.

"The Speed Lab?" Harry and Barry repeated in unison.

Cadence lifted an eyebrow to answer her boyfriend. "Yes, Barry, the Speed Lab. The very same Speed Lab you run in every time you're trying to push yourself to go faster. It's like your second home." He smiled and nodded, but it didn't reach his eyes. "So, you're another Speedster, huh?" She asked and Jesse nodded again.

"We could use another speedster," Caitlin said. "Considering we have the Assassination Bureau to deal with."

"The Assassination Bureau?" Barry blurted. He looked at Cadence who looked back at him in exasperation. "They're back?"

"Yes! Barry, they've been out of the pipeline for months now. It's not a secret." She grabbed his arms. "What's the matter with you? You ran to the convention, otherwise I'd say you were experiencing jet lag or something."

"I don't know," Barry said slowly. He rubbed his temple. "It just…feels like everything's leaking together in my brain. It's hard to keep everything straight." He shook his head. "I guess I'm a little more tired than I thought."

"So, are you going to help me or what?" Harry demanded.

Cadence looked at her watch and shook her head. "I can't, I have to get to the hospital to meet with a client."

Jesse made a face. "I didn't think the dead really liked to talk back to those that were cutting them open."

Cadence laughed. "That's not my job anymore. All of the people I work with now are much more lively." She thought for a moment. "Do you want to come?"

"What about the tests?" Caitlin asked.

"I'm a speedster, it won't take long for me to get back and do any tests," Jesse pointed out. She stood next to Cadence and rested her hand on her shoulder. "And maybe this can be a bit of some sister bonding time that we didn't get to do the last time we were here."

"No," Harry said shortly.

"Hey, you know if anyone, I can protect her," Cadence reassured him. "And considering she only got her powers a few days ago, she may have trouble keeping up her speed. If we need to get somewhere fast, I can teleport. After our shifts are done," she nodded to Barry, "we can do the tests. In the meantime, just make sure that Central City is clear."

"You got it," Cisco agreed with a thumbs up. He turned and walked by Barry, hitting him with his shoulder, before leaving the basement.

"I'll go see what's up," Caitlin said. She smiled to Harry and Jesse. "It's nice to see you guys again." With that, she hurried after Cisco. Harry rolled his eyes and gave Jesse a look, who returned it and followed them out.

Cadence tapped Barry on the chest with her finger. "Hey, space cadet," she said, getting his attention. He blinked and looked down at her. "Is everything okay?"

"Everything's fine," he said.

"Promise?"

"Promise." He licked his lips. "I'm just tired and, you know, thinking about all the work I need to do tomorrow. I'm sure Captain Singh is going to have a lot to say."

"Well, he signed off on letting you go, so there's not much he _can_ say, really," she reminded him. "And I think he's a little more concerned that you get your suit on time."

"My suit?" Barry repeated.

"All the groomsmen have to wear one." She tilted her head and smiled a little. "What are you doing later today?"

He shrugged and looked around the basement. Folded his arms, rocked back and forth on his heels. "Nothing," he said slowly. "Right? I'm doing nothing. I think. Yeah. Nothing. Why?"

"Because I still plan on taking you out, I want to hear everything about the convention." She reached up and ruffled his hair. "Maybe it'll ease some of that load you're carrying. I'll see you later, okay?" Barry nodded and she smiled and gave him another kiss before stepping around him. She motioned for Jesse to follow her.

"Is Barry always like that?" She asked.

"On a good day," Cadence joked back. She held out her hand towards Jesse. "Come on." Jesse took it and Cadence teleported the two to the hospital. She walked the two up the sidewalk that stretched around the front. "So you got your powers a few days ago?"

"Yeah, it was wild." Jesse shoved her hands into her pockets and shortened her stride to fall in step with Cadence. "One minute I was brushing my teeth, the next I went through my morning routine and my chores at warp speed. I may have run into the walls on more than one occasion, dad wasn't too happy about that. But it's so cool."

"Well, once we see where you are in the Speed Lab, I'm sure Barry can give you some pointers on how to keep control of your powers." Cadence waited for the double doors of the hospital to slide open before going inside. She went straight to the elevator and pressed her thumb into the call button. "Dealing with new powers can be pretty difficult, especially depending on your emotional state around them."

"Who's emotional? I'm excited! Just seeing what Barry was able to do was amazing. Really inspiring." They stepped onto the elevator and waited to be taken to their floor. "I wanted to be able to help people, too."

Cadence couldn't help the proud smile that came to her face. "Yeah, Barry seems to have that effect on people."

"And now that I have these powers and there's no Flash on my Earth, maybe I can be that Flash," Jesse continued, her eyes shining with excitement. "I'll be able to keep everyone there safe, help rebuild, bring hope back to the city. Zoom's gone, but things aren't the same as they used to be."

"I'm sure you'll be a great help for Earth-2, but you have to crawl before you walk and you have to walk before you—"

"—Run?" Jesse broke in.

Cadence smiled. The elevator doors opened and the girls went out onto their floor. The second they did so, Cadence sensed something was wrong. Something sinister was around. She knew it was coming, it was the primal sign of danger that everyone got. Whether or not one listened to the feeling made for the fight, flight, or freeze response. And, unfortunately for whomever was causing her discomfort, Cadence was a fighter.

Her eyes swept back and forth over the faces of the doctors and nurses that passed her. Then, as she approached the receptionist's desk, she spotted John James, the biggest thorn in her side. When he saw her approach, he stopped pacing and demanded, "What are you doing here?"

"I was called here," Cadence said calmly. She reached to her hip and produced her badge. "Or did you forget that I was specifically assigned to this case?"

John glared at her, red, watery eyes narrowed so tightly she wondered how he was able to see. As she watched, he lightly swayed on the spot, mentally confirming Cadence's suspicion that he was drunk. "This isn't a case! This is my daughter!"

Cadence felt her temper flare. And at that exact moment, a stack of papers sitting on the receptionist's desk down the hall burst into flames. She shrieked and moved to smother the flames as quickly as possible. "Your daughter, if I have my way, will be far away from you." She put her badge back on her hip. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I have a few questions I need to ask her." She took a step forward but John continued to stand in front of her. Cadence tilted her head back and stared hard at him. "Get the fuck out of my way." Her voice took on a low, dangerous tone. _"Now."_

Cadence wouldn't be scared away from the height and weight John clearly had over her. She'd faced too many metahumans for her to be intimidated by a . Then, finally, John stepped out of the way so Cadence could walk by. She went into the hospital room, pushing the door open with a flattened palm.

A friendly smile came to Cadence's face. "Hey Frankie," Cadence greeted as she walked into the hospital room. Frankie Kane looked up through her bangs, pulling her jacket back over her arms. She fiddled with the gloves that rested over her hands. "Long time no see, huh?" Frankie shrugged and her eyes shifted over to Jesse. "This is my friend, Jesse. Jesse, this is Frankie Kane."

"Hi," Frankie said with a wave. Then she brought her hands back to her lap, playing with her fingers. "Um. How are you?"

Cadence continued to smile. "As fine as can be, considering the run in I just had with your father—"

"—Foster father," she interrupted then bit her lower lip, lowering her gaze.

Cadence made a sound of agreement. Then she tilted her head to the side, getting another angle of Frankie's face. Of the bruise that seemed to take over the entire right side. No wonder she had been called back in. How many times had she met up with Frankie over the years? Enough so that her suspicions of abuse not being listened to was really starting to piss her off. But there was only so much that could be done when Frankie wouldn't cooperate.

"Right, right. So, what'd he do this time?" Cadence asked, folding her arms. "Throw you down the stairs? Push you into a wall?"

"No." Frankie shook her head.

"Knock you down?"

"No."

"Kick you?"

"No!" Frankie lifted her head and stared, eyes wide at Cadence. "No, he…he hasn't done anything. I'm just a bit of a klutz."

Cadence backed down a little. At least she had her answer. Every time Frankie would deny anything was wrong, her eyes would flicker over towards the door as if expecting her father to barge right in. "I understand that. Part of the reason I got into gymnastics and cheerleading was because I kept falling over all the time."

"Really?" Frankie continued to play with her fingers.

"Really?" Jesse repeated with a laugh.

"Yep." Cadence nodded. "I couldn't go anywhere or do anything without tripping, falling, or hurting myself in some way. So I did those to get a better sense of balance. Not to mention I loved it since first saw it." Frankie smiled at her. "What about you? Are you into anything? Any sports?"

"Not so many sports, I guess," Frankie said. "Field hockey, maybe. But…I really like to draw."

"Can't hurt yourself drawing, can you?"

"No. Not really. Not except the stray paper cut. Those always hurt."

"You're right." Cadence's smile faded. "But it can't hurt as much as a punch to the face." Frankie's smile faded. "I've had a few of those myself. I'd recognize the swelling and bruise pattern anywhere." Frankie ducked her head. "Frankie…" Cadence rested her hands on the end of the examining table and leaned towards the young teen. She waited until Frankie lifted her chin and looked her in the eye. Tears brimmed her lashes and her breath shook. "I can't help you if you don't tell me what's going on. And I really want to help you."

Frankie looked back at Cadence and for a long moment it was like she zoned out, was anywhere but in the moment.

"Frankie?" Jesse asked after a minute.

She continued to stare.

Cadence frowned. "Frankie?" She repeated.

Frankie blinked and her eyes came back into focus. She pulled her sleeves down to meet the ends of her gloves. "Nothing's going on," she said in a low murmur. "I'm fine. Can I go now?"

Cadence nodded and backed away so Frankie had some space. She jumped down from the examining table and left the hospital room, immediately swept up by her father.

 _Foster father,_ Cadence corrected herself.

* * *

Brady closed his locker door and backed away, keeping his head ducked low so not to stand up too quickly. He'd already had one too many run-ins with the corner of an open locker door with the back of his head. Though it was a good excuse if he ever wanted to go to the nurse to get out of class. Middle School was already so different than elementary school was.

They were still expected to ask if they could go to the bathroom but now they were also expected to do multiple hours of homework a night. Not to mention the exams they'd be taking at the end of the semester. And his classes were in so many different rooms he could never remember what his schedule was telling him. Thankfully, he wasn't the only one having the same troubles. But at least there were enough students around so that following a crowd to figure out where they were going was easy.

"All clear," Brady said, shifting his backpack up his shoulder.

Conner nodded and closed his locker with a quick slap of his palm. "How many more times do you think you'll hit your head?"

"Enough so that I'd willingly use my powers to keep it from happening." Brady rubbed at the spot on the back of his head, feeling a flash of pain despite having been clear. "Mom said if she has to heal me one more time she may as well staple my head back together."

Conner laughed. "Can she do that?"

"She learned some surgery stuff when in school, but I don't think I'd trust her with a stapler." Brady blew his hair from his face and changed the subject. He lowered his voice, looking around for a moment. "Did we get anything else?"

"Oh, right." Conner dug around in his pocket and pulled out his phone. He turned the screen towards Brady and pulled up their private Instagram page. At the bottom, Brady could see a few more accounts had requested for permission to follow the account. Then his eyes flickered to the number of messages they had. "Yeah, we've got a few more."

Brady nodded and watched as Conner shifted through the messages to find those that had videos attached. Videos of kids their age showing off the powers they had, some explaining how they had to hide theirs while others explaining they decided not to hide it. He nodded, watching all of the messages before motioning for Conner to put the phone away.

"So that's more people I can tell the others about," Brady said, continuing to grip the straps of his backpack. "There's more in Central City than I thought."

"Well, the dark matter wave did get pretty far," Conner said. He folded his arms and leaned back against their lockers. "There's so many people that were probably more affected than we thought. And others who weren't affected at all." He tapped his chest. "I'm not."

"Maybe not affected, but afflicted," Brady teased.

Conner smiled. "Vocab word?"

Brady rolled his eyes. "I had them drilled into my head all summer so I'd be caught up when we got back. Around all of the camps and hanging out with mom, and the places that MaMaw took me and then hanging out with Dad…" his nose wrinkled. "I'm surprised I'm still standing."

"Must be that whole metahuman body thing," Conner suggested. "That really could come in handy. Or even Barry's speed."

"Yeah, that way you can get back and forth from—" Brady cut himself off, chewing his bottom lip. Then he twisted his mouth to the side before scratching the side of his head. "There's probably something we can do."

Conner shook his head. "No, I already tried."

"Maybe you didn't try hard enough."

"What else would _you_ do?"

"Probably hope that my powers of blending in would actually turn my invisible. They can't see me, can't find me."

Conner smiled a little. "Speaking of Barry, did he get back yet?"

"Not yet. But he should be back today." Brady started to smile again. "You know he gets about science and everything. If he could marry it, he probably would." The two laughed and Brady looked over his shoulder when he noticed Conner's gaze shift to the side. "Do you want me to leave?" He asked, seeing Leah push her way through the crowd of leaving students towards them.

"Ha ha." Conner straightened himself when Leah walked over, dragging Alicia by her elbow as she went. "Hey," he greeted the two. "What's going on?"

"Did you get a lot of homework, too?" Brady asked.

Leah rolled her eyes. "School's only just started up again and I'm already bogged down with homework. And my mom and dad say I have to keep up with an 'A' average."

"That strict?" Conner's eyebrows rose in surprise when Leah nodded saying, "You have no idea." Then she glanced at Alicia and didn't say anything else. Brady quickly understood what that meant. It had to do with how they didn't like that she was a metahuman and were doing everything they could to keep her from using her powers. It was the same story she'd given all summer when she couldn't stay out too long or had to do extra chores and everything under their parents' watchful eye.

"Talk about strict, my mom and dad freak out if I'm not back before the street lights come on," Alicia agreed.

"Wouldn't want a metahuman to kidnap you, right?" Brady asked.

Alicia shrugged "That's what my dad says. There's always a risk when metahumans are around."

Brady's eyes flickered over her, trying to keep his frustration from showing. "And I bet you agree with that, right?"

She shook her head. "No, not really. There are some dangerous ones, but not all of them. Not the Flash or Flare or Shadowhunter or some of the other ones." She shrugged. "But dad always likes to get his way so mom and I just go along with it. He was really upset when his Registration thing didn't work out."

"But he still made the city curfew," Conner pointed out.

"Just to make sure people are safe."

"If that's what makes him feel better," Brady said. Conner gave him a look and Brady held his hands up defensively. He knew he was being rude but all the same he couldn't think of how easily Alicia had changed her tune about metahumans. At first, she did nothing but mimic her father's words about how metahumans were nothing but dangerous for Central City and that they should all be eradicated. That was something that tended to be deep seated within those who already had their opinions and weren't easily swayed. "I'm just saying."

"Well, I have to get home," Leah said. "My mom's taking me to my dance class. Even though it's not too far from here." She rolled her eyes before hitching her bag up over her shoulder. "She insists she takes me everywhere."

"Too bad you can't fly," Brady remarked.

"I know." Leah gently tapped Alicia on the arm. "See you tomorrow. Bye guys."

Brady, Conner, and Alicia waved after her. Hugging her books to her chest, Alicia asked the boys. "What about you? Do you have soccer practice today?"

"Not today, it was cancelled for rain," Brady said.

"And I'm not really playing soccer anymore," Conner agreed, voice turning low, almost wistful. Brady's shoulders slumped and he looked away from his best friend, suddenly feeling very annoyed. He bid goodbye to his friends, promising that he'd get online to play a video game with Conner later, then joined the streaming pile of kids that were leaving the school.

Quickly looking both ways, Brady phased himself through a few that were in his way before hurrying down the rest of the steps and onto the sidewalk below. He made it a few steps before realizing he recognized the person walking his way, hands on his head, muttering to himself. Brady smiled and hurried up to him.

"Barry!" He called.

Barry looked up and gave a visible smile of relief when he saw the young boy. Brady increased his speed towards his friend. "Whoa!" Barry grabbed him and squeezed him in a tight hug. "Ow! Uh, Barry?" His cheek squished against Barry's chest before Barry grabbed his shoulders and knelt down to look him in the eye.

"You're the same Brady right?" He asked. "Nothing's different? Nothing's changed?"

"Barry, are you okay?" Brady stared as Barry started to shake his shoulders and continued to repeat eth same questions as before. "No! Barry, nothing's changed."

Barry nodded and raised himself to his feet. Then he stopped an did a double take as he looked over Brady. "Did you get taller?"

"Barry, what's going on? You're acting even weirder than usual." Brady shoved his hands into the front pocket of his sweatshirt. "Did you _really_ go to a science convention or did you run so much that your brain bounced around?"

Barry shook his head. He ran a hand over his face and through his hair. He paced back and forth for a few moments before he turned and clasped his hands together. "I made a mistake," he blurted. Brady's head jerked back in surprise. "With everything that's happened with Zoom and…and my dad dying, and my mom…I couldn't take it."

"I thought you were doing okay," Brady said slowly.

Barry stared at him. "Were _you_ when your grandfather died?"

Brady frowned. He did the best he could. He did more chores around the house and took more responsibility because his mom was clearly hurting so badly. But he still felt himself getting stuck in moments of sadness as well. He loved his grandparents and when his grandfather died, he tried hard not to let it get to him. But there were times where the tears would come before he could stop them and they'd drip down his cheeks and soak the books he was reading. But to lose a parent? He couldn't imagine that. The thought of losing his mom in a meta-fight gave him a healthy dose of fear from time to time. And for years he hadn't known who his father was, but now…

"I just couldn't take it anymore, you know," Barry started up once more. Brady watched him pace back and forth as he spoke, knowing he was talking to himself, trying to get everything out more than talking to Brady. He spoke faster and faster, words moving at warp speed, making it harder for Brady to keep up as the seconds passed. "Knowing that I couldn't save either of them when I had the chance. I mean, I had the chance. When I went back in time the first time, I mean, the second. I saw my mom. I had the chance to save my mom but I decided not to, I couldn't do it. Too much could've happened, I wouldn't…"

He swallowed hard and kept going. "I couldn't take the pain anymore. I was tired of having to put on a brave face, to pretend to be happy all the time when inside I was dying. I had to change things. I wanted a new life. I wanted to start over. So, that's what I did. But somehow, I made things worse. I reset everything and put it back to the way things were before but nothing is the same not everything is the same. I really screwed up, and I don't know if I can fix it."

Barry finally stopped talking and Brady placed a hand on the side of his head. His head was spinning. He knew Barry could talk fast _and_ be a little neurotic, but this was something on an entire different level. He thought of everything Barry told him and quickly zeroed in on one thing. "So you ran back in time, stopped the Reverse-Flash from killing your mom?" He asked.

"Mhm." Barry nodded.

"And you…lived with your mom and dad over there, came back here, and noticed that things were different?" Brady continued.

"Yeah, exactly."

Brady's eyes shifted back and forth. What could have possible changed? As far as he knew, everything was the same it always had been. He still had his powers, his family dynamic was the same, and Black Blade was much of a pain in the ass as he'd always been to him. Just like White Hot and the Assassination Bureau being a pain the ass for his mom. Still, Barry didn't look like he was lying about what happened. "Like what?" He finally asked.

"Everything!" Barry blurted. He started to pace again. "I knew some things were weird. But before I could figure out how much, I had to deal with—"

"—That guy on the motorcycle," Brady said, remembering the whispers from the bus ride to school that morning. Everyone had been glued to their phones, trying to track the thief that had been on a spree robbing banks and jewelry stores. They craned their necks to look out the windows, trying to catch sight of the Flash anywhere.

"That guy on the motorcycle," Barry agreed. "I went back to STAR Labs and that's when I realized that a lot had changed. Cisco was pissed at me, and I couldn't figure out why and…" he took a deep breath. "Brady, I made a mistake."

"You can say that again." Barry and Brady turned around to find Jay Garrick—the _real_ Jay Garrick—standing behind them with a stern expression that only a father could muster when he was disappointed. "We need to talk."

* * *

 **A/N:** So, this last part of Flashpoint was done differently on purpose but you'll see what Barry went through to get back in another part. I hope the change doesn't throw you off too much, you already know I like to change things to make them flow a bit differently. Not to mention it keeps the pacing up a bit. We've got fights coming in with the next chapter.

Please remember to review; any feedback helps me become a better writer and motivates me to write more. I respond to every review, even anonymous ones.

 **Cheers,**

 **-Riley**

 **Review Replies**

 **Josephguy217:** Thank you, thank you, thank you. That's always nice to hear.

 **DarkHelm145:** You're very welcome for the shoutout. It's a fun story. And I'm glad things are making more sense now that it's happening all at the same time.

 **Ethan:** The reason that Ryder explained in the last chapter. If there are people that have been following their medical progress, suddenly being healed would be too much of a change that it'd cause too many people to look into it. Especially any doctors that may want to take a DNA sample or cells of some sort to re-create it. Nah, Cade would be happy to watch him play lacrosse, she doesn't get too squeamish about him being hurt.

 **Yummers:** Thank you! Here's the update.

 **Babyj:** Yes, there'll be more of White Hot and the Assassination Bureau explanations as the stories go on. And as you can see, I did something different with the rest of Flashpoint.

 **Guest:** Thanks! Glad you like the idea.

 **Spinquin142:** Yes, one of the things I hope to change is that it's not a complete word for word thing with the episodes like I'd done in some places before. I think it makes things stronger if I don't.


	4. Be Careful What You Wish For

**04**

 _Be Careful What You Wish For_

* * *

Barry leaned back and forth, glancing over his shoulder as the wait staff and other patrons of the Motorcar Diner walked by. He glanced at Jay Garrick's face as the older speedster clasped his hands together in front of him and stared back at Barry. Then Barry looked over at Brady, who was busy with his nose in a menu, not seeming to notice the tension around him.

Or maybe he did notice and Barry was just paranoid? Anyone would be, wouldn't they? To know his father had been murdered, plucked from a booth in that very diner from an evil speedster who then murdered him? Barry could still see the fear in his father's eye the moment Zoom grabbed onto him, could still feel the ice steel his body as everything slowed down around him. Zoom had stared back at him. There was a long, tense moment between the two before Zoom raced off and destroyed the rest of Barry's life.

And now here was his father's doppelganger, staring at him with a sense of calm determination that, rather than making Barry feel calm, made him feel even more anxious than ever before. If anyone recognized him and asked who he was…? It was hard enough knowing there were two Harrison Wells's around that had to keep up the story of their familial line, and hope they were never in the same room when someone they didn't know to explain it all.

 _And here I am with someone from another Earth,_ Barry thought.

"I understand that things are hard for you," Jay said gently, his unwavering from Barry. "But if you keep looking around like that, you'll get whiplash. Calm down. Everything's okay. Zoom's gone."

 _We don't know that for sure,_ Barry thought. But Jay had to be right. There hadn't been any sign of Zoom, Black Flash or not, anywhere. Not in Flashpoint, not even any of the short amount of time he'd been back on Earth-1. Now if only he could relax completely. But with everything that had changed…there was too much to not know it was his fault. Cisco hated him, the Assassination Bureau had gotten out of the pipeline, and there was Flashpoint. The cause of it all.

Barry curled his fingers into his fist. He should've known he shouldn't have gone back to save his mother. Knew he shouldn't have allowed his emotions to get built up to the point that he felt there was no other solution than to go back and save his parents from their untimely deaths. But he felt he had no choice but to do so. It hurt too much. Too damn much to ignore. There was no one to talk to about it, no one else he knew who had both of his parents murdered by people who absolutely hated him. And only wanted to hurt him emotionally and psychologically just because they hated him.

Hate was such an overpowering emotion.

And it was that pure hatred that had him go back in time an start Flashpoint.

And now he was going to be lectured? He could see it coming. How many times had his own father sat him down and stared at him like that when he was going to get a lecture? How many times had he sat with his head hanging as he listened to his father tell him everything he did wrong and that his actions had consequences?

"Are you going to get something to eat or…?" Jay's voice broke him out of his thoughts. Barry turned from the small napkin holder he had been staring at to sate at Jay. Jay's eyes shifted over Barry's the corner of his lips turning up. A spark of amusement shot through his eyes. "Do you plan on messing up the timeline again?"

At that, Brady looked away from the menu and over to Jay. Then to Barry and back to Jay. But he stayed silent, tapping the menu against the table top that Barry knew to be his nervous habit. Tapping his hands.

"You…" Barry started to say but found the words wouldn't escape him.

"I know about that, yeah." Jay lifted his intertwined hands and rested his chin atop them. Then he tilted hi head to the side. The amused expression in his eyes continued to strengthen as the seconds passed. "After your not-so-subtle reaction when you first met me, Harry told me about Zoom and your mom and your dad. So I thought I'd keep my eye on you."

All the saliva in Barry's mouth evaporated. He felt nothing. His entire body went numb. A buzzing rang in his ears, growing louder as the seconds passed. Someone else knew about what he did. Cisco vibed him, he knew about Flashpoint. And now Jay…who else would know? Would find out about his blunder? Who would hold it over his head considering all of the changes that had been made to their lives? What would they say once they found out? Not just about Flashpoint but of the lives he ripped away from them?

"Barry?" Brady gently kicked him under the table, making Barry jump.

Barry nodded in recognition of Brady's gesture. He brought up his hand and ran it over his mouth, pushing aside all wants to run out of there and get as far away as possible. "Wh…" He cleared his throat. "What else did he say?'

"That I'm your father's doppelganger." The words landed on Barry like a hard weight. He closed his eyes and looked away. It wasn't like he didn't know, but hearing it said out loud, in his father's voice, from the face that looked like his father's but _wasn't…_ "I'm sorry," Jay said honestly. "If it's any consolation, I'm really sad too. I can understand why you'd want to save your parent. I understand completely."

"Mom didn't do it," Brady pointed out, still tapping his menu against the table. He twisted his mouth tot he side. "Papaw wouldn't let her."

Jay nodded in agreement. "Yes, but if she had the ability to travel in time like Barry here, do you think she would?" Brady frowned as he thought about it. Jay turned his attention back to Barry. "Anyone would. But the problem is, there are consequences to time travel."

Barry continued to tightened his fists. He could feel his nails puncturing holes in his skin. "I've heard all of this before."

"Not from me, you haven't. I'm not some doctor with a theory, I'm a speedster like you, whose traveled through time and makes the same mistakes over and over again because he allows his emotions to control his actions."

"Look, I don't need—"

"Humor me," Jay said firmly, almost shouting. He pressed his lips together and looked around, noticing curious glances turning their way. Barry, finally, opened his eyes and looked at Jay. He had no choice. He had to listen to this or else…he wouldn't be able to justify himself. Be able to get out of his own way with the guilt that dragged along behind him like a shadow. "Listen to what I have to say and then we can figure out everything else. If, after this, you want me to leave you alone then I'll do that." Barry nodded. Jay picked up a coffee cup and held it in front of the boys. "You see this?"

Brady nodded.

"Think of it as the space-time continuum. Whenever you go back in time, it breaks." He vibrated his hand and broke off a piece of the cup. "Now, you can reset the timeline, you can try to fix it. But no matter how hard you try, it'll never go back to the way it was."

"Look," Barry said. He was tired of this now. How many times was he going to be lectured and had a disappointed finger shaken in his face whenever he made a tough decision. _No one else could make the same decisions,_ he thought. _Without the guilt. Without constantly questioning yourself. Why would I want them to live with that?_ ""I've learned all this stuff that I didn't know before, okay, I'm not going to make the same mistakes."

Even Brady rolled his eyes at that statement. Barry glared at him and Brady shrugged in reply. Jay unlaced his hands and pointed directly at Barry and said, without being able to hide the very slight amount of contempt that came to his tone, "Okay, right there is the paradox of time travel and life—"

Barry broke in. "—But I have these powers, if I can't go back and fix what I broke—"

"—We're not gods, we're men! Men who have been given extraordinary powers. But what you have to ask yourself is, what kind of hero do you want to be? Are you just going to do a do-over every time you make a mistake? Or are you going to live with them and move forward?" Jay pushed back his seat and dropped an 100 dollar bill on the table. "I know things are hard on you, Barry, and that you don't really want to listen to me right now. But I hope that you understand there's nothing that you can do to fix this. No matter what move you make next, it's going to have a ripple effect to the rest of your decisions. And once you make it, it is set in stone. I'm sorry, but not even a speedster can save everyone."

Jay nodded to the money he dropped. "Enjoy yourselves. I've always been of the opinion that you think better on a full stomach." He nodded to the two before leaving the diner. Barry nodded back and stayed silent. Even when the waitress came around to take their order, Barry just pointed to the menu instead of speaking to her.

" _We're not gods, we're men. Men who have been given extraordinary powers."_

Barry shook his head. _What's the point of having these powers when you can't do anything right?_

"What was it like?" Brady's voice broke into his thoughts. He looked over at the young boy, who had been surprisingly quiet throughout Jay's and Barry's conversation. When he was sure he had Barry's attention, Brady reiterated with, "Flashpoint. What was it like? You said things were different, things had changed. What changed? What's different?"

"Well…" Barry smiled a little. "Over there, you only two years old." Brady's eyebrows rose in surprise. "But you were just as happy and energetic as you are now. You didn't have your powers yet, or maybe at all. I don't know, I think you were a little too young to figure them out." Brady rested his arms on the table an leaned forward, listening closely. "Your mom still had her powers, she and Ryder were broken up. Caitlin was a pediatric opthamologist—"

"—A what?" Brady interrupted.

"And eye doctor," He quickly explained. "A children's eye doctor who specializes in eye diseases."

"Oh."

"Cisco was a billionare, he owned STAR Labs."

"He owned STAR Labs?"

"Only he named it Ramon Industries. Wally was the Flash and Iris was helping him and Joe…Joe was lost." Barry shook his head. "He didn't like to go to work, was drunk and hungover all the time. He didn't even really like me."

Brady tilted his head to the side. "Well, the Joe on Earth-2 didn't like you either. Because you lead Iris on, right? What'd you do to her in Flashpoint?" Barry glared at him and Brady's eyes widened. "Not that _you_ would've done anything. I just mean—"

"I know what you meant." Barry sighed. He leaned back as their food was brought to them. He looked at his plate of a corned beef sandwich and a side salad. It was his favorite thing to order there. He didn't have an appetite for it. He pushed his plate aside and watched as Brady immediately started in on his pizza. "Over there, Joe didn't like me because I was trying to help him so much. And I was acting like I knew him, but I _did_ know him. I knew the Joe that I knew here but he wasn't _that_ Joe, none of you guys over there were the people I know and love."

"But you stayed."

Barry nodded. "For a few months."

"Then why did you come back?" Now Brady was _really_ confused.

Barry could understand why. Why would anyone want to leave what amounted to being a picture-perfect life with both of his parents being alive well into his adulthood. There were enough people who took that for granted and didn't even know it. Barry shook his head.

"I started to forget," he admitted. "I was starting to forget about everything over here. In my head, it was like someone was emptying a bathtub. The moment the stopper was pulled loose, all of my memories would flush away. And the thought of that, losing everything I went with you was more than I could bare. Because the new people there, they weren't you. And…" Barry rubbed his stinging eyes, emotions starting to overwhelm him. "The Reverse-Flash was there, he was telling me how much destruction I was causing over here. I thought he was lying until my powers started to fade away. With Kid Flash there, I didn't have any powers, I wasn't the Flash. I couldn't help anyone. I couldn't…"

He trailed off. It was too much to go through. Too much to think about. He _hated_ how right the Reverse-Flash turned out t be. Hated how he had to admit that to himself. Hated that he ruined his own life by trying to do something he thought would fix it. It was then he noticed Brady twirling a fork between in his fingers, moving faster and faster as the seconds passed. At first, it looked like he was just spinning a drumstick, but then he noticed the way it moved back and forth. Repeatedly changing direction and speed within the micro-movements of his fingers.

Barry had seen that only one place before and with a bigger weapon that needed bot hands to control it. "Where'd you learn to do that?" He asked.

Brady looked at him as if he were crazy then nodded. Right. Things had changed for him. What was normal to Brady was abnormal to Barry. "Oliver taught me."

 _That's it,_ Barry thought. That's where he had seen it before. Oliver trained with his bow staff as much as he did with his hand to hand combat.

"Part of the time I was gone I was at soccer camp, then I was visiting Mamaw, then I was getting some training done with Oliver, then I went on my trip with Ryder," Brady explained.

"Wow, you must've been busy," Barry said.

"Yeah, but it was fun."

"I'm surprised Cade would let you go so long."

Brady's tone then turned sarcastic, bordering on hostile, making Barry blink in shock. "Yeah, my mom can really surprise you sometimes." He looked around for a minute then rounded his shoulders, leaning forward so that no one around them would notice what he was about to do. His face shifted from an expression of annoyance to excitement. "Actually, she taught me how to do this." He held up his hand and Barry watched as a ball of completely black energy hovered above his palm. Barry reached out to touch it, dragging his fingers along the top. A blue shock of static struck his fingertips and he quickly brought his hand back to shake them out. Then he tried again, this time able to press his fingers against the side.

It felt cool to the touch.

Barry remembered Cisco and Caitlin saying something about Brady's new abilities; flight and something else they couldn't quite figure out. That must've been it. Within Flashpoint Brady was completely without powers at two years old, but outside of Flashpoint he was much stronger. _Our training is going to be very different,_ Barry thought. _Especially with Jesse around, too._

"There's still a lot I have to work on." Brady closed his fist and the ball went away. "But I've been helping a lot." His eyebrows came together. "Barry, if you were in Flashpoint, then who was the Barry I was talking to here? The one who was at the science convention? What happened to him?"

"The same thing that happened to the Barry over there," Barry said slowly. "I took his place in the timeline and back here, a different Barry took mine." He bobbed his head back and forth. "That is, if the time traveling affected things here." He held up a hand. "It's a long, confusing story. I think I'd bore you with the details. All you need to know is that the Barry you saw here, may as well still be the Barry you knew."

"But _you're_ the Barry I knew," Brady said. He reached up and scratched his head. "Yeah, you're right. That's really confusing."

Barry smiled.

* * *

Cadence drummed her fingertips on the table top of Jitters while Jesse casually drank her coffee. The coffee of which Cadence insisted she didn't need considering the extra caffeine wouldn't do too much to make her go faster.

"You already run fast enough," Cadence said.

Jesse only smiled in reply and said, "You don't know how fast I can go."

"You're a speedster, I have an idea."

Then as soon as they sat down at Jitters Cadence fell into silence, not able to keep her mind clear. Every few minutes, her mind shifted from the Assassination Bureau to Frankie and back again. How could it not? It was only two of the many roles she had in her life and some of the most important. On one hand she had a teen she _knew_ was in some sort of trouble that she couldn't help, and on the other, she had a metahuman who knew more about her than she knew of them. Either way, she was stuck in a corner and it was starting to eat away at her.

Other cases, she was able to go in and help, to fix things within a few trips to meet with the family. But for this…John was getting away with more than he should and Frankie was continually putting herself in danger the longer she was there. Yet, she knew how it felt. When you were trapped in a situation, it was hard to find a way to get out of it.

"Hey, you said before you were looking for a steady job, right?" Leah Wasserman had asked her, long before Cadence knew to refer to her as Mindboggler. A codename festooned upon her within the first few days of her work with the Assassination Bureau. "I think I might have a job for you. Are you interested?"

And Cadence, who was only seventeen at the time, with a little baby to care on a waitress salary quickly jumped at the chance. "Yeah, I'm still interested." She flashed a charming smile, as if that would push her over the edge to be taken on. "What sort of job is it?"

Leah smiled a smile so peculiar that Cadence only recognized wat it was years later. "Oh, it's a delivery job. And it pays _very_ well."

She'd agreed to it. In hindsight, Cadence knew she was stuck as soon as she verbally agreed to do one delivery she was stuck under Breathtaker's control. No matter how many times she tried to get out of it, knew it was wrong, she rationalized with herself why she needed to stay. For the money to take care of Brady and herself. They didn't have an apartment and lived in shelters as often as they lived on the streets. Then once she had the money to properly care for themselves and could prove she could become emancipated…

Now here she was. Trapped like a rat as much as Frankie was in her abusive situation. The only bright spot was that neither Frankie nor her father were metas. _Maybe if she were I could handle this a lot easier,_ Cadence thought. She understood why Barry preferred to use his powers to get through some many mundane tasks and to aid in his police work. Being a meta didn't always help with her own job through CPS. Though there have been the few moments that an indication of torture came in handy. _There's a bright side to what Breathtaker taught me._

"Are you okay?" Jesse asked. Cadence looked at her but didn't response. "You just seem to be really quiet. And, I know I haven't known you very long but you don't seem to be the kind of person that's quiet." She peered at the fire metahuman. "Did I hear people say you were a cheerleader before?"

Cadence grinned. "Seems like that's always going to be my reputation."

"Well, your happiness—"

"—Yeah, I get that a lot."

Jesse smiled. "You know, I wanted to join the cheerleading squad at my school, but dad wouldn't let me." She shook her head. "I don't know if you've noticed, but he can be really overprotective. And I was already younger than a lot of the other girls because I skipped so many grades. I guess he was afraid that too many boys would be into me or something."

"You graduated high school when you were fifteen right?" Cadence asked. When Jesse nodded she said. "That makes sense then, I can understand that fear. You should've seen my dad when I was in high school and dating. Don't get me wrong, he loved Ryder. Loved him as much as he would if he were his own son, but he was always worried about what would happen."

"What'd he say when you told him you were pregnant?" Jesse asked.

Cadence's smile to turned to a sad one. "Nothing," she said. "When I told him, he just looked at me and went to his room. He didn't say anything to me for a few days. And after that it was just that he was…"

"Disappointed?"

"Yeah. But I didn't know until later it wasn't that he was disappointed in me, really, it was more that he was disappointed in the life I could've had." She waved her hand. "He also though time keeping my powers a secret was also protecting me but…hindsight is 20/20 and people only reveal themselves and their true intentions when the time is right."

Cadence frowned then, eyes shifting back and forth as she was suddenly struck with an epiphany. White Hot had been following her around for months now while the rest of the Assassination Bureau had been in hiding. She knew that tactic well. It meant Breathtaker was storing his energy. Making his lackeys do the work for him until he got to the point he felt he was strong enough. Just like when he had tried to take over Central City the first time.

Maybe he was trying to do it again?

 _Breathtaker took in the city from the rooftop of STAR Labs. Hands tucked tightly underneath his cloak, he watched as the city continued to hustle and bustle beneath him and his co-workers. Standing by his side, waiting for the chance to strike were Harley, Deadshot, and Stratos. Deadshot stood with one foot resting on the edge of the rooftop, smoking a cigarette. Every few seconds he would take the item from his mouth and let out a low breath, watching as the smoke slid through the air, disappearing into the calm atmosphere of the city._

 _Too bad that calm was going to be shattered. Lifting his hands high over his head, Breathtaker slowly breathed out and a large, green cloud started to spread out over the city in front of them. And as the four of them watched, those that fell under the cloud slowly stopped and turned towards him, under his trance. Breathtaker took in a deep breath and continued to let out a stream of green haze. It increased in size and stretched as far as he could see. More and more people turned and stared their way; others starting to come out of their shops, stuck under the trance as well._

 _"Oh look," Harley said with a light giggle. She twisted the massive piece of arsenal in her hands, almost stroking it lovingly. "The Central City Police are here." Resting the .50 caliber M2 machine gun down, she placed her hands on her hips, cocking her head to the side as she looked down at the police officers. "Ooh, that one's handsome!" She declared, pointing as Detective Eddie Thawne and Detective Joe West arrived on the scene, holding their arms up over their faces. It appeared to battle well against the fates of those around them. "When we're done here, give me some time with the blondie! I'll show him what the dark side is really like."_

 _The corner of Stratos's lips curled up as he watched the city below. "I thought you and Joker were in on something."_

 _Harley paused for a moment then gasped loudly, bringing her hand up to her mouth. "Oh! You're right! I hope my puddin' doesn't hear about this." Then a crazed smile came to her face and she picked p the machine gun once more, aiming it down on the city. "Oh well! The Black Widow always has to lure in her pray!"_

 _Deadshot grinned over at her before stepping up to the scope on his sniper, angling it below. "That's what I'm talking about," he murmured. He pressed his un-patched eye to the scope and waited for the signal._

 _"Citizens of Central City!" Breathtaker shouted, his voice echoing over the area below him. "The time has come to show you of our existence. To show you that humans and metahumans alike have been living together in Central City since the explosion of the Particle Accelerator. The explosion that has decimated so many lives of those in STAR Labs and of the surrounding city, of those that died in the surrounding explosion of energy, those that were injured, disfigured, whose lives shall never be the same. And it's all thanks to one Harrison Wells."_

 _He waited for a moment, watching as he entrapped the attention of everyone around him. A low murmur moved through the crowd at his feet. He was sure that his face—or lack thereof—was already being broadcasted amongst the televisions and radio waves through Central City. Everything was going according to plan so far._

 _"And it is because of Dr. Harrison Wells that your city is doomed. Doomed to fall beneath our rule, beneath the metahumans. So far we've taken down your mayor, and have captured who you so lovingly call The Streak. There is no one to save you and it is all the fault of the man that owns and operates STAR Labs. He's the one that's done this to you and shall be the one to blame when you are all massacred. Because none of you can stop us metahumans, your precious police department is no match to the powers and abilities we all have. But there is one way to stop it, the capture and death of the one that has done this to you. And until you bring him to me, you will all die, one by one._

 _"I want to make this city a place where the metahumans can live together in harmony; it was the man that foolishly believed us needing to be taken away that has caused all of this to happen!" Breathtaker lifted his hands into the air. "Go! Find him!"_

 _He turned to Stratos, Harley, and Deadshot and nodded firmly, taking a step back from the edge of the roof. He watched as the green mist came back towards him and closed his eyes, tilting his head back. As the haze washed over him, he felt himself growing stronger by the second. Those stupid humans, no matter what they weren't going to stop him and his Assassination Bureau. Not when he was able to steal their energy as they were working for him._

 _Central City was going to be theirs._

 _It was time._

That was it. Jesse seemed to notice the expression on Cadence's face because she leaned back in her sat, as if afraid she was about to be struck. "What?" She asked. "What's wrong?" Cadence opened her mouth but no sound came out. "Cadence, are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," Cadence replied. "I just need to get to CCPN. Right now."

Jesse's eyes widened in surprise. She looked around for a moment before gesturing towards the trashcan. "Okay, well, let me just throw this away and then we can drive—"

"No, faster than that." Cadence grabbed Jesse's wrist and left a tip on the table before dragging her outside. She looked around for a moment, being careful no one was watching them and there were no security cameras nearby. Once she was sure they were safe, she teleported them to the CCPN and to Iris's desk.

Jesse smiled when she spotted Iris and Wally talking to each other. "Wally, hey," she greeted him.

The Wests turned and Wally looked confused for a moment before a wide grin came to his face as well. "Jesse! Wow, I can't believe you're here!" He stepped towards her then hesitated, looked over his shoulder. Then he looked back at her and opened his arms to give her a quick hug. Iris smirked as she watched the two, arms folded across her chest. "What are you doing here? What…?" He looked at Cadence then back to Jesse. "is everything okay? What's going on?"

"Not much," Cadence said quickly. "I wanted to talk to you." She looked Iris in the eye, hoping she caught the hint.

Iris caught it quickly and nodded back. "Yeah, no problem. I'm just coming off my lunch break anyway." She looked down when she noticed Cadence's gaze lower to the mud patches on her knees that matched Wally's. "Oh, we were visiting Francine's grave."

"Oh." Jesse frowned. "I'm so sorry, I didn't know…"

"It's alright." Wally waved his hand. "There's been a lot that's been going on." He shuffled his feet awkwardly. "Like, there must've been a lot going on with you, right? Being back on Earth-2 and everything."

Jesse couldn't stop the excited smile that came to her face. "You have no idea," she said. "There's so much I need to tell you." She thought for a minute and looked at Cadence as she suggested, "Maybe we should head back to STAR Labs?"

Cadence smiled.

"Uh, yeah, sure," Wally replied. "I've got some money for an Uber—"

"Oh, there's no need." Jesse held out her hand towards Wally, who hesitated before taking it. Once she had Wally's hand in hers, Jesse turned and streaked out of the CCPN leaving a trail of yellow lightning behind her.

Iris took a step back as a gust of wind blew her hair out of her face. She closed her eyes to keep them from drying out as well. "You'd think with Barry constantly running around we'd be used to that by now."

"Just be glad the paperweights I got you for Christmas are working out so well," Cadence teased.

Iris laughed and placed her hands on her hips. "So Jesse's a speedster?"

"Yep. But that's not the weirdest thing that's going on." Cadence took in and released a deep breath. "Iris. I need your help."

"Sure." Iris picked up a stack of papers off her desk and started to shuffle through them before setting them aside. She searched through all of the newspaper clippings, scrap pieces of paper, and used post-it notes trying to find a blank pad of paper to write on. "With what?"

"I need you to help me find someone."

Iris turned to her with raised eyebrows. Then her expression relaxed and she folded her arms. "I'm sorry, aren't you the one who can find almost anyone in the world in a half hour?"

Cadence tried to smile modestly and failed. That was a big part of her contribution to Team Flash. Tracking and finding people that needed to be found in a short amount of time. That was her primary role apart from being Barry's partner out in the field. Otherwise she helped Caitlin the medical bay and was generally the one playing devil's advocate when the time came. But her tracking skills, despite it being harbored and developed by the Assassination Bureau, was her biggest asset.

"Yeah, but there's something that's been escaping me and I'm sure you can help," Cadence said. "You were the one who, through Ryder, helped me figure out that the Natalie Ramirez he talked to wasn't the real one. I'm sure you can help me with this."

"Okay, shoot."

"You know the meta White Hot?"

"The one who seems to have a personal vendetta against you?"

"That's her." Cadence nodded. "Barry has a bunch of speedsters as his main villains and I have hot heads. First Mick and now White Hot." She ran a hand through her hair. "Everyone says be careful what you wish for. I now have some more respect from the city but now I'm in everyone's crosshairs."

Iris smiled. "What about her?"

"Facial recognition can never get a pinpoint on her. She uses a heat haze to block her appearance like I do. Kind of like how Barry vibrates his face so no one will recognize him." Iris nodded and Cadence continued. "She's kept up with it to the point that no matter how many images STAR Labs' satellite takes of her, facial recognition can't get an ID."

"So, you want me to help ID her?" Iris realized. She thought for a moment, sucking in a sharp breath through her teeth. "I'm not sure. If I don't have ID to go off of, my investigating skills don't have anything either."

"Well, there's one thing I realized," Cadence said slowly. She started to spin the ring around her pinkie ringer. Over and over again. It was a tall order to ask of, but it needed to be done or else what was left of her sanity would leave her. "The fact that she knows where I am and who I am and follows me all the time…I think it's someone who knows me personally. Someone from before I met you guys."

"So, it could be…"

"Anyone I knew from before I left Metropolis and after I got to Central City."

Iris shook her head. "That doesn't really narrow things down."

"That's why I need your help."

* * *

Harry, Cisco, Caitlin, and Wally all watched as Jesse raced around in circles of the Speed Lab. Nothing but bright yellow lightning followed her as she went, fast enough so that they couldn't see her at all. Wally shook his head. "That has to be fast, right?" He asked.

"Faster than Barry, that's for sure," Cisco added with a half-smile as he stood with Caitlin at the computers that tracked her. "At least at this stage of his powers." He smiled, nudged Caitlin in the arm. "I don't think we'll ever see her running backwards off a treadmill."

"Don't start," Caitlin said.

Wally folded his arms ,watching them. "So how fast is she going?"

"Seriously fast," Caitlin said, unable to hide her excited smile. "Her heart rate's up, her metabolic levels are good, blood pressure is excellent. She's good to go."

"No, no, let's not get ahead of ourselves." Harry held a hand above his head, as if waiting to be called on by a teacher. He noticed the confused stares coming his way and lowered his hand atop his head. "We, uh, we need to run some more tests."

"What kind of tests?" Jesse asked. She motioned towards the Speed Lab. "I've been running for—"

"Just tests, okay? We need to be thorough."

Jesse rolled her eyes, making Wally laugh. "Don't worry about it, Jesse, if anyone knows anything about worried parents, it's me." He glanced at the others. "Hey, uh, do you want to get something to eat? We can talk about this whole…meta development and everything."

"Yeah, sounds good," Jesse agreed.

"Don't go too far," Harry insisted. "We need to do more tests."

Now Cisco rolled his eyes and he motioned towards the doorway of the Speed Lab. "There's a lot of snacks; chips, protein bars, trail mix, all in the break room, help yourselves. But try not to eat them all, I already have a massive food bill because of Barry." He stared at Harry while waiting for Jesse and Wally to leave.

The moment they were gone, Caitlin addressed Harry with a smug tone to her voice. "Thorough, huh?" Caitlin asked. "Because it sounds to me like you're stalling."

"I am," Harry readily. "I'm stalling. I am stalling because this isn't good. This is not—Jesse having powers is _not good_. So what? Why? I guess I have to explain things to you because you're not parents, and thank God you're _not,_ or else you'd probably throw them to a pit of crocodiles if you had the chance." Caitlin and Cisco exchanged offended glances. "She's my daughter, okay? And she spent _months_ watching Barry and Cadence and Brady fighting meta after meta, and taking down the Metapocalypse, and saving Barry for the Speed Force, and stopped Zoom. And now she has powers and wants to be a hero, too. And I think that's a _terrible_ idea."

"But we can help her," Caitlin said softly. "We can train her."

"I don't want you to train her!" Harry snapped. "I want you to talk her out of it. Not talk her into it. You guys need to talk to her, you're metas."

Cisco snorted loudly. "And, that means we should be the last people to talk to about it."

Harry waved an exasperated hand at Cisco then turned to Caitlin, clasping his hands together. He even tried to make his eyes as innocent as possible, though came off more like he was trying to hold in a burp. "Snow?"

"Me?" Caitlin's eyes widened in disbelief.

"Yes, Caitlin, you. You're the one who doesn't want her powers, you don't want to use them, want nothing to do with them." Caitlin glared at Cisco as he muttered, 'He has a point' under his breath. Harry, however, ignored the side conversation and continued speaking. "You can talk to her, talk her out of this. Show her it's not a good thing to have these powers."

"Just because _I_ don't want my powers doesn't mean that Jesse doesn't or that it's not good for her," Caitlin pointed out. Harry frowned. "I'm really the last person she should talk to, so don't ask me. Why doesn't she just talk to Cadence?"

Harry gave her a 'duh' look. "Have you met her? She thinks jumping off a cliff is cool. And, I don't know if you've noticed, but she lets her son out into battle as well even though there's a high chance of his death as well as hers. That's not indicative of a person of a sound mind, is it?"

Cisco thought for a moment. "I always did say she was a little crazy." Caitlin elbowed him hard in the ribs. "Ow! You know I've got a bunch of meat on these bones, but I don't. All my meat is right here." He placed his hands on the small pudge of his stomach and shook it back and forth.

"We clearly came back to this conversation at the wrong time," Wally said as he and Jesse slowed to a stop, both carrying protein bars in their hands. He looked over the faces of those that worked in STAR Labs, noticing the guilty expressions on their faces. "What? What's going on?"

Jesse rolled her eyes. "Dad, don't tell me you're trying to convince them to stop letting me run," she said. Harry pointedly looked away from her. "Oh come on! I was give these powers for a reason, dad. You said so yourself, about Barry. Just because I have them now doesn't mean you can change your mind."

"Actually, it does," Harry said.

Jesse frowned. "You can't—" The two stopped squabbling as soon as their phones simultaneously vibrated and chimed with a warning. Jesse and Wally exchanged confused glances then moved to Harry's side to look at the notification they were receiving from the metahuman app.

 _"Speedster Spotted at Boardwalk."_

"I have to go," Jesse said. "I have to help."

"Over my dead body," Harry shot back.

Cisco shook his head. "Barry and the others can handle this." He turned on his heels and started to run to the Cortex with the others following along behind him. He flung himself into his office chair and scooted up to his computer, bringing on the live-feed of the GPS tracker in Barry's suit. He saw it and the trackers on Cadence's and Brady's moving just as quickly to the boardwalk. "They're all headed there now."

"Do we have any idea of the identity of this Speedster?" Caitlin leaned over her computer and brought up surveillance footage. She squinted, shifting from camera to camera, trying to find the speedster. "Nothing yet." She pressed a finger to her keyboard, opening the lines of communication. "Barry, what do you see?"

* * *

A speedster.

He saw a speedster. A speedster he knew well. Barry's eyes took in the red, black, and yellow lightning bolt that sat on the front of Edward Clariss's chest. Took in the shark-fin pieces that came off the sides of his hood. Took in the sinister yet malicious smile Clariss was sending his way.

Finally, Barry parted his lips to ask, "Clariss?" Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Cadence and Brady exchange confused glances. Nevertheless, they stayed silent, crouching in their fighting stances as they waited for the first move to be made. "How are you here?"

"Long time no see, pal," Clariss replied. "Good to see you remember me." Clariss mockingly clapped his hands together in time with the steps he took towards Barry. But here's the thing that matters; I know your secret." Cadence made a humming sound while Barry's heard pounded faster in his rib cage. "You changed the timeline." Barry swallowed hard, knowing everyone was listening. "Because if I recall correctly, the only speedsters in my life were me and that smartass Kid Flash. Until you showed up and stole everything from me."

Barry shook his head. Tried to hold his voice steady as he said, "I never stole anything from you, Clariss. I was just trying to fix things."

" _This is how my life was supposed to be_!" Clariss roared. "For years, I felt like my life was missing something and now I know why."

'I'm sorry. I didn't mean for this to happen—"

"—Well, it did and now here I am." Clariss grinned, holding his arms wide. "Your rival, back again. Believe me Flash, this time, you're not going to steal my life so easily." He ducked down into a running stance.

Barry and Clariss raced towards each other before streaking out of the clearing. Cadence followed after them while Brady held still. He ran to a darkened corner of the boardwalk and crouched down, pulling the pocket of his slingshot as far back as it could go. He crouched to one knee and waited.

Barry and Clariss continued to run along the streets of Central City with Cadence following behind them, surfing a wave of fire. The three arched and twisted back and forth across the streets, abruptly changing direction when one would advance on the other. Finally, as they arched back towards the boardwalk, Barry gathered enough speed to race forward and headbutt Clariss in the stomach. With the momentum of their enhanced speed, Clariss flew over the streets; crashed into light poles, bounced off buildings like a pinball, and rolled across the ground. Finally, he careened over the edge of an overpass and fell to the ground.

Barry and Cadence slowed and stopped at the railing of the overpass. Cars honked as they drove by the two heroes who leaned against the railing and peered down over the street. Barry's eyes frantically scanned the area.

"I don't see him," Barry said. "Where'd he go?"

Cadence pressed her lips together as she scanned the area. She shifted her eyes. Her goggles changed, giving her the opportunity to see the structures of the buildings, roads, and boats around the boardwalk. It took a few seconds for her to find the heat signatures coming towards them from the opposite direction, running across the water, arching in a wide circle.

"He's coming around," Cadence relayed. "Trying to catch us off-guard from the back. Brady?"

"I'm on it!" Brady called back from his position.

Clariss streaked around the corner of the closest city block, right before reaching the overpass and changed direction to run along the ground. He started to go in a fast circle, picking up speed as he went. Brady, still undetected from his position in the darkness. Let go of a piece of ammo that immediately sent out a brilliant flash of light and sound as soon as it connected with the ground. Clariss stopped running and screamed as he slapped his palms over his ears.

Brady ran out from his hiding place, slapping the 'y' points of his slingshot together and grabbed the end, extending it into a long, metal bow-staff. With that, they started to attack Clariss with precision swings and strikes to vantage points of his arms, legs, chest, and neck before taking his legs out from beneath him.

Cadence and Barry leapt down from their vantage point to stand in front of him. "There's nowhere to go, Clariss," Barry called.

"You're right," Clariss agreed. "But the good news is, I'm not trying to get away."

"What?" The word barely got out of Cadence's mouth before she, Barry, and Brady were all knocked aside by a sudden blast of energy.

Cadence was hit so hard she fell through the wall of a bait shed, leaving an imprint of her form. She sat up, ensnared through fishing line that immediately dropped to the floor and smoldered as she set her body aflame. When the flames subsided, she looked out through the hole and saw a hooded figure with a beak-like mask standing just behind Clariss.

He had his hand outstretched, holding onto a stone of some sort that glowed a blue-gray color. The three had only just gotten back to their feet when they were struck by another energy blats, making them fall to the ground in a heap.

"What the hell?" Cadence breathed.

"What was that?" Brady asked.

"Better question is who," Barry said, chest heaving up and down. He'd been hit the hardest by the blast, a direct shot to the chest with Brady and Cadence struck by the resounding shockwave. Pain erupted over his entire body as he struggled to get back to his feet.

"I'm Alchemy," the hooded figure replied. Clariss grinned down at Barry from his vantage point.

"Okay, what do you want?"

"To help people achieve their true potential." He turned and motioned towards Clariss, who waved back at him. "Just like him. I'm preparing him just as I'm preparing this world for what's to come."

Cadence and Brady charged towards Alchemy at the same time Clariss sped from his position to slam Barry into a concrete pole that multiple boats were tethered to. "Do you remember this place, Flash?" Clariss taunted. He painfully dug his fingers into Barry's shoulders, pressing his weight against him to hold him still. "This is where I died!" He tore off Barry's comm-links and shoved the sharpened ends into Barry's stomach, making him scream in pain. "But I'm not going to waste the second chance I've been given. This time, I'm going to show you who the fastest man alive is."

Clariss grabbed Barry and ran him away from the shipyard to the Prescott Mill, throwing him into each and every solid structure he could, bouncing Barry like a ragdoll off each surface. Once Barry was subdued, he started to rapidly punch him time and time again, using his superspeed to get in as many of them as he could before picking up a metal pipe.

Clariss held the pipe high above his head and started to swing it down. Barry closed his eyes and turned his head away. He opened his eyes and turned back when he heard the sound of tortured screaming. The pipe in Clariss's hands started to glow orange from the top down to Clarris's hands as it heated up. Barry turned and saw Cadence standing nearby, using her heat vision to strike the pipe from a distance. The longer she heated up the pipe, the harder Clariss tried to pull his hands away, finding his hands melting to the pipe.

Every time he tried to pull his hands back, long stretches of his skin would come with it. Finally, Clariss ripped his hands away, dotting the ground with blood, and dropped the pipe. Barry flipped to his feet and used his speed to rein down punches onto him. Then he punched Clariss in the back, hard enough to send him off his feet and flipping through the air towards Cadence. She pulled back a flaming fist and punched him hard in the chest, transferring him back to Barry, who did five quick rotations with his superspeed to punch him straight in the face.

Clariss dropped to the ground with a low grunt before his head turned to the side and fell still.

Barry pulled off his cowl at the same time that Cadence pulled off her goggles to look Clariss over. She knelt down and pressed a finger to Clariss's neck. "He's alive," she reported.

"Can only ask for small favors," Barry murmured in response.

"Who is he?"

Barry closed his eyes, tilting his head back. There was only so long he knew he could keep everything to himself. He'd already had to tell Brady just to get it out and so he wouldn't explode while bottling it up. But Clariss had said who he was and then there was this Alchemy guy…there were too many changes before, but now that this guy was around and could take him down so easily…

He had no choice.

He had to say something.

"Okay, I need to tell you guys something."

* * *

Barry stood in the living room of Cadence's apartment, looking at the pictures that framed the walls. Looking for anything that was different. Looking for any sort of solace that could be found. He did it. He told his friends and family what had been going on with him. Told them everything he'd told Brady about being in Flashpoint. He couldn't take it anymore. The universe couldn't take it anymore. The appearance of Clariss and this Alchemy guy had proven as much.

 _Jay was right,_ Barry thought. _I'm not a God._

So he gathered all of Team Flash to the Cortex and told them what he'd been keeping from them. _"After Zoom killed my dad, after we stopped Zoom, I wasn't in the right headspace. So I ran back in time and saved my mom."_

 _"You stopped the Reverse-Flash from killing your mom?" Iris asked, blinking rapidly in surprise._

 _"Yeah."_

 _"She's alive?"_

 _"She was. For a few months. I lived with her and my dad. It was great."_

And it _had_ been great. How many times had he wondered, dreamed, and begged for his mother to be back so that he could see her again? Just once? To have her back so that he could hear her praise for him when he got a good grade or did something to help someone else. To have her warm homemade cookies ready for him when he returned from school. To have her willingly read with him before he went to sleep, after helping him with his homework despite how difficult it was getting for her by the time of her passing.

But he had that with _both_ of his parents. His father was alive as well, and they were finally able to be a family again. The family that had been brutally ripped away from him by a deranged speedster he hadn't known for years. A speedster that went back in time specifically do that lasting damage to him. The same speedster he had to set free in Flashpoint so he'd have his life back.

 _"I don't understand," Joe said._

 _"You created a whole other existence?" Caitlin asked. "How is that possible?"_

 _And so Barry explained it to them. Explained through a couple of dots on a straight line with other lines branching off it. Explained how he had gone to try and change things against but Jay had stopped him. Caitlin listened and nodded as Barry explained everything then pointed out, "But you decided to leave it?"_

Barry turned away from the pictures and closed his eyes. He could still see how hurt Caitlin was at his keeping things a secret. Knew he had broken the golden rule they had all created for themselves. If they were going to be Team Flash, they had to trust each other. _I couldn't trust myself to tell them,_ Barry thought. _I was too afraid of what would happen. Of having to make myself be vulnerable again. I couldn't handle doing that again._

Just like he couldn't handle the thought of losing all of his friends from before he went to Flashpoint. He'd already lost so much, how could he lose them all again? The new versions of themselves, they had to learn to be Team Flash, when Team Flash had already existed before he woke up from his coma.

 _"Life spun out of control," Barry explained. "This guy named Edward Clarris was a speedster there. He caused a lot of problems. So I decided to run back in time again and let things happen the way there were supposed to, to let the timeline reset itself. But….when I came back, things weren't the same."_

 _"You mean people," Cadence understood. "Like us."_

 _"Yeah. I created another timeline. This is the one we're living in now. It's not as different as the last one, not in large ways, but in smaller and meaningful ways for all of you or anyone who is close to me and I can't ever, really put it back together."_

He was stuck in this life now and had to make the best of it. He couldn't go back and fix things again, it would just make another crack form. Another split decision that had to be made, one Barry hoped he'd never have to make again. Time traveling…it was too dangerous. How was he supposed to move on when living a life that he wanted, with both of his parents alive, was as bad as the life he had with them gone?

The irony wasn't lost on him.

Be careful what you wish for.

Cadence walked up behind Barry and gently rubbed his back, making him turn to face her. "Are you okay, Tholly?" She asked.

"I don't know," he admitted. "I don't know if I'll ever be okay. Or if everyone will be okay with what I did."

"Even if they're upset now," Cadence said slowly, choosing her words carefully. "They'll come around. No one can fault you for the decision you made. If they all had the chance to fix things that happened in their lives, they'd probably do it, too. I mean, if I was able to see my dad over there, I don't know what I would've done."

Barry smiled. "If it helps, your parents were still alive over there."

"Brady told me. Apparently he was only two in Flashpoint? Honestly, I don't know if I'd like that, if he were two now. I don't know if I'd have the energy to take care of him with everything else going on." Cadence laughed to herself. "Not many people would say they would've preferred to be pregnant at sixteen but, I can see the bright side now." Barry tried to laugh but found he couldn't bring himself to do it. Cadence noticed and looked at him seriously. "I can understand why you decided to keep it a secret."

"Look, Cade, I didn't mean to lie to you…"

Cadence folded her arms and shrugged. "You know...I can meet someone and figure out their tells within the first five minutes of conversation. Because of that, I have to be the one that determines whether or not they get away with a lie. Why make a fuss over something I'm not supposed to know? Or push someone to talk when they're not ready for it?" She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. "With everything you told us today, Tholly…I can't help but think about the heavy burden you have to bear. And, I wish I could help. I wasn't there with you, as your partner…but I can be that here. So, I was thinking; instead of going out tonight, why don't we just stay in and watch a baseball game or something? We don't even have to watch TV; we can just enjoy each other's company because it looks like you could use a night of doing absolutely nothing."

Barry's smile widened. "That'd be nice, actually." Cadence smiled back and stood on her tip-toes to press a peck to his cheek. Barry grasped her chin and turned her towards him so he could kiss her, like he'd wanted to do on Flashpoint. She gently tugged at his shirt when the kiss ended. "Are you sure you're okay?"

"I'll be fine," he said.

"Barry?" Brady's voice came from the doorway behind him. He turned and lifted his chin to acknowledge the young boy. "I know you wanted your mom and dad back, but I'm glad to have you back here." Barry smiled his thanks. "Mom, can you sign off on my homework?"

"Sure thing, bud. I'll be back in a minute, Barry."

"Take your time."

Barry waited until the two were out of site before racing back to his house and straight to his room. He made sure Joe was preoccupied watching the football game in the living room and Wally was in his room doing his work before closing the door behind him. Barry ambled to his closet and pulled out a small tin box from behind a stack of sweaters on the top shelf. He placed it on his desk and opened it, pushing aside a few baseball cards, movie tickets, and photographs to get to a gray box at the bottom.

He cradled the box in his hand. One of the few things he'd managed to receive of the personal effects from his parents' deaths. Of which hadn't been released to him until his father's death as it was otherwise noted as 'evidence'. Barry'd been angry when his father had been released from jail and they still weren't allowed to receive them as they 'hadn't been processed yet' but was quick to be released once…. Barry sighed. There were still people out there that blamed his father for his mother's death and he'd have to deal with that.

Barry opened the box and studied the dazzling rings tucked inside the velvet cushion. Carefully, he picked them out and held them them before sliding them into his jeans pocket.

He had to move forward.

* * *

 **A/N:** Now Barry's told everyone, but he still needs to be caught up to speed about what he's missed on Earth-1. And it can't be good with the Assassination Bureau and White Hot potentially being someone Cadence knows. So many things revealed at once. I hope you guys enjoyed it.

Please remember to review; any feedback helps me become a better writer and motivates me to write more. I respond to every review, even anonymous ones.

Also, I'm thinking from now on that review replies will only be for anonymous reviews. But I'll let you know.

 **Cheers,**

 **-Riley**

 **Review Replies**

 **DarkHelm145:** Yeah, Barry's pretty emotional with everything that's been going on. Certainly can't be easy.

 **Josephguy217:** For what I have planned, Cisco vibing Flashpoint makes more sense to his hostility towards Barry.

 **Ethan:** Well, that was the point of Wally's moodiness in season 2, that she had died and he was working how to get through it, with one example being subtly trying to ask Joe to move in. Yes, Cisco was flirting with Caitlin. Conner not playing soccer will be revealed as the story goes on, but sooner rather than later as I'm trying to keep up with the pacing I've set.

 **Noblecrescent:** There's plenty with the two (if you count them as separate characters) coming! I hope you enjoy it.

 **spinquin142:** More of White Hot will be introduced and I still have another meta to work on as well.

 **Guest:** My issues within the last few stories was that I wasn't sure what to do with Iris and Wally, but having had their familiar reveal work out different last time to now, I've got things in store for them.

 **yummers:** No, Barry's terrible at keeping secrets.

 **PowerHero432:** I do have some pictures I need to post of his faceclaim to tumblr to show how much he's aged/matured from the start of the series to now. It's fun to go back and see how he has changed in the writing to make him older as what he's exposed to and his actual age increase. There's going to be plenty with Cadence, Jesse, as well as Harrison, Harry, Tess and Brady as they try to figure out their new 'family'.

 **babyj:** I'm glad you liked all of those parts. And yes, I'm a bit concerned about keeping up with the pacing at a consistent pace, if you have any suggestions I'll be glad to take them.


	5. Stark Realizations

**05**

 _Stark Realizations_

* * *

 _"It's poetic, returning to your childhood home," Zoom rasped to Barry. The merry light in his eyes made Barry curl his fingers into fists. He was so preoccupied with Zoom, he didn't notice Cadence and Roy appear behind him, Roy with his bow drawn and pointing an arrow directly at Zoom._

 _No_ _._ _Barry lifted a hand and stretched it towards Zoom. He stepped forward, foot pressing into a squeaky floorboard. It was the only other sound in the otherwise silent room. Even Henry stood still, watching his son. Barry's eyes shot to his father's. Don't worry, I'll save you. "Don't do this," Barry whispered. "I'm begging you. I'm begging you." He thumped a hand against his chest. "Take me. Take me instead." He licked his lips, swallowed hard. Throat as dry as a furnace. "Kill me. Kill me!"_

 _"No!" Henry shouted._

 _"Barry," Cadence said from behind him. She exchanged a glance with Roy, he continued to hold the bow directly at Zoom, fingers slowly starting to tremble from the immense strain of pulling the bowstring tight._

 _"Look at me," Henry said to Barry. Barry shifted his gaze to his father. Shook his head. There had to be something else. Anything else. But Zoom was as fast as him, faster…Words were the only weapon now. "Look at me, son." Henry sucked in a deep breath through his nose, spoke through gritted teeth. "Don't take your eyes off me."_

 _"Barry," Cadence repeated. This time with more force. The tension in the room immediately rose._

 _"You still won't believe me that you and I are the same," Zoom growled. "That there isn't anything that separates us from each other. That you think you're better than me."_

 _"Come on." Had he said it out loud? Had he whispered it? Yelled it? Each word sounded like a bomb dropping. Shattering everything in sight. But the walls stood tall around them, waiting for the final nail removal that'd take them down. "Come on, Zoom."_

 _Zoom continued as if he hadn't heard Barry say anything at all. "So I'm going to have to make you believe me."_

 _"No," Barry whimpered. His lower jaw started to tremble. Eyes stung. There had to be something. Anything that could be done. Anything other than what was about to happen. His heart rammed against his throat. He knew what was about to happen. His blood went cold. Every part of him turned to ice._

 _"Whatever happens," Henry said firmly. "You've made me the happiest father."_

 _"Dad," Barry gasped. His jaw shook fiercely. Body equally turned hot. He felt itchy, wanting to tear off his skin, wanted to tear off Zoom's head just as badly._

 _"This time." Zoom showed all of his teeth as he grinned. A Cheshire grin that couldn't be contained. "You're going to watch your parent die, just like I did."_

 _"No. NO!" Barry shouted._

 _"This is what's going to make you just. Like. Me."_

 _Father and son's eyes met._

 _"Your mother and I love—"_

 _One last time._

 _"Zoom!"_

 _And just like that, Zoom rammed his hand through Henry's heart. Blood splattered along the walls, across Barry's Cadence's, and Roy's faces, dripped to the floor, stuck to Zoom's finger tips along with tiny shreds of Henry's heart._

 _" **NO!** " The pain of Barry's scream ripped through his throat. Tore through his body, causing more damage than a bullet could. He blacked out. He didn't see Cadence and Roy attack at the same time, a fireball straight to Zoom's face and an arrow to the shoulder. He didn't see Zoom's roar of pain as he backed away to stumble into the wall where he frantically tried to rub at his face and pull the arrow form his shoulder._

 _Barry fell to his knees, cradling his father in his arms. "Dad? Dad?" He frantically ran his hands from his father's head to his shoulders, trying to find the best way to hold Henry to him. "Hey, hey, hey. Look at me." Henry's eyes rolled towards Barry as he gasped for air. Frantically swallowed, Adam's apple bobbing repeatedly. Tried to speak. Blood bubbled at his lips, rolled down his chin, a stark contrast against his pale skin. "Dad, don't leave. Don't leave me. Not again, not again."_

 _Henry's movements came weaker, his hand reaching up to brush Barry's cheek. Missed. Barely got his arm. Barry grasped Cadence's arm and pulled her down to her knees next to him. He was surprised to find tears already falling down her cheeks. "Cade. Cay, please," he said. "Please." He couldn't get the words out._

 _Heal him. Help him. Anything that could get him back on his feet. Anything that'd take him from being so lifeless, so pale so…_

 _Cadence shook her head._

 _"Please!"_

 _"Barry, I can't," she finally said. "His heart…"_

 _Barry looked down and saw the truth. "DAD!" Barry shouted at him. "Come on, come on. It's alright. Dad?" Henry stopped responding, stopped moving. And Barry continued to scream the word 'dad' over and over again before he broke, sobbing over his father's lifeless body. He was gone._

 _"I told you family was a weakness," Zoom murmured, standing above them. Immediately, Barry turned a murderous glare towards him. Zoom let out a surprised laugh. "You feel the anger don't you, Flash? And now, you're just like me."_

 _"NO!" Barry screamed._

 _He slammed Zoom into the wall and started to punch him over and over. Raced out of the house after him, ran as hard and fast as he could. Ran 'til it felt like his head was exploding, ran till blood poured out of his nose. At one point Zoom ran so fast he split in two, one copy of him going one way, the other splitting off. When Barry caught up with the one copy he grabbed onto Zoom and continued to beat him mercilessly._

 _"I got you, Zoloman!" Barry growled, throwing him around the alleyway. "I got you!"_

 _Zoom tilted his head back and looked Barry in the eye, allowing Barry to rip off his cowl and look him in the eye. "Use your power, Barry!" He taunted. "End me!"_

 _Barry gasped when Zoom was ripped form his grasp. No, not Zoom. Jay. Jay Garrick. The Jay had had betrayed them. The time remnant. Zoom stood behind him, holding the cowl of Jay's suit back, choking him. "I no longer have a need for you," Zoom said, shoving his fist through Jay's chest before tossing his lifeless body aside. Zoom pulled off his hood and hissed, lips pulled back into a sinister smile. "So close, Barry. So close and yet so far. So I killed my time remnant, but what does that mean for you? You can do it, too. You just have to be ready to kill yourself." His eyes shifted over Barry's. "Yeah, you're almost ready."_

 _Zoom ran past Barry, thrusting him into the dumpster beside him and streaked out of sight, leaving a lightning trail behind him. Barry watched after him, chest heaving until his volcano of emotions erupted. Until he was left was bawling, screaming, crying out for the pain to go away but knowing it never would._

 _He screamed and cried so hard he didn't notice when it started to rain, didn't notice when Cadence grabbed him and pulled him onto her lap, rocking him back and forth and holding him as she cried, too, didn't notice how much his heart was slowly breaking._

Barry slowly pushed the memory away as he stood in the doorway of his lab. His work lab. The same lab he kept multiple pieces of information for his mother's death, for his father's innocence, for everything that had plagued him over the last couple of years. All hidden around the work he did on a daily basis. He thought going back to work would've been normal, easy. But the second he stepped foot over the threshold, everything came back. Working late the same night he had been struck by lightning. He still remembered the shot of fear that had struck him seconds before the bolt did that sent him off his feet and flying across the room, crashing into shelves filled with chemicals.

It had all started then.

And things only got worse since then. He'd made great friends, of which slowly started to die away, his father was released from jail then murdered shortly afterwards. He'd stated the job so that he could find his mother's murderer, to finally bring peace to his family and what'd it give him? Nothing but heartache he tried to remedy, and that solution only made things worse.

 _Sometimes, I wonder why I even bother,_ Barry mused.

"Are you just going to stand there like a complete waste of flesh or are you going to come in and get some work done?"

The voice caught Barry's attention. His eyebrows came together and he walked further into his lab. Or, what used to be his lab. Now it had another desk situated to the side with another man sitting behind it. A man who looked at Barry with an impatient glance before lowering his head to look through a microscope once more.

"What the…what?" Barry murmured, walking closer to the man. His eyes shifted to the nametag that sat on the desk. _Julian Albert, Metahuman CSI Specialist._ Metahuman specialist? Barry lifted his head and moved his lips to ask a question, but found himself unable to form words.

Joe walked in behind him and tossed an evidence bag with a vial inside it in the basket that sat on the desk. "We've got another husk," he announced. "Singh wants it processed ASAP."

"A husk?" Barry repeated.

"Yes, the skin husks we've been finding around the city," Julian explained, immediately swooping in to take the sample that had been left him. "The ones we think are attached to the metahumans." Barry's eyes narrowed and he continued to look around the lab. Everything was the same, all of the beakers and containers that held the chemicals he used on a daily basis were in their place on the shelf. The only difference was the new man, the new desk, and his desk being pushed to the darkened corner of the room. "You should know by now, Allen, that this is the fourth one we've found."

"I…should?" Barry replied. It hit him a second later. Flashpoint. It was another thing that'd changed he hasn't known. Whomever, this guy was…he was a permanent fixture now.

"Yes, Allen, you should." Julian's eyes landed on Barry's, giving a laser like focus of the disdain held in his eyes. "Or has your head been in the clouds again? It wouldn't be the first time."

Barry turned to appeal Joe's help and Joe looked back at him with raised eyebrows. Realization dawned on Joe's face then and he looked back and forth between Julian to Barry understanding Barry's hesitation with the new man. He started to whisper it but Barry quickly brought up a hand to silence him. They couldn't say anything in front of Julian, metahuman expert of not, he didn't know Barry's secret. That was one less place they had around the CCPD to talk about their meta stuff.

"As it is, I'm glad to see you back, Detective West," Julian said, shifting his gaze to Joe's. "It must've been hard for you to lose your wife like that. I'm sorry you didn't raise the money in time to further her medical treatments."

Joe's gaze lowered and he nodded. "If there was any more I could do, I'd have done it," he said. "But Francine knew I did my best. As long as Wally's got a good place to stay and he and Iris are getting along, then it's all she wanted. For them to be a family." He took a step back. "Let me now if you get anything off that sample." He gave Barry a meaningful look before leaving the lab.

Barry nodded back an ran a hand through his hair. That was another thing. Francine's death. It was probably going to happen anyway, she was really sick. But…if he hadn't gone maybe she would've pulled through? _Jay warned me about the consequences,_ Barry thought. _I just didn't think they would've come so fast._

"And what are you doing here anyway?" Julian barked towards Barry. He leaned back in his seat, resting his folded hands against his stomach. "I thought you had the day off today. I was relishing in the thought of not having you around for a solid twenty-four hours."

Barry couldn't help the irritation slide over him of the man he didn't even know. "Wh…what are you doing here?" In my lab, he wanted to add indignantly.

"I did tell you the metahuman conference was only two days," Julian said.

Barry's eyes shifted. _It must be the same metahuman conference that Harrison and Tess went to_ , Barry realized. _Chief Paulson must've attended as well._ He didn't remember seeing the power crazed chief of police in the station that morning. "Okay, but—"

"—But this is still our lab, unfortunately. Yes, county forgot to mention that significant detail before assigning me but here we are. Looks like we'll be roomies for a little while longer than we'd hoped." Julian got to his feet and walked to the machine they used to test evidence examples. "Again, what are you doing here?"

"I, uh, there was something I had to drop off," Barry quickly fibbed. He walked over to his desk and looked over it. Everything on it was still the same; the pictures of his family and friends, his name plate, his arranged files. Barry glanced at the map of Central City that hung up behind his desk, he looked over at Julian, making sure he was still preoccupied with his evidence, before lifting the bottom of it to peek underneath. It was empty, just as he had left it. Everything of his mother's case was gone.

 _Okay, Barry, relax. You're starting to figure everything out. Everything here looks okay._ Barry lowered the map once more and ran his hands over his face, letting out a long breath. He could handle this. He could do it. He was The Flash. He'd told everyone what was going on with Flashpoint, they'd decided not to know what had gone on in their lives and seemed to be moving on pretty well. All except for Cisco, who had some sort of comment to whatever Barry had to say.

"Hi, Barry!"

"Hey."

Barry turned around as Brady and Conner walked into the lab, looking around at everything that sat on the shelves and walls. "Hi." He looked at them in confusion before hearing the sound of rubber squeaking heading towards the lab. A few seconds later, Ryder came into view, breathing heavily as he balanced his crutches in his armpits. Finally making it over the threshold of the lab, Ryder leaned against the wall beside him.

"Barry, you need to seriously consider getting the elevator to come all the way up here," Ryder gasped. "Or maybe even an escalator. Maybe put your office on the first floor? Because the climb up here is ridiculous."

"He fell," Conner said with a grin. "And nearly slid all the way back down the stairs."

"Yeah, and Brady didn't help me," Ryder added pointedly.

Brady shrugged, making an annoyed face. "You got yourself up just fine, didn't you?" Barry's eyebrows rose in surprise. It was the second time he heard the young boy being so rude and had no rhyme or reason for it. He noticed Barry's look and lowered his gaze. "Dad's taking us to the science museum."

"The science museum?" Barry repeated, caught off-guard. It wasn't going to the museum that surprised him, it was remembering how he'd promised to take Brady there himself about a year ago…and he kept forgetting. There was so much going on, he' completely forgotten about it no matter how many times Cadence had reminded him. "Right, yeah, that should be fine." He thought to apologize about not taking Brady but he looked away, shoving his hands into the pockets of his sweatshirt, looking around the lab.

"Yeah, they've been asking to go and I said I'd take them," Ryder explained. He leaned heavily against the wall beside him, balancing his crutches aside so that he could reach into his pocket. He produced two small white pills and dropped them into his mouth. "Pain pills," he explained, seeing Barry watching him. "My knee is killing me."

"Maybe you should go to the doctor," Barry suggested.

Ryder waved his hand. "I'll go in a couple of weeks, that's when I'm due to have my cast off. Anyway, we came by to see if you wanted to come with. I've got a basic grasp of biology but I'm sure there's a lot of stuff you could explain better than I can."

"You want me to go with you?" Barry couldn't conceal his surprise. They were good friends, but it wasn't like they were best friends who spent all their time together. So far they'd only just gone to a football game with Cisco and had a few conversations about Barry's dating Cadence and being there for Brady, but he hadn't expected them to…

He hadn't felt that unsure of himself since Eddie and Iris had been dating and he still had feelings for her. Eddie clearly wanted to be Barry's friend, but he couldn't put aside his own feelings of inadequacy to do so. When it came to Ryder, Barry barely knew him as anything other than Cadence's ex that she hadn't seen in years. Their relationships with Brady had been what made Barry feel a bit unease. He didn't want to move in on Ryder's 'territory' if he stuck around. And Ryder _had_ stuck around to be there as Brady's father, no matter Barry's own feelings of being there for Brady in the same light.

It had hit him like a ton of bricks when he'd said it to Joe, before going back in time to save his mother. That he saw Brady as his son, not just as his friend and someone he occasionally babysat while Cadence was out. It was true, though. He loved Brady very much and would've liked to be there that way…He just needed to talk to him about marrying his mother, first. Changes like that could be a big thing.

Barry discreetly tapped his pocket, where the ring continued to sit. Thankfully, if Ryder noticed, he hadn't had any adverse feelings about it. He'd been nothing but nice to Barry since they met. They probably _did_ need to hang out more.

Ryder gave him a friendly smile. "I just said that, didn't I? And besides, the guys would like it. I'll only be able to keep up with them for so long on these crutches and last I checked, you can grab them pretty quick." His smile widened, blue eyes dancing with mirth at his own joke. "So, what do you say?"

"It's fine if you're busy, Barry," Conner added.

"Yeah, we wouldn't want to tear you away from anything important," Brady said sarcastically. Conner elbowed him in the side and gave him a look, which made Brady shrug—he was doing that a lot lately—and twist his mouth to the side.

"No, yeah, it sounds fun, let me just—" Barry suddenly cut himself off as he slid his hands into the pockets of his jeans, fingertips brushing up against the rings inside. Metal detectors didn't catch rings did they? It'd be just his luck if that were the case. "Uh…"

"Please, Allen, get out of here and go on your little field trip," Julian interrupted, walking back to the desk, holding onto the evidence and a sheet of paper that had been printed. He barely looked at Barry or his visitors as he walked past them. "It'd leave me time to get my work done when you're not constantly asking me questions."

Barry gritted his teeth. Instead of responding, he left the lab muttering, "I hate that guy," under his breath.

"Yeah, I know," Ryder said, turning to follow him. "You tell us all the time."

Barry blinked in confusion as Brady and Conner laughed.

* * *

Cadence lifted her chin and waved to Barry, Ryder, Conner, and Brady as they left the precinct. Then she turned back to her computer, holding her phone to her ear with her shoulder to free her hands to fill out some paperwork. Just as long as she got enough of them done before her meeting with Captain Singh and she could have a clear head. More cases that needed to be looked at. It was sad, really; how many families in Central City needed to have CPS come do welfare checks. It wouldn't surprise her if she started to see more familiar names as time went on. Every day she went into work she expected for find Leah's name show up.

 _Wouldn't that be convenient,_ Cadence thought. She let out a sigh a lot longer than the one she meant to give.

Caitlin immediately picked it up and asked, "Is something wrong?"

"Other than the constant fear that someone is going to burst through the ceiling of this building and spray bullets?" Cadence asked. She rested her chin in her hand. "Honestly, I don't know why someone hasn't tried that yet, take out the police force before anyone can stop them."

"Don't give them any ideas, Cade," Caitlin chided her. She stopped laughing and her voice turned soft, motherly. "But there's something else going on. Does it have to do with Barry?"

Cadence made a face. "What makes you think it has to do with Barry?"

"Nothing, just…" she paused. "Well, honestly, you didn't really seem as excited as I thought you'd be when he came back."

"As far as we knew before this Flashpoint stuff, he was only gone for a few days, Cait," Cadence reminded her. Then she smirked. "You should've seen when we were alone." She could hear Caitlin frantically stammering out a response on the other end and decided to save her the trouble. No matter how much fun it was to mess with her. "No need to blush, Cait, I'm just teasing you. Anyway, it's not Barry, it's Brady. We got into a fight this morning."

"A fight? Over what?"

"It was stupid. We were arguing over him emptying the dishwasher."

Cadence rolled her eyes at the thought, though was unable to completely push away the tightened feeling that came to her chest. It surprised her when Brady had finished breakfast that morning and started to leave the room after leaving his plate at the table.

"Could you put that in the sink and empty the dishwasher for me?" She asked. Brady continued to move out the door and Cadence leaned back in her seat, dropping her fork. "I know you heard me, Brady."

"What?" Exasperated, he turned around to face her.

"Please put your dish in the sink and empty the dishwasher."

He pursed his lips. "Why don't you do it?"

Cadence mimicked his movement then sucked her lips into her mouth, trying to keep calm. Normally she never had to ask him more than once to do anything. "Because I just asked you. It's not going to take more than a few minutes to do."

"Right." He gestured towards her. "So, you do it. That's your job, right?"

Cadence pushed her own plate away and steepled her fingers. She knew this day was going to come sooner or later but preferred it to be later. As it was, the implication that her job was solely to clean for him pissed her off more than he knew. There were enough people that found her to be a single mother and made similar comments. She had no patience for it. "My job is to make sure you have clothing on your back, food in your mouth, and a roof over your head. Have I done that?" Brady rolled his eyes but didn't respond. "I thought so. Now, if you want to go to the museum, put your plate away and empty the dishwasher."

Brady scowled, stomping over to do as he was told. He picked up his plate so hard he knocked his fork and knife to the floor. "Do you want me to sweep the floor, too? How about I shine your shoes, too?"

"This is a regular one of your chores, I'm not asking you become Cinderella." In response, Brady tossed the dish into the sink then, just as noisily, took everything out of the dishwasher and put them away before stomping out of the kitchen with Cadence sarcastically calling, "Thank you!" after him with him just as sarcastically calling, "You're welcome!" back.

Even sitting at her desk Cadence could feel her phone start to melt in her hand from how annoyed she was. Relaying it to Caitlin she got, "Well, he's at that age where hormones are starting to take over. It makes everything in him go crazy."

"The only time I'll be concerned about hormones is when he comes home and tells me he got someone pregnant, other than that I can typically handle it. It's just…I'm trying to figure out what it is I could've done that'd annoy him that much and I'm drawing a blank."

"It might not be you, Cade. It might be him. He's starting a new school year and meeting new people…I'm sure things are fine."

"Yeah, you're probably right," Cadence agreed. She looked up, seeing Captain Singh knock on the door to her office and quickly said, "I'll call you back. Captain Singh is here, just let me know if you need anything." Their secret code if caught talking about meta stuff when on the job. Cadence quickly hung up and turned to her boss with a wide smile. "Hey, Captain Singh, what's up?"

"I wanted your opinion on something," Captain Singh said abruptly. Cadence studied him for a moment. He clasped his hands in front of him, looked over his shoulder and around the room every few seconds, twiddled his thumbs, did everything but stand still and regard her with the hard, command stare he usually did. He was nervous.

"I get the feeling this has nothing to do with work…?" she said slowly, motioning for him to sit across from her. His message for the meeting had sounded important, but now…she had never seen the police captain so nervous before. He sat down and immediately started to bounce his knees. "Let me guess, the wedding, right?"

"Allen hasn't responded to my messages yet," Captain Singh said, confirming Cadence's suspicions. "Has he gotten his suit yet?"

Cadence smiled a little. "Not that I know of. But I can ask him once I get the time." She watched as Captain Singh continued to bounce his knees, seeming to alternate between them. "I know Barry can be really slow with somethings, but I think he'll be quick on this one." She smiled at her own joke then frowned. Was this a Flashpoint thing or something that was always supposed to happen; Barry being in Captain Singh's wedding? There were some changes she noticed as soon as they happened, such as her powers starting to change, others she wasn't sure of.

Then there was the life she had in Flashpoint. Brady had told her a few things after Barry had broken down and told him, but what else about that life was different? Both of her parents were alive…she would've given anything to see her father again, would've loved to see him on Earth-2, but the pain of it…it probably would've killed her. Having to come back and seeing he was gone. But then that also meant she would always be adopted away from Harrison and Tess, was there a life of hers out there where they _didn't_ give her up? How would that life have turned out? Would she have ended up in Central City with all of her friends and Brady?

Cadence shook her head. It was starting to hurt, thinking about everything Flashpoint could've done. Instead, she asked another question. "Have you finally decided what kind of flowers you want to get?"

Captain Singh shook his head. "I say they're a waste of time but he feels it's not a wedding without flowers."

That was the same thing he'd said to her when he asked her opinion on it the first time. He'd phrased it nicely, asking for her help, 'Because you're a young woman and I felt you'd know what you would want for a wedding' before he consistently went to her whenever a challenge popped up. It was getting to the point Cadence felt she was starting to plan her own wedding than Captain Singh's. Not that she didn't enjoy him showing off his anxieties with it, for anyone it was a big day and the rest of the CCPD were working hard to make it a good ceremony for him and his soon to be husband.

"I'm sure a few for the centerpieces won't be a problem," Cadence said diplomatically. She tucked some hair behind her ear, musing she should've sicked her mother on Captain Singh to talk with instead. If there was one thing she was good at, it was planning a party. _And I don't have to worry about being bombarded the next time I come into work._

"Well, enough with that." Captain Singh cleared his throat and straightened his tie. His knees stopped bouncing and Cadence could see he immediately moved back into his 'captain mode'. Nothing but business and straight to the point. 'I wanted to speak with you about your performance review."

Cadence's eyebrows rose. "My performance review?"

"Yes." Captain Singh nodded. "We have it done every time someone switches positions within the department. Now, it has come to my attention that you've really seemed to have found your place working with our Child Protective Services division."

A smile of relief graced Cadence's features. So she wasn't being fired. That was good to know. "I really do love working this position. The people I work with talk back to me." Even Captain Singh smiled at her little joke.

"I hope things continue to stay as pleasurable in this position of work, however I can't help but notice your attendance as well." Cadence thought back to her last few months of working with CPS. She'd been on time every day and even stayed late for the few cases that kept her attention. Captain Singh eased her worries as he said, "You've continued to exhibit regular attendance. Would it be too forward if I asked what it was of your last positions that have made you miss days or call out?"

 _Other than metahumans that don't seem to have a time clock?_ Cadence thought. An excuse came to her quickly. "Brady has had some doctor's appointments lately, check-ups and stuff. Sometimes I've needed to suddenly take him from school."

"And we can all understand that," Captain Singh said. "Especially with what has happened this past year with the elementary school being attacked by metahumans and other criminals." He looked Cadence in the eye. "It's been good to have Flash and Flare around to help out."

Cadence pressed her lips together before nodding in agreement. "Even better that the Registration Act didn't get passed. Or else they wouldn't be able to keep the city safe."

"I'm sure the day job they have are just as important," Captain Singh continued, looking Cadence in the eye. "I doubt they sit and wait for something to happen. With their need and want to help the citizens of the city, I'm sure they find ways to do it in their everyday life as well."

Cadence smiled. Then her attention was diverted by a call coming on her cell phone. She looked at the number, immediately recognizing it, and turned back to Captain Singh. "I'm sorry, Captain Singh, I have a call I need to go to," Cadence said quickly.

"Of course. I'll let you go." Captain Singh stood up, brushing off the seat of his pants. "Please come to my office after your call so we can go over the rest of your performance review."

"I'll be there." Cadence grabbed her car keys from her desk drawer and hurried from the CCPD. She went to the parking lot and got into the car. She drove straight to the mall, knowing what she would find once she got there. It wasn't the first time she'd been called from there.

Cadence pulled the car to a stop and got up, spinning her keys around her finger as she headed to the mall's security office. She walked inside and followed the security guard who motioned to the chair at the side when she went in. Frankie glanced at her and Cadence tilted her head to the side, giving a knowing smile.

"Skipped school?" She guessed. Frankie nodded. Cadence held out her arm. "Come on." She put her arm around Frankie's shoulders as she stood up from her seat, nervously glancing at the security guard as they left. "Have you had breakfast yet?"

Frankie shook her head.

"Good. I can always eat again."

* * *

Brady looked up at Barry a he continued to explain the exhibit that stood before them with even more depth than the placard would show. He tried not to laugh. It was too obvious how into science Barry was, no matter whether others were still listening to him he always had something to say about it. Then again, Brady didn't know that Jupiter could fit 1,300 Earth in its size, nor did he know that there were scientists who were working hard to make it so that Jupiter could be inhabited by humans if Earth became depleted of their resources.

Looking to the side, Brady exchanged a glance with Conner, who pressed his lips together and tried his hardest not to burst out laughing. Brady clamped his teeth down on his lips, hoping not to laugh, too. Seeing Barry's childlike excitement over things like that was always so funny. Even Ryder listened patiently, leaning against his crutches as he waited to move onto the next exhibit. Brady caught his father' eye and Ryder lifted a finger to his lips, motioning for them to keep quiet.

Brady smiled back and ducked his head. Finally, Barry stopped talking long enough for Brady and Conner to move onto another exhibit. "Is he like that all the time?" Conner asked, lowering his voice as they moved along.

"Only when it's about science," Brady said. "And math…and zombie movies…and Star Trek…and Star War…"

"Okay, I get the point." Conner held up his hands, cutting Brady off. Then he looked around before looking at hi phone. Brady followed his gaze and asked, "Nothing yet?" to which Conner replied, "Not yet."

Brady frowned and lowered his voice as they passed others who were in the museum. "How are we supposed to help these guys if they won't respond to our messages to help them?"

Conner shrugged. "We just have to give them time. We know they're glad to have found other metahumans like them, but…we can't force them to want to use their powers." He shoved Brady on the shoulder. "Not everyone is like you, who wanted to have powers as soon as they found out it was a thing."

Brady grinned back. "You have to admit, it's pretty cool."

"Yeah…" Conner shrugged and turned away. "I just wish I could help you more."

Brady frowned. "You _are_ helping me."

"Yeah, but after I'm gone—" Abruptly, Brady walked ahead of Conner, making him jog to catch up to his best friend. "You can handle things on your own. And Leah can help you, too. All I do is let you know how powerful the metas we find are."

"That's still something," Brady insisted stubbornly, sticking his hands into his pockets. "There's still something we can do. I promise." Conner lifted his eyebrows. "Don't give up yet. I'll think of something."

Conner nodded then changed the subject. Only slightly. "I know you're mad at me. But you don't have to take it out on Barry and your mom."

"I'm not mad at you."

"Mhm."

Brady sucked in a sharp breath through his nose then started to respond, but topped. His gaze shifted over Conner's shoulder, eyes narrowing when he spotted a silver-haired young man standing nearby, looking at an exhibit. "Hey, do you see that guy?" Brady grabbed Conner's shoulder and turned him to face the direction he was looking in.

"Yeah, why?" Conner asked.

"He's been following us since we got here," Brady replied.

"Are you sure?"

"Positive."

"Maybe we should tell Barry and your dad." Conner looked over at the two, who were still chatting away, moving slower over the exhibits behind them.

"Yeah, maybe…" Brady tilted his head and studied the guy for a second longer. His eyes widened when he realized he recognized him from the play they had put on months before. The man that had disappeared through the wall. There was only one reason he knew as to how someone could do that. "I think that guys' a meta."

"Really?" Conner leaned over to look. "What makes you say that?"

"Remember the guy at the play?"

"No. I was a little busy to pay attention to a guy sitting in the audience," Conner shot back sarcastically. He looked over as the man started to move in their direction. "He's heading this way. What do we do?"

Brady clenched his hands into fists. There was a lot he could do. He had his yo-yo in his pocket, he finally convinced Cisco and Caitlin to have either that or his slingshot on him at all times so that he would be prepared in case a meta was nearby. But there were also his other abilities. He could use them…but potentially be seen on any of the security cameras that seemed to be everywhere. He pressed his lips together, watching the man get closer and closer.

"I'm glad to see there are those your age who continue to be interested in the sciences," the man aid. His eyes shifted over the room. "Though I can't say it's my personal, favorite subject."

"What do you want?" Brady demanded. "Why are you following us?" He gestured behind them. "You've been watching us since we got here and you were at our play, too. What do you want?" His fingers inched towards his pocket where his yo-yo was held.

The man's eyes shifted to Brady's hand and he smiled. "I merely want to train you."

"Train him?" Conner repeated.

"I'm already being trained," Brady said. Oliver was always one of the best people he had to train him. And he had the rest of Team Flash to help him out when it came to different scenarios he may be faced with and weight training…

"You're not being trained in your abilities, the stronger grasp you have on that, the better off you'll be," the man said. He looked above their heads then back at the two boys. "I can help you do that."

Brady continued to study the man, then his gaze lowered to his arm, noticing a mark on the inside of his wrist. He'd seen that many times before, all the while facing off against his own demon. Brady's eyes widened and he looked up at the man. "You're Black Blade," he realized. Brady and Conner looked at each other and then over their shoulders towards Barry and Ryder.

When they turned back to Black Blade, he was gone.

"Who was that?" Ryder asked, coming to a stop by them.

"Black Blade," Brady replied.

Barry's eyes shifted. "Who?" He asked. But he couldn't miss the sudden change in expression on Ryder's face, to one of equal measures of fear and anger. "I'm guessing we should head to STAR Labs."

Ryder nodded. "Right now."

* * *

Caitlin chewed her fingernails as she paced the floor of the Cortex, trying to stay calm with the explanation that Brady, Ryder, and Conner had just explained to her. She and Cisco continued to exchange glances as they went on, before Barry asking the question, 'Who's Black Blade?' It was then Caitlin remembered how much Barry didn't know about what had been going on with them since he'd been in Flashpoint.

Honestly, she was really curious to know what her life was like over where he had been. Her mind immediately shifted over to Ronnie, where they married over there? Was he still alive? If Barry had run into him, had he brought a message to her? Did she still have her powers over there? Did she want to give them up?

Caitlin lifted her hand and looked at her fingertips. They weren't glowing then, she had a pretty good grasp of controlling her powers after having had worked with Cadence during training. Nevertheless, she still wanted them to go away. There was nothing she wanted more than to go back to being normal. Working behind the desk was A-OK with her. And if there was a life out there where she had that…

"Long story short, Black Blade and White Hot are to Brady and Cadence what the Reverse-Flash and Zoom are to you," Cisco explained, arms folded. "But, of course, with much better names." Caitlin lowered her hand and glared at him, making his eyes grow wide. "I'm being diplomatic, Cait, I'm not saying it's a good thing."

"So, you figured out who he is?" Caitlin asked Brady instead.

"Not really." He scratched the back of his head. "But how many gray haired young guys do you know?" He folded his arms.

"Do you think facial recognition could get it?" Cadence asked. "With the security cameras and everything put in place? Since the first attack on their school and the MRA being worked on, there's been nothing but added security measures around here."

"Means you're going to have to be extra careful with your identity and speed," Caitlin said to Barry, who was slowly grasping everything that was being said to him. "Anyway, I ran my facial recognition software as soon as you told me what's been going on and it's getting nothing."

"But that's impossible," Ryder protested. "There's cameras all over the place."

"Well, he's a metahuman, he probably has other means of getting in and out of buildings that can't be captured on camera," Caitlin said, apologetically. She tucked her hair behind her ear, and chewed her lower lip. "It' just another thing we have to look for, for him."

"But what does he want with Brady?" Barry asked.

"He said he wants to train him," Conner explained then shrugged when all eyes turned to him. "We didn't know what he meant. But he said he wanted to train him."

"Wouldn't all of the fights they've been in so far be training enough?" Cisco asked. "I don't know about you, but I think a good meta fight can do it."

"Well, what about this White Hot person?" Barry asked. "What does she want?"

"Same thing Breathtaker wants," Cadence said calmly. "To kill for money. She basically took my spot within the Assassination Bureau." She bobbed her head back and forth. "When they're not trying to torture me, anyway."

Caitlin looked over when she noticed the stricken expression that came to Barry's face. "What's wrong?" She asked gently.

"Before I went back," Barry said slowly. "They were in the pipeline. We were about to go against Zoom, and…Cadence confronted Breathtaker to know what it was he wanted with her. He said her being part of them was her destiny." He brought his hands to rest on his head. "They were in the Pipeline…"

"Barry, they've been out of the Pipeline for months," Caitlin whispered. She gestured towards Cadence. "We've been keeping track of them the best we can but—"

"—But as well as they've trained me to track people, they're even better at not being found," Cadence interrupted.

"…That means," Barry said slowly, finally able to finish his thought. "Flashpoint got them out of the Pipeline…and they're going after you again." He leveled his gaze at Cadence, a wounded expression reaching his eyes. "It's my fault. All of this is my fault."

Caitlin's heart hurt for Barry, hearing the pain cracking in his voice. It was hard enough for them, to know what Barry did, to know there were things he's done that changed their lives. It was another for Barry to live with the decision, with what he'd seen, and to know things had changed later. "Barry, none of us knew this was going to happen."

"The rest of us probably would've made the same choice," Ryder added. "Don't beat yourself up, man."

"Mm, I'm not sure all of us would," Cisco said. Caitlin glared at him and he looked back at her. "What?"

"Not helping," Caitlin snapped.

"No, Cait, it's okay," Barry said. "I can understand why he'd be mad. Why _any_ of you would be mad."

In dismay, Caitlin struggled for something to say but found herself stuck. Instead, she reached up and started to run her fingers through her hair, right behind her ear. It was a nervous habit she'd had since she was a child. Tilting her head to the side and almost lovingly pulling her fingers through her hair. Her mother always made a comment about it, saying it made her look like a ditz or that she was too preoccupied with her looks when there was always something more important to worry about.

Then her fingers moved over her ears and she stopped, frowning. Caitlin lifted her head and brought up her hand, running them over and over the spot once more. She touched the fastening of her earring and pulled it out to look at it. Her eyebrows came together as she looked over the obsidian drop in her hands. She didn't remember every having the earring before. All of her pieces of jewelry were blue, silver, or white—crystal in appearance. This was black; a cold, cold black.

Caitlin held it in her palm, running her thumb over the stone. Wasn't there something on her credit card about making a recent purchase at a jewelry store? She remembered it being flagged in her email account and getting the call for it. Had she really bought it?

Then something else caught her attention, made her heart stop. A streak. A blonde streak in her hair. She almost didn't notice it, it had been covered by so much of her hair before. When had she gone and gotten a blonde streak done? _Why_ would she have done it?

Heart pounding, Caitlin took off her earrings and arranged her hair behind her ears in a ponytail before lifting her gaze to look around the Cortex. No one else seemed to have noticed her trance-like state, they were still talking quietly to each other. All except Cadence, she noticed her staring off into space, an intense expression on her face.

Barry noticed Caitlin's look and followed it to Cadence. His eyebrows came together when he saw her. She stood as if she were in a trance. "Cay?" Barry asked. "Cade, are you okay?"

Brady leaned over. "Mom?"

Cadence continued to stare. Then her face became a mask of fury and she whipped her hand out, grabbing Barry around the neck. With ease, she lifted him off his feet and held him above the ground. "Heed this warning, Flash," she said, voice not of her own. It was dryer, raspier, sounding like death. "You're not going to win." Barry gasped, feeling Cadence's hand tighten around his neck. His face slowly started to turn red. Everyone else stood frozen with fear. "This not something that can be stopped. Destiny will always be fulfilled."

Cadence pulled back her arm and threw hard. Barry sailed across the Cortex and landed hard in the medical bay, knocking over the computer, the examining table, and a tray filled with supplies as he did so. Before he hit the ground, she teleported over to him, grabbed him, and threw him back in the opposite direction. Barry landed hard on the ground and skidded across the floor. He looked up at her, only looking away when a bolt of yellow lightning shot through the room, following behind Jesse.

She raced towards Cadence and ran around her in quick circles before throwing a punch. Cadence turned around and caught it. Causing Jesse to gasp in surprise. With a smirk, Cadence twisted Jesse's wrist until she fell to her knees and did an illusion, kicking Jesse in the face. Jesse fell back and whipping her head around like a rattler's, Cadence set her sight on Barry once more.

Brady and Conner grabbed his arms and lifted him up as he stared at Cadence in shock, watching her stalk towards him, flames shimmering along her arms. Halfway to him, she stopped in her tracks and the flames went out. With an anguished cry, Cadence grabbed onto her head and backed away so fast she crashed into the wall behind her. Feeling the solid wall, she bent forward then threw herself backwards, smacking her head against it.

Caitlin hurried across the Cortex to stop her. She wrapped her arms around her best friend. "Cade, it's okay. It's okay!"

Cadence suddenly stopped thrashing and her head fell forward. With a gasp, she lifted her head and stared, wide-eyed at her friends, who looked back at her. Her eyes landed on Barry and widened. "Oh God," she whispered. "Not again."

"What was that?" Ryder asked. He looked to Cisco. "Did she lose control of her powers?"

"Not my powers," Cadence explained. She swallowed hard. "My mind…my body…Mindboggler must've done it or…or Breathtaker. It felt the same, exactly the same as it did before when he'd force me to kill. And when I saw my vision."

Caitlin's eyes widened in horror at the implication. If they were able to get her when she was driving _and i_ n STAR Labs without being traced…They were much stronger than they thought. "Why would he do it now?" Caitlin asked.

"To show he can," Cadence said grimly.

* * *

 **A/N:** So Barry's causing Flashpoint made the Assassination Bureau get out of the Pipeline _and_ it's revealed that Breathtaker _wants_ her to know what's going on. That can't be good. I hope you guys enjoyed the chapter. What do you think of the pacing? Is it a little too fast?

Please remember to review; any feedback helps me become a better writer and motivates me to write more. I respond to every review, even anonymous ones.

 **Cheers,**

 **-Riley**


	6. It Never Stops

**06**

 _It Never Stops_

* * *

Central City's normal, beautiful morning, was shattered by the sound of a low _kaboom_ with a tremor that followed. In the mortgage office that looked over downtown Central City, clients and their brokers got out of their seats and edged towards the windows to find the cause of the ruckus. Their movement towards the windows was the best choice they could've made, for at that exact moment the windows were blown out with a strong wind.

Shards of glass flew across the office, sticking into chairs and the wall, the wind flattening the innocent civilians to the ground. With another pump of wind, Cadence was knocked through the open hole in the window. She rolled across the floor, crashing into office chairs and desks as she went before finally crashing into the wall behind her. She glared, flipping her hair out of her face when Stratos, with a jet stream, let himself into the whole he created. He stood above Cadence, folding his arms and studied her.

It had been a hard-fought battle, lasting for almost an hour with strong, critical blows striking each other at the most opportune moments. Stratos's left eye was swollen shut and bruising marred his face. Cadence was as worse for the wear, blood trickled down the side of her head and out the corner of her mouth, her goggles had been hit so hard into her face it cut into the skin, threatening to reach bone. She struggled to get back to her knees, failing before collapsing every few seconds.

With a tilt of his head, Stratos's blue eyes flashed dangerously. "Are you ready to listen to what we have to say?"

"Why bother?" Cadence managed to rasp out, voice as weak as her. Her accelerated healing should've kicked in by that point, but there was too much damage. It'd take longer for her to heal all her injuries. It was enough that she was using her energy to keep up her blitz of attacks against Stratos. The two gasped for air, trying to keep themselves upright. Even from where Cadence sat, she could see Stratos struggling to keep his eyes open, focused. This was going to end, and it was going to end soon. "Whether or not I'm with you or against you, you're going to lose." She grinned, the blood that filled in the spaces between her teeth made her smile ghastly. "You're not going to kill me."

"I won't?" Stratos replied. He lifted his hand, air swirling around his hand. It was hard to see, but the shimmering of the area around his hand gave it away; he'd created an air whip. He brought his arm back, the air whip following his movement, and shot it forward. The air whip sliced through the air and crashed into Cadence's side, ripping open her suit and skin at the same time. Blood dripped down to her legs, despite the pain, Cadence refused to cry out.

Stratos listed his gaze towards her face, taking in the scar on her cheek and lifted his hand. A quiet warning. 'I missed, but I don't miss this time'.

"You need me," Cadence said. Shakily, she got to her feet, falling to her knees once. Bracing her back against the wall, she managed to keep herself upright. She took in a deep breath and looked Stratos in the eye. "Or else you wouldn't be coming after me so much."

Stratos slowly grinned back. The wind picked up around him, tugging at his clothes and hair, making papers fly through the air and out the window. The civilians caught in the unfortunate crossfire of good vs. evil quickly and quietly made their way out of the office as the two challenged each other.

"We'll see about that," he promised.

With that, he brought up his arms and the wind blew harder. Cadence's eyes turned orange and she pushed herself off the wall, flames appearing on her arms. They started as small flickered before becoming a brilliant blaze of glory, aided by the wind Stratos created. The two launched towards each other at the same time, colliding in a brilliant ball of fire.

 _Thwoom._

The noise was low but deafening. Simultaneously, oxygen was given to and taken away from Cadence's flames, causing a backdraft that immediately engulfed the floor of the building. Brown smoke billowed between the two, creating a shield of darkness that covered them and the entire floor before falling out into the street below. The explosion of the backdraft between them combined with the sudden implosion of heat knocked the two off their feet, sending them straight up into the ceiling before being buffeted on all sides to fly across the room. Fire rained down onto the street below, making those on the sidewalk cover their heads and scurry away as quickly as possible.

Those that couldn't move fast enough were scorched, cars starting to melt, their windows blowing out. Inside the office, Cadence and Stratos lay quietly on the ground, thick clouds of smoke hanging overhead. Melted computers smoldered on the table tops, threatening to start smaller fires, the carpet holding smaller flames. An alarm went off, blaring loudly to warn the other floors of the building of the impending emergency. It wouldn't take long before the smoke alarms started to go off, setting off the sprinklers.

Throughout the chaos, Cadence and Stratos lay unconscious on the office floor, smoke continuing to billow around them. Creating a darkness that enveloped them long before they'd known it, ever since they had first been contacted by Breathtaker. A darkness that wouldn't go away until the day Breathtaker was dead.

With a gasp, Cadence sat up straight in bed. Her sheets lay tangled around her legs, tendrils and vines that kept her rooted in place. Frantically, Cadence kicked them away, her legs were on fire. No, her whole body was. It was too hot. She need air. Desperately. She went to the window—the perpetually open window that Barry used as his entrance to her apartment and stuck her head out. The night air was cool, but not cool enough. The temperature around her continued to steadily increase. Hotter and hotter.

Uttering a strangled moan, Cadence leapt to her feet and ran to the bathroom. Of what she remembered from her schooling, the fastest way to get from point A to point B was a straight line. Unfortunately for Barry, that straight line was across the room and the bed, where he slept soundly. Cadence charged across the bed, trampling Barry out his slumber as she did so.

"Huh?" Barry jerked out of sleep, just in time to receive a kick to his kidney before his knee was trod on. He curled himself into a ball to protect himself further, waiting for the onslaught of blows to end. "What's going on?" Barry untangled himself in time to see Cadence practically fly into the bathroom, holding a hand over her mouth. "Cade?" He pushed off the covers of his legs and in a bolt of lightning was by her side, smoothing her hair back from her face. "Are you okay?"

Cadence barely managed a nod before she leaned into the toilet bowl and threw up again. "Mom?" Brady phased through the bedroom door in a run and hurried to the bathroom. He stood next to Barry, who watched Cadence with an air of anxiety. "Is she okay?"

"She's just a little sick," Barry said, rubbing the fire metahuman's back.

"Oh." Brady ran out of the room and came back a few moments later with a towel draped over his arm and a mug cradled between his hands. He went into the bathroom and knelt next to his mother, who continued to hold her head over the toilet, shoulders shaking as she heaved. "You'll be okay, mom." He ran the towel under hot water in the sink then draped it over her neck. "Here's some water." He nudged the mug towards her.

"Thanks, bud," Cadence mumbled in reply.

Brady nodded and sat cross-legged next to her. Barry smiled at the gesture and continued to rub Cadence's back. She had stopped heaving but continued to rest her forehead against the front of the toilet bowl, begging for something to cool her down. Noticing, Brady pushed the mug of water closer to her and she took it with a shaking hand to sip at it.

"Hey, Brady, maybe you should go back to bed," Barry suggested. "It's a little late."

Brady shook his head. "I'm fine," he said. He let out a quiet sigh and rested his chin in his hands, watching his mother closely. "I've been helping her since you were gone. I can still do it."

Barry nodded back.

Cadence listened to them but didn't respond. Her head was swirling with too many things, all leading back towards the time in her life she thought she was making good decisions to further her life. Leaving Metropolis, finding Central City, doing as many odd jobs—and they were _odd—_ as she could to take care of Brady, to finding money to pay or rent, to stay in school. All of that seeming to come crashing down the moment he had said to Mindboggler that she wouldn't mind doing a delivery for her, and by extension, for Breathtaker.

 _No,_ she realized. _It started before then. When you were still living on the streets._ She closed her eyes, shook her head. It was all starting to muddle together but she could see how each decision, each choice she made blended into each other. That one she wouldn't speak about…how much longer could she keep all her secrets of her life in Central City from her friends when she knew the outcome? They'd hate her, not see her the same way, see her the same way she saw herself. As a murderer who was trying their hardest to achieve a sense of…finally being able to move on. Now she really knew how Barry felt, not able to move on from his mother's death for so long.

It wasn't the same and yet…maybe it was more similar than either of them would like to admit.

"Mom, did you have a bad dream?" Brady's voice broke her out of her thoughts.

Cadence shook her head, taking another long sip of water. She set the mug aside and leaned back so that she could look her son in the eye. "Memory, of when I fought Stratos." Brady nodded in agreement. "These guys are getting stronger, Breathtaker, too. If we don't stop them soon, I'm not sure what's going to happen. With this Dr. Alchemy guy running around, too…" she shook her head. "Looks like there's going to be a lot of trouble coming for us, soon."

"We can handle it," Barry insisted. "We've managed to take down every other threat that's come to the city and we can handle these guys, too."

"Yeah, but that last time we got the Assassination Bureau, they got back out of the Pipeline," Brady pointed out. He then clapped his hands over his mouth and gave Barry an apologetic look, who gave him a comforting smile in response. "I mean, well, if it wasn't for Flashpoint—"

"Flashpoint has nothing to do with it," Cadence interrupted with a shake of her head. "It's what I've been saying since the beginning. Breathtaker is the oldest metahuman I know. Like, _old,_ old. He's been around long enough to have these abilities I haven't seen in other metas. He always has a plan, always has something up his sleeve. He wanted to be put let go the first time we saw them, wanted to get caught the second time, wanted to be put into the Pipeline."

"But why?" Brady asked.

"To watch us," Barry said suddenly, remembering what Cadence had said when Breathtaker had taken over her body. "And because he could. He wanted to show there's nothing that can be done to stop him."

"Except us," Brady said with a hopeful lift to his voice. His eyes shifted back and forth over his mother and his friend. "Right?"

"Right," Barry and Cadence agreed with varying levels of belief in their words.

* * *

Later that morning, after the three had gotten back to sleep, it was a normal morning in the Nash apartment. Cadence, Barry, and Brady hurried around, getting ready for their day. Barry superspeed a quick breakfast for the three, shoving it into Brady's hand as he was seconds away from leaving to go to school.

"Barry, I know you can cook really fast, but I don't think a pancake is supposed to be this crunchy," Brady said, turning the offending object back and forth in his hand as he looked it over.

"Sorry, I'm in a rush," Barry apologized. He nodded towards the backpack that sat on the counter. "I looked over your homework, too."

"Oh, thanks!" Brady took his backpack and slung the straps over his shoulders. "You know, you're really getting the hand of this whole parental figure thing."

 _I hope so,_ Barry said. He patted the pocket of his sweats. Now was a good time as any. "Actually, Brady, there's something I wanted to talk to you about—"He turned as Cadence walked into the kitchen, dressed in sports gear and tying her hair up into a high ponytail, and clammed up.

"Hi, mom," Brady greeted his other. He eyed her carefully. "How are you feeling?"

"A lot better, thanks," Cadence said. She gave Brady a noisy kiss on the cheek, making him make a face and exaggeratedly run his palm down his cheek to remove the spot then turned to do the same to Barry. "Hey, thanks for breakfast." She picked up a pancake and her eyebrows came together as she turned it back and forth, much like Brady had done moments before. "I think."

"Okay, okay, I get it," Barry said. He dropped the other offending pieces of breakfast on the counter and dusted off his hands. "If you guys aren't going to eat it then I won't. Maybe Joe and Iris have something left for me."

"Wow, one day where I don't have to worry about the food bill," Cadence said with a light laugh.

"I already told you I have no problem buying food," Barry said.

"Yeah, but the last time you did that, you went extreme couponing to the point that we had cereal boxes filling up the living room," Brady said. He heard a low horn honk from outside and grabbed his keys from the countertop. "That's the bus. Gotta go."

"Bye, bud. Have a good day," Cadence called after him.

"I'll try!" Brady called back before running out of the apartment.

Barry smiled as the door slammed behind the young boy. "You know, I really liked school, but I don't remember ever actually being excited enough to go that I ran to school." Cadence lifted her eyebrows in surprise. "The bullies usually waited outside to jump me."

"Ah." She nodded at the explanation then folded her arms. "Actually, I was wondering how you managed to have such a healthy love for the academics when you were getting your stomach beat in every day."

"Blind optimism?" Barry shrugged.

"Yeah, I hope that's it. Otherwise, I'd be seriously worried about you." Cadence looked at her watch. "I've got to go or I'm going to be late." She eyed him curiously. "Don't you start work at ten now? Why are you getting ready?"

"I've got to stop by Joe's place to talk to him about some things," Barry explained. "Then I'll head over there." He gave her a kiss. "See you later." Cadence waved and teleported in a few seconds. Barry raced from the apartment and back to Joe's house, bursting through the front door so fast that Joe, who was enjoying a cup of coffee on the couch jump, splashing the scalding liquid on the floor.

"You've got to stop doing that," Joe mumbled, holding his mug as far away from him as he could. "I swear, if you don't, I'm going to have a heart attack."

"Sorry." Barry walked over to the couch, eyeing Joe warily. He lifted his wrist and looked at his watch. "Um…aren't you supposed to be at work right now?" He watched as Joe shrugged, focusing his attention on the coffee that was soaking into the floor. A scary thought entered his head. "You _do_ still have a job, right?" Flashpoint didn't ruin that, too, did it?

Joe nodded. "Yes, Barry, I still have a job. I'm just not going today." He moved aside and allowed Barry to sit next to him. Carefully, he set the mug aside and leaned back on the couch. He picked up the remote and started to flip through the channels. "Captain Singh allowed me some time off. God knows I've needed it after these new events we've got going on. First Edward Clariss from this life that you call Flashpoint is a Speedster over here, there's this clown named Alchemy running around, and now the Assassination Bureau that decided to rear its head again." He shook his head. "To say I need a mental health day is an understatement."

"If that were the case, Joe, don't you think we'd all be going crazy?" Barry asked, stretching his arms out not he couch.

Joe blinked at him. "Color me this, Barry, how do you think people would respond if you told them that you were The Flash and was running around the city trying to save people from metahumans. And not only that, but you've run back in time twice to save your mom, the first time you didn't, the second you did, and then you went back a third time to have her murdered again which then caused Flashpoint, which changed your life here." He waited for Barry's response.

Barry mulled it over for a few seconds, rubbing his lips together. Then he twisted his mouth to the side and rubbed at his brow bone. "Yeah, I guess you're right. If I wasn't me, I wouldn't believe it either." He gave Joe a sly look out of the corner of his eye. "You have any tips to help me through it?" Joe gave him a confused look. "I mean, you were the one who was always saying Iris and I were driving you cray."

"Because you were. I could hardly go a day without one of you getting into some sort of trouble and don't think I've forgotten about the time you both managed to destroy my brand-new car." He patted Barry on the leg and got up to clean the spill he'd made. "Again, that's the least of my problems to need a mental health day."

Barry noticed the sad tone that had come to his voice and looked at him sadly. He clasped his hands together between his knees and leaned forward so that he could continue looking at Joe's face. Studying him. "Joe," he said slowly. "What happened with Francine wasn't your fault," he said. "There wasn't anything else we could've done."

"I know that here," Joe admitted, pointing to his forehead. "I don't know that here." He pointed to his heart. "I just…it's hard to look at Wally and Iris and know that if I hadn't…if Francine and I had tired to work things out before, then maybe things would've been different now."

Barry shook his head. There were too many 'what-ifs to think about. The same wort of things that have kept him up at all hours of the night, kept him in his head of all hours of the day. What if he did this instead of that? What if he did that instead of this? To know Joe was worrying about the same things…Barry couldn't take it. Joe was one of the strongest men he'd know and to see him so vulnerable lately…?

"Wally and Iris would've had their mother around, I could've been paying for her medical bills a lot longer."

"Joe, her sickness was terminal. There wasn't anything you could do."

"Again, I know that but…" Joe shook his head. "I'm sorry, Bare, I know I shouldn't be loading this on you. There's already so many things that you're dealing with, that _all_ of us are dealing with. It's hard to figure out what's normal considering what's happened. And, to be honest, Barry, I don't blame you for anything you've done. For the same reason that I don't want to know about my life in Flashpoint."

 _Good, because I really don't want to tell you,_ Barry thought.

"I want to move on and the moment we can all do that, to move on from the stressors of our past and focus on the present, the better off we'll be." Joe placed his hand on Barry's shoulder and squeezed it gently. "That's one of the best pieces of advice my father's ever given me. To remember that you can't change the past and the only thing you can do is learn from it." He snorted. "Easier said than done."

"Story of my life," Barry agreed.

"And thus, the reason that I think you need to stop being so hard on yourself. Go to work, have a good day, let Captain Singh be the one that's hard on you." Joe grinned, poking Barry in the chest. "I hate to be you when he sees you today. He's been asking about—"

"—The suit," Barry suddenly remembered, closing his eyes. He smacked his palms against his forehead. "Right. I still have to get the suit."

"And you also said you'd—"

"—That'd I help him write his vows," Barry added. "You know, I don't know why he wants me to help him with that? It's not like all of the reports and everything's I've written at work has me figuring out wedding vows."

Joe gave him a funny look. "You know he's just nervous and is trying to get as much help as he can. And at the CCPD we're supposed to be family. Just like everyone was there for you—"

"—When they were interrogating me and my dad, you mean?" Barry asked.

"Exactly. I'm going to tell you a little secret, Barry, Captain Singh hated having to do that, much more than you think. And it's something he greatly regrets despite how much high esteem he has for his job. He may ride you hard on your job, but he's always trying to make you work to the best of your abilities. And, I hope that you can do the same for him, even if he is starting to become a little demanding with his wedding."

Barry smiled and nodded. Then he looked Joe in the eye, his eyes narrowing. "How did you manage to turn this conversation around to me? We were talking about you."

Joe smirked. "I've been a cop for over twenty years, and through that time I've had a lot of experience talking criminals into exposing themselves. I knew at some point that it was going to work on you." He laughed as Barry rolled his eyes.

Barry's phone suddenly started to ring, and he quickly pulled it from his pocket, glancing at the text on screen. "Uh, Joe, I know you wanted to take the day off, but this may be something that you want to postpone it for." Joe's eyebrows rose in confusion and Barry turned the phone to face him. Joe read the message his eyes widened. "Can you take a day off for metas?"

"Just because we were able to keep the MRA from going through doesn't mean there's not a chance that some other meta incident will have it come back under a new name," Joe said. "Just give me a chance to get dressed and,"—he pointed directly in Barry's face— "don't even _think_ about super speeding me through it."

* * *

Barry and Joe arrived at the CCPD just in time to find Iris heading out the door. She noticed the two and smiled brightly, stopping to wait for them to reach her. "Hey," Barry greeted her happily.

Iris smiled back at the two. "Hey," she said. "What are you doing here?" She asked the question at the same time as Joe then said, "I'm here trying to get some more information on the man who was attacked by a lamp post last night. What about you? I thought you were taking the day off."

"So was I, but anything meta related, you know I can't miss that," Joe said. He looked up and nodded as Captain Singh waved for them to go into his office. Barry leaned over and saw a teenage girl sitting on the couch on the far side of the office, her glove covered hands clasped between her knees. "Looks like they need us now."

"Yeah, let me know if there's anything you get from him," Iris said. She shook her head towards him. "I've always known Captain Singh to be a bit of a hard ass, but I never thought he hated the press so much." She pursed her lips, pressing her hands to her hips. "Do you think I could convince him that he should only speak to me to get his side of the story out?"

"I could try to convince him," Joe said. "Nepotism has to work sometime." He smiled and leaned down to kiss the cheek Iris offered him. "I'll let you know if we get anything you can use, baby."

"Thanks daddy." Iris smiled and turned to Barry, grasping his arm. "Tell Cadence that I've got something to tell her later and then I've to talk to you about something."

Barry's mind reeled, trying to keep everything straight. "Okay, I can meet you at Jitters later."

"Awesome. See you guys."

Barry exchanged a glance with Joe, who shrugged in response. He had no idea what it was she'd need to talk about. Though with a deduced guess, it may have to do with Wally or Joe or Francine or all three. Rather than dwelling on it, Barry tilted his head towards Captain Singh's office and the two went inside. The girl looked up at him and Barry took her in. Shoulder-length brown hair with reddish purple streaks dyed into it, a large, multi-layered leather jacket, a ratty t-shirt, black jeans ripped at the knees, black boots, and fingerless gloves covering her hands.

"Frankie Kane," Joe greeted her. "I'm Detective Joe West, this is Barry Allen, we're here to ask you a few questions about what happened last night. Is that okay?"

Frankie nodded, twisting her fingers together. "Um, yeah, that's fine," she said. She pulled on the wrist of her gloves, moving them up her hands to scratch her palms. "I'm not sure how I can help but…"

"Well, I just want to make sure of some information that the CCPD received since last night," Joe said. He looked at Barry who nodded back. It was a case of high importance with Captain Singh relaying all the information they needed for the case on their way to the CCPD—which would've been a shorter trip had Joe not insisted that they drive there rather than Barry running. "So, it says you were in the room when your father—"

"—Foster father," Frankie quickly interrupted. "John. He's…my foster father."

"Right, foster father," Joe quickly corrected himself. He gave Frankie a small smile and she gave one in return before starting to chew her lower lip. Her eyes darted towards the door of the office every time a sound was heard from the rest of the office. She gasped as there was a crashing sound, jumping nearly a foot in the air with a flinch.

Barry looked over to see a criminal being brought into the front desk, arms clasped behind his back with handcuffs stuck around his wrists. He thrashed back and forth to break himself free while shouting at the top of his lungs. He got up and quickly closed the door, immediately sealing the noise off from the room. He flashed Frankie an apologetic smile, noticing she immediately relaxed once the noise was gone.

"Frankie," Joe said gently, grasping her attention once more. "You were in the room when he was struck by the lamp post."

"Yeah, but, I don't remember that," Frankie mumbled, still running her hands over each other. Her eyes flickered over Barry's and Joe's faces, unable to stay still for a second. "He came home and yelled at Karen, my foster mom, to get him dinner."

"Is that when you blacked out?" Barry pressed.

He remembered times of that happening when he first moved in with Joe and Iris. There were times he'd be sitting on his bed, staring into space, or staring at nothing, and the next thing he knew, hours had passed. Hours he didn't remember and couldn't get back. Other times he'd be so angry and yelling at Joe or he'd be running away and the next thing he knew, he was further away than he thought, or was sudden alone.

Even when he was being interrogated, there were times where he'd have people asking him question after question and he'd black out. There were many moments in the transcripts that were blacked out with marker or mentioned long moments of him staring in silence. He didn't remember any of it until speaking about it much later. He hadn't realized how concerning it was.

"Yeah, I think so," Frankie murmured.

"Has that happened before?" Barry asked, leaning towards her. "You…blacking out?"

Frankie lowered her gaze as she nodded. Then abruptly changed the subject to ask. "Is John going to be okay?"

Joe and Barry exchanged glances. Joe took a deep breath then said. "He's in Central City hospital, he's pretty banged up." There was a knock on the door and Joe stood up to open the door. His eyebrows rose in surprise when he saw Cadence standing on the other side. "What are you doing here? This isn't…"

"I've been working with Frankie for a couple of months now," Cadence explained as she squeezed into the room. She nodded to Barry, who looked back at her in confusion. "Captain Singh told me she was asking for me specifically." Her eyes shifted to Frankie. "No skipping school this time?"

Frankie shook her head. "Not since last time. I guess they really don't believe that I could be over eighteen."

"The fake ID had nothing to do with it, you just have a really young-looking face," Cadence reassured her. Then she turned her attention to Joe and Barry. "So, I'm assuming that the whole attacked by lamp post thing is why you two are here?" She asked. Her eyes met Barry's and he lifted his eyebrows in response, making her nod.

That was all the confirmation she needed. There was no need to even say it out loud, they knew each other well enough to convey certain things only through a look. When it came to metahuman stuff, that was a conversation that was easily explained without any looks or words at all, they were on the same wavelength. So, when Joe excused themselves and the three left the office for some privacy, it didn't take more than a few seconds for Barry to launch into his findings of the case.

"The outer layer of the lamp post is a half an inch thick," Barry explained, placing his hands on his hips. "But to bend even a quarter inch of steel it requires 177 tons of tensile strength, so…"

"So, we're looking for a meta with super strength," Joe surmised.

"How many metas do we know have that power?" Cadence asked. Barry and Joe both looked at her and she held up her hands. "Besides me, I mean. And for those that have that power, why would they want to attack Frankie's foster father?" A sneer came to her face as she folded her arms. "Other than the obvious, I mean."

"What's that?" Barry asked.

Joe ran a hand over his head. "Frankie has been in and out of the hospital since she was placed with her foster family. Broken bones here, bruises there…"

"I'm sure he's abusing her," Cadence explained. She jutted out her hip, shaking her head. "In fact, I'm 100% sure he is. I just haven't been able to get any proof. Whenever I talk to Frankie about it, she shuts down or acts like nothing's happening. If I don't have any concrete proof, I can't have him arrested. All we can do is continued welfare checks."

 _And that's why she asked for you,_ Barry realized. He smiled a little. It wasn't so surprising. Cadence had always been great with kids, helping Brady, Conner, and Leah when she had the time and opportunity. Her career change to CPS was certainly boding her well if she could figure that out for Frankie so easily. So, what did that have to do with her foster father being attacked? There was a link there they had to have been missing.

"I suppose you're all conversing about the case of the man attack by a lamp post," Julian said as he walked over to the group, eyeing the three. "Detective West. Cadence." Joe and Cadence nodded in response to Julian before the latter's green eyes landed on Barry, barely concealing his disgust. "Allen." Barry rolled his eyes. "I couldn't help but overhear your explanation of the force needed to bend the lamp post. The only problem with that sad little theory is that there are no fingerprints on the post."

"He could've been wearing gloves," Barry defended himself. "Or maybe he didn't need to touch the post at all."

"Yes, perhaps, but the curvature of the post shows that there was an equal amount of pressure put on the post at the same time," Julian explained, his eyes still on Barry. "So, unless our strong man has a wingspan of over twenty feet—"

"—Something else caused it," Joe said. "Something like a meta."

"Or, rather, some _one_ like a meta," Julian said. He nodded towards the office they just left. Frankie continued to sit on the couch, bringing her hands up to rest her face in them, almost as if she were unaware of what was going on around her.

Barry and Cadence exchanged another glance and understood immediately. Julian thought it was Frankie that had attacked her father. "You can't be serious," Barry said.

"I happen to be very serious, I don't tend to joke a lot," Julian commented. He put his hands to his hips and cocked his head to the side. "The circumstances surrounding this case are staring you right in the face and you're not taking the obvious course of action."

"Of priming her as the suspect?" Cadence's eyebrows rose. "To echo Barry, 'you can't be serious'."

"Well, I understand you used to work with the CPD as a medical examiner as your past position but that is very different from the active case we have going on now. Are you sure you can handle this case the way it's meant to be handled? I'd hate to think that your feelings for this girl are going to cloud your judgement."

A slow smile came to Cadence's face and she smiled sweetly at Julian. Though Barry knew it wasn't quite as sweet as it should be, seeing the flames flickering in her eyes. Barry's eyes flickered to the metal railing she was leaning against, what was used to help those in wheelchairs to traverse the stairs of the precinct. Fast enough that neither Joe nor Julian noticed, Barry rubbed his feet back and forth along the floor so that static was created then stuck out his hand, pressing a finger to the metal railing. Electricity shot up the rod and into Cadence's hand, making her yelp and pull her hand back.

She glared at Barry, who lifted his eyebrows innocently. Sufficiently calmed down, Cadence said to Julian, "I can keep my feelings out of my cases so long as I know where they're going. This one,"—she pointed towards Frankie—"is either going to end up with her dead because of her foster father or put under scrutiny of a witch hunt because of you."

"Too right," Julian agreed. "So maybe I'll be able to refrain from saying 'I told you so' when I'm proven right." He held up a finger. "But I'm warning you now it'll be very hard." With that, Julian walked into the office and knocked to grab Frankie's attention. "Hello, there. I'm sorry, I haven't introduced myself, my name is Julian Albert."

"I'm Frankie," she said. "Frankie Kane."

"Right." He looked at the glass in her hand. "Can I get you some more water?" She nodded, and Julian took the glass from her. With a nod, he turned and walked back out of the office. "This will give us all the evidence we need but you may want to give her another glass." He tossed it into the air and caught it in his palm, unable to stop the smug smile on his face. "Again, I want to warn you that when I say, 'I tell you so' it'll be very sweet."

With that, he walked away.

"Man, I hate that guy," Barry murmured.

"We know," Joe and Cadence chorused.

* * *

Brady was already in a bad mood when the school day ended. Hearing about what was going on Frankie and the CCPD wasn't helping matters much. How was it that everything in his life could've been going so well then completely fall apart? One minute he had a great life with great friends, who were okay with him having powers and helped him as much as he helped them? He and Conner were doing everything they could to find other metas in their school and were soon going to start meeting up with them.

Conner's idea of the private Instagram account had been a good one. Even Leah opted to help when she could. But it wasn't enough to keep things from falling apart. Black Blade's want to train him confused him more than anything else. Black Blade was someone who he'd been fighting for months now, every now and then he would show up in Central City and cause a ruckus just for Brady to run to find him. It had been exciting at first, knowing he had a rival who wanted to fight him just as White Hot did with his mom and all the speedsters did with Barry.

But to train him? Train him to make him stronger? Train him to make him a better foe against the Assassination Bureau and this Alchemy guy? He wasn't a little kid anymore and could do a lot. Sure, he had to work on his flying and there was also that new energy field thing he could do, but he'd saved Central City from as many criminals and metas as his mom over the summer, even when he was away on trips. What else was it that he needed to do to be taken seriously.

 _Be part of work, obviously,_ Brady thought, still listening to everything his mother was saying about Frankie as they went into their apartment. Brady tossed his backpack aside and ran a hand through his hair, blue hair dye sticking to his fingers as they ran over the tips. He was going to need a touchup soon. _Not that she'd even notice,_ Brady thought.

"Is Frankie a meta?" He asked, interrupting her explanation.

"Not that I'm aware of," Cadence replied, taking a long gulp of water from a water bottle that sat at her side. "Why?" She asked, wiping off her mouth and re-capped the bottle.

"I'm just wondering why you're suddenly so interested in her," Brady said. "If it's a meta it'd make sense." He shrugged. "You're always so preoccupied with meta stuff. When you're not too busy with Barry, anyway. Not since he got back."

Cadence leveled her gaze at her son and looked at him seriously. "What are you talking about?" Brady stared back at her. "Okay." Cadence set her water bottle aside and folded her arms. She continued to look her son in the eye for a long moment before asking, "Did something happen at school today?"

"Nothing ever happens at school, mom, or else it'd be all over the news. That's the only time that you'd care." Brady's voice dripped with sarcasm. "You don't like the PTA and you don't like doing any of things school puts on because you're always so worried about what the other parents have to say about you."

"I just don't have patience for it," Cadence corrected him. "I always know what they're saying or at least thinking."

Brady continued, as if he hadn't heard her. "And the guys in my class, they're always saying things about you." He looked her up and down, taking in the blazer over the blouse that barely touched the top of her jeans. Different from the usual crop-tops, cold shoulder blouses, and shorts she typically wore to stave off the warmth her body gave off. But not by much. "Why do you have to dress like that? And why do you always have to act like nothing else exists when you and Barry are together."

Cadence lifted an eyebrow and let out a short, frustrated breath. Her hands clenched into fists at her side and she closed her eyes before saying evenly, "What is it you want me to do?"

"Stop embarrassing me," Brady snapped, cheeks flushing when his voice cracked.

Cadence immediately matched his temper. "What is your problem?"

"I just want you to stop dressing like—" Brady cut himself off, crossed his arms, and stubbornly looked away. It was like a gun had gone off. The silence that stretched after Brady cutting himself off was excruciatingly loud. She got the message loud and clear.

"Like a slut?" Cadence surmised. With a roll of his eyes, Brady turned and walked to his room. Cadence followed him. "I'm still speaking to you. Like a what?"

"Nothing," Brady said.

"No, what were you going to say?"

"Nothing! God!" Brady snapped back. "You ruin everything." He went into his room, slamming the door shut behind him. Cadence gritted her teeth and entered the room after him. Brady grabbed his pillow and threw it at his mother. "GET OUT OF MY ROOM!"

Cadence batted the pillow aside and grabbed him by the arms. Jerking him around, Cadence grasped his chin, forcing him to look at her. Her eyes blazed with fury. "Never in the eleven years that you've been alive have I ever wanted to hit you, but right now I'm really holding myself back from doing it. I'm an adult, Braden, and I'm the one who decides the way I dress and the way I act with whomever I'm seeing. And you know that I've always respected you and kept things to a minimum if I ever thought it'd make you uncomfortable. I'm sorry if you can't handle the way your friends talk about me, but I'd prefer it, if you're embarrassed, that you tell your friends that their comments are inappropriate, and you don't appreciate it. And that they're the ones who need to change, not me. You know you're the most important thing in my life and accusing me of not caring about you is pure bullshit."

Cadence dropped her hand from his chin.

Still glaring, Brady turned away from her.

"But then again, what do I know?" Cadence asked, voice quiet. "I'm just a mom, right?" Brady's back to her was like a stone wall, but she saw his shoulders hunch up. Tense. She got him as easily as he got to her. Cadence turned to leave his room, reaching to close the door behind her.

"I hate you," Brady murmured. Quiet enough that he knew it slipped from his lips, but loud enough for her to hear.

Cadence closed her eyes and took a calming breath as she closed the door behind her. She went straight to her room and pulled the door shut. She went to her bed and sat down, pulling out her cell phone. For a few moments she held it in her hand, trying to keep the tears from falling down her cheek but soon found herself in the losing battle with her broken heart.

Sniffling, she dialed a number and put the phone to her ear. "Hey," she said shakily when the other person picked up. "Can you come over? I need you." She waited for the confirmation on the other end. "The door's open, you can just come in."

Then Cadence hung up her phone, it started to ring seconds later. "Hey Cait," she murmured, wiping at her eyes. She tried to sound composed. "What's up? What's going on?"

"Are you okay?" Caitlin asked, instead of answering her friend's question.

"Yeah, I'm fine." Cadence took a deep breath and steadied her voice. "What's up?"

Caitlin took a deep breath. "Edward Clariss is dead."

* * *

Harrison Wells and Tess Morgan waited for the secretary to let them into the office. Hand-in-hand they strolled over the carpeted hallway and into the spacious office that overlooked downtown Central City. That overlooked the construction being done on the office building that had been destroyed by Flare's and Stratos's fight a few months before.

"To what do we owe the pleasure?" Harrison asked, making the large leather chair behind the desk turn around.

"It sounded really important if we had to come in so fast," Tess added.

Lex Luthor smiled, his eyes darting back and forth over their faces. "You have no idea," he said pleasantly. He reached out a hand towards the chairs that sat across the desk from him. "Please, sit down and I'll tell you everything."

* * *

 **A/N:** Ooh, Cade vs. Stratos did not go well at all. If anyone's confused, while it was a dream here, it was a dream of a memory as it was a fight Cade had with Stratos while Barry was gone. And, oh Brady, he and Cadence really are at odds. I promise, things aren't going to be as dark as they were on the show, there are plenty of lighthearted moments in this story.

Please remember to review; any feedback helps me become a better writer and motivates me to write more. I respond to every review, even anonymous ones.

 **Cheers,**

 **-Riley**


	7. Nothing Lasts Forever

**07**

 _Nothing Lasts Forever_

* * *

"Don't you think you're overreacting a little?" Ryder looked up when Cadence glared at him. "I don't think Brady really hates you. If he did, you would be at each other's throats all the time."

"You didn't see the look on his face when he said it," Cadence replied. She finished the rest of her hot chocolate and set the empty mug aside. The moment her hands left the mug, the steam that curled from the top immediately disappeared. It paid to have the ability to keep her drinks from turning lukewarm. "I'm sure he meant it. Besides, he's never said he's hated you."

Ryder's eyebrows rose in disbelief. "Hasn't he?"

Cadence shrugged, dropping her hands into her lap. "Before you came to Central City I didn't talk about you much, only to answer a few questions that he had. But he never said he hated you." She lifted a finger. "Actually, if I remember correctly, he said he hated me then, too, when he found out who you were." Ryder grimaced then moved his hand to cover his mouth. "It's not funny."

"It's not funny at all," Ryder agreed. "I find it ironic." Cadence pouted. "Cadey, he's ten. He's bound to get mad at us about things we don't understand. Remember when we were teenagers? We were the exact same way."

"Um, except we were mad at our parents because they stressed out so much. I don't think you would've gotten that underage drinking charge if it weren't for that."

"That got expunged from my record!" Ryder cried, his eyes flashing from the injustice he clearly was still annoyed about. Cadence smiled sweetly in response. It had been one of the few things they and their friends had done and gotten caught for. So many other experiences they'd had they didn't know about. They all came rushing back, making Cadence seconds away from laughing hysterically. "And the only reason _you_ didn't get caught is because you ran with everyone else and left me behind."

"Only because your parents wouldn't care," Cadence pointed out. "Mine would've locked me in my room if they had the chance."

A sad expression came to Ryder's face despite his smile staying frozen in place. "You're right," he agreed. He then shook his head and pushed aside the thought of their parents. Cadence couldn't help but mimic his sad smile. She hadn't thought of her father in so long and now…there he was again. She knew what he would've done, he would've stood behind her mother while she shook her head and wagged her finger and later would've told her how he had done the same thing when he was her age. And still ground her.

Things seemed to be so simple back then. _Back when?_ Cadence thought. _When you were still a metahuman, but your secret identity back then was a 'normal' girl with a boyfriend and friends who didn't really know her?_

"But we're not like my mom and dad." Ryder's voice broke her from her thoughts. "And Brady's a smart kid, whatever's bothering him he'll figure it out soon."

"If you say so." Cadence rested her chin in her hand as she studied Ryder.

It was moments like that she remembered why she had liked him so much and why they lasted so long. Other than their relationship being the teenage cliché of what would be equivalent to high school sweethearts, he really did know her well enough to reassure her when things weren't going well. And did it with ease, almost as if he didn't have to try. It was second nature from the time they'd spent together and would always be second nature. A home away from home or sorts.

"But thanks for coming over when I called, Ry," Cadence said sincerely. "I really did need to talk."

"Of course," Ryder replied as if it were obvious.

"Are you ready to go to the doctor?"

Ryder nodded and set some money on the table for a tip before grabbing his crutches to help himself up. He waved off Cadence's arm to assist him and the two headed out of Jitters towards the doctor's office. Cadence sat in the waiting room, flipping through a magazine while Ryder was in the office. She frowned, noticing how long it took for people to be checked in. A new system for being checked in was being installed, was the excuse the receptionist was giving to those who asked. What new system was needed other than showing your medical card and then showing your ID?

It wasn't like they were going to input any facial recognition software. That wasn't too secure when there were so many metahumans that had the ability to shapeshift in some way. A sigh escaped Cadence's lips, her thought turning toward Incognito, one of the members of the Assassination Bureau. There were too many people she'd seen him impersonate—including Joe West—that she had no idea what he truly looked like. His power had come in hand on more than one occasion to get into high security places and other areas that weren't accessible to the public. There were too many risks to be taken.

 _As far as I know, this new piece of technology could be created by STAR Labs,_ Cadence thought with a wry smile. There was enough pieces of technology and new technological and engineering experiments that had been crated Cadence wouldn't have been surprised if every computer technology in the city was created by STAR Labs. _Which also wouldn't be so helpful considering the computer Captain Cold and HeatWave stole and sold on the black market._

Finally, after forty minutes of waiting, Ryder walked out of the doctor's office sans cast and limping slightly. "You sure you're okay?" Cadence asked, standing to greet him.

"Yeah, just a little stiff since I haven't used it in so long," Ryder replied, gently rubbing his knee. "And some leftover pain. The doctor gave me some more pills for it. Other than that, everything's healed nicely."

Cadence folded her arms and lowered her voice. "I told you I could've healed it for you."

"It's fine." Ryder waved her off.

Cadence pouted. "Why does no one let me heal anything?"

"Because it'd look suspicious if I was perfectly and completely healed without having to go back for a checkup."

"True."

Ryder smiled and the two went down to the pharmacy to get the prescription filled out. "You know, you didn't have to wait for me," Ryder said as he leaned against the counter, being sure to keep his bad leg from taking on most of his weight. "I could've made it myself."

"I just wanted to make sure everything was okay," Cadence replied with a shrug. "And to treat you for coffee for coming over at short notice, though I know you would've done it anyway." Ryder nodded in agreement and got the prescription. They then left the doctor's office and got into Cadence's car to drive to his office. "Are you sure you want to go work? You can take the day off and just rest."

Ryder snorted. "With Flash and Flare around there's no such thing as a day off."

Cadence laughed.

Home away from home, indeed.

* * *

Caitlin shook her head as she watched the video in front of her. She exchanged a glance with Cisco, who looked as confused and startled as he did. How else was one supposed to react to what they were seeing? Edward Clariss standing in the middle of his cell shouting for Alchemy. Seconds later there was a bright flash of light that lifted him up off the ground and threw him back and forth amongst the cell. Creams tore at this throat as he was flung back and forth, arms flailing like a ragdoll before it suddenly and gruesomely cut short his lifeless boy falling to the ground. A streak of blood appeared on the glass front of his cell.

Caitlin gasped and looked away. No matter how many times she saw the video, it was hard to take. Watching a body get pulled around like that, like a movie stunt on wires gone wrong, it was inhuman. Horrifying. Watching someone die like that…it reminded her too much of what had happened to Jay. Or the Jay she thought she knew. Like the Harrison Wells she thought she knew, like Ronnie…there had been too much death and destruction following her recently. First Henry being murdered then Barry creating Flashpoint, Alchemy and now this?

It was a life she couldn't have ever imagined having. She thought she would be a world-renowned bioengineer who had nothing but the world at her feet, married, and with a small family of her own, taking time from her studies to take care of her baby. But the dream had immediately faded when the Particle Accelerator blew. With the life she had now, while it was nothing she imagined, it wasn't a life she'd give up. If only they could go a short while without some sort of a crisis or new mysterious pop up.

"When did this happen?" Caitlin asked, finally finding her voice. She lifted her gaze to Joe, Barry, and Cadence, who stood on the other side of the computer desk from where Team Flash watched the footage on the wall mounted monitor.

"A few days ago," Joe said.

"A few days ago!?" Caitlin and Cisco both yelped in unison.

Joe let out a long sigh, running his hand over his head then trailed his fingers down his beard. "Captain Singh brought it to my attention. I've already shown it to Julian,"—Barry rolled his eyes at the mention of his partner's name— "so you don't need to worry about him."

"Are you sure about that?" Barry deadpanned.

Joe ignored him and continued. "Captain Singh held off on showing me for a few days because he didn't want it to get out that there might be a security issues at Iron Heights."

"So, what is it?" Jesse asked. "What attacked him?"

"That's the thing," Joe said grudgingly. "We don't know. We've had some of our best IT experts on the force look into it, to see if it was doctored in some way. Unfortunately, there wasn't anything to show that the footage had been doctored in any way. It's real."

"Well, you haven't had Team Flash on the case," Cisco said. He went so far as to extend his arms in front of him and crack the knuckles of his interlaced fingers. "Right?" He lifted his hand towards Caitlin and she smiled and high-fived him back. "No offense, Joe, but I don't think the CCPD has the sophisticated instruments that are needed to take whatever this is down."

Joe held up his hands. "No offense taken. It's why I came to you guys in the first place. I thought maybe you would see something I didn't."

"Other than that bright light?" Cadence asked. "Who could miss it?"

"But then the question is, what's causing it," Harrison remarked, rubbing his fingers over his chin. "And if it's a metahuman."

"It couldn't be a meta," Harry interjected, arms folded tightly across his chest. "The cell Clariss is in is created from the same technology our pods in the Pipeline are made from. Meta dampeners and all. It had to be something else?"

"Like a ghost?" Tess asked. She continued to stare at the frozen frame of Clariss's body lying on the ground. "No, the way his body moved back and forth, the way his arm sand legs moved, it had to be something or someone very strong and very fast. The force created on the body that managed to drag him around proved It. Not to mention the blood that suddenly came from his body." She pointed. "There's a stab wound to his chest and a pretty gruesome one, I might add. That wasn't faked."

"Well, you're lucky because you've got C and C on the case," Cisco continued to boast, motioning between himself and Caitlin. "There's nothing that we can't find out. Don't worry, we'll see what's going on with this guy." He leaned back in his seat. "And can I just say that I don't entirely like the idea that he goes by the name 'The Rival'? It sounds a little craggy."

"At this point any of the metas we go against may as well have some sort of a bragging name in their title," Cadence said with a snort. "Just so we'd take them seriously."

"Don't judge a meta by a name," Joe murmured. "Do you really think that if Caitlin hadn't named her, we would've taken a meta named Peek-A-Boo seriously at all?" He shook his head. "I'm going to head back to work, call me if you need me. I only left so that I could let you guys see the video footage." He pointed towards Barry and Cadence. "Make sure you're back before lunch break ends, I'm sure Captain Singh is going to be making sure you are where you're supposed to be. I'm really starting to get the feeling he knows who you two really are."

"You're not the only one," Barry agreed. He sighed heavily, running a hand through his hair before turning his attention back to the frozen footage on screen. The rest of Team Flash slowly moved away, with Harry and Jesse moving to go to the room set up in STAR Labs for them, Harrison and Tess going to their offices.

Caitlin watched Barry for a long moment, tilting her head to the side. "Barry, are you okay?" She asked his back.

As soon as the words left her lips, Caitlin wondered why she asked. How could anyone be okay when they were constantly putting themselves in danger by stepping out the door? And that was just as Barry Allen, with his line of work there was ample time for others to want to get revenge on him. Adding The Flash on top had to make things even more difficult. Having those powers in general was harder than Caitlin would ever imagine.

Not just because she feared her own abilities, but because she wondered if there was anyone who could tell just by looking at her. Knew she was different. Knew she had powers she was trying to hide. Knew there was something different about her that would be exploited later. How funny, that she was the one wondering how others would treat her when they knew she had powers when she treated those with it as criminals that needed to be rehabilitated.

"No," Barry said after a minute. "I don't think I'm going to be okay until all of this is finally over and done with." He shook his head, looking at her over his shoulder. "But I don't think that's ever going to happen as long as I have my powers."

Caitlin smiled back at him. "The day that happens, you're going to be so sad you took your powers for granted."

"Yeah, you're probably right." Barry turned to face her completely. He folded his arms and twisted his mouth to the side. "The day I have to stand in line at Jitters to get my coffee is going to be torture." He laughed as Cadence reached out and shoved him on the arm before looping her arm around his waist. Barry smiled and put his arm around her shoulders, hugging her to his side.

Caitlin smiled at the two and turned to Cisco, who was typing quietly on his computer. For a moment, Caitlin wasn't sure if he was too busy with his work or not, but then his eyes shifted to the side and he smiled back at her, making her own smile widen. She turned to her own computer to get started on research of the video, and placed her hands on the keyboard keys.

As soon as she did so, she couldn't help but let out a frustrated sigh, becoming very aware of her finger placements on the keyboard. Why she thought it was a good idea to get her nails styled like that, she'd never know. It was a strange impulse that had come over her when she was in the nail salon. She was getting her nails shaped as she did every few weeks—they could get very bad with the chemicals she used daily. The esthetician was rolling the light, crystal blue polish Caitlin had chosen between her palms when Caitlin sat up straight in her seat and said in a confident drawl, she would've preferred having longer, dark blue nails.

It wasn't her style at all and yet now she was stuck with them for the next month or so. Stuck with some very, very _ugly_ nails. Cisco noticed her sigh and looked over at her hands, his eyebrows rising when he saw them. "You finally decided to do something new, huh?" He asked. At his remark, Barry and Cadence leaned closer to look as well. "It's not what I would've chosen for you, but it's cool."

"I hope you're really careful when you're trying to put your makeup on in the morning," Cadence added, reaching out to examine Caitlin's hand as well. "Otherwise, you'd poke your eye out."

"I don't know, Caitlin with an eyepatch could be a pretty interesting look," Barry teased. "Maybe I'd take her a bit more seriously when she threatens me. I mean, Caitlin can be a little scary, but a _Killer_ Caitlin?"

"You mean, Killer Frost," Cisco teased then immediately sucked his lips into his mouth, keeping quiet. His eyes shifted over to Barry's and Cadence's how stayed quiet. Caitlin noticed the sudden drop in temperature in the room—pun intended—and leaned back in her seat to look at her friends. Her eyes shifted over each of their faces, immediately knowing there was something being hidden from her. "What?" She asked.

"Nothing," Cisco, Barry, and Cadence all said in unison.

"No," Caitlin insisted. "What? It's not like I don't know who Killer Frost is. I ran into her, remember? When we were trying to keep the city safe from the Metapocalypse when Jay—" Caitlin cut herself off, a thick lump appearing in her throat. She swallowed hard, willing it to go away before saying quietly, "When _Zoom_ kidnapped me. We talked."

"Yeah, but…" Cadence let out a long breath and looked at Barry again.

"Okay, I get that you two can tell what each other is thinking when you look at each other, but words are important in conversation," Caitlin said firmly. She stood up and folded her arms. "What is it, Cadence?"

Barry rubbed the back of his neck. "Killer Frost is your doppelganger on Earth-2," he said.

"And living well up to her name," Cisco murmured.

Impatient, Caitlin waved a hand. "Yes, we've already established this. So?"

"So, Caitlin, all of our doppelgangers on that Earth, Barry not included, were evil doppelgangers," Cadence explained. "Burnout for me, Reverb for Cisco…" she kept her eyes leveled on Caitlin's. "Deathstorm for Ronnie." Caitlin's lips parted, and she sucked in a sharp breath but couldn't find the words to say anything. So Ronnie was alive on that Earth and…and he'd died? She assumed he did, or else they would've mentioned him a lot sooner or maybe it was him being evil that had kept them from wanting to say anything. _No,_ Caitlin realized a second later. _That's not it._

"But?" Caitlin pressed.

"But that's not the only thing," Cadence said. She leveled her gaze on Caitlin's, looking her best friend in the eye. "When Barry and I went over to Kara's Earth…there was another Killer Frost there as well."

"Oh."

That was the only thing Caitlin could get out of her mouth. The wheels of her brain turned, slowly understanding what it was that they were trying—or _not_ —trying to say. "It wasn't Caitlin Snow, but it was Killer Frost. And she was evil as well."

"But we don't think you're turning into her or anything," Cisco quickly jumped in, shooting Cadence a look. "Or that you're evil. Well, you're evil when you're playing poker against me and won't let me win—"

"—Cisco," Barry said quietly.

"But…. you think that the charges on my credit card I don't remember and things like that mean I'm turning into Killer Frost?" Caitlin asked skeptically. Skeptically enough so that she could even convince herself. There had to be some other explanation but…she _had_ been doing a lot of things she didn't remember. Why would she suddenly dye her hair blonde when it was something she had _ever_ thought of before. Why would she suddenly decide to change her nail style to something she absolutely hated?

Then there were the leather boots, charges to the bank that had her removing multiple sums of money that were then funneled into online shopping sprees that continued to show up at her door, her continued and intense dislike of…

Caitlin shook her head.

No.

"You think I'm turning evil?" Caitlin asked. Her voice came out in a whisper, quieter than she'd hoped. Not as strong as she was trying to trick herself into being. "That I'm going to be as evil and ruthless as Killer Frost?"

"No, we're not saying that at all," Barry insisted. He removed his arm from Cadence's shoulder and held his hands up as he took a step closer to Caitlin. She took a step back. Was he holding his hands up defensively? Afraid she was going to attack him? "We don't even know _why_ Killer Frost is evil on each of those Earths."

"But there has be a reason for it, Barry," Caitlin insisted. "A logical explanation." She lifted a finger. "I can even give it to you, it's because of these powers. Killer Frost said so herself. She woke up one day cold and sick and found out she had her powers; and since then she was nothing but evil."

Cadence snorted. "I don't think her powers _made_ her evil."

"Let's think of this logically," Caitlin said, a sarcastic tone to her voice. "Killer Frost has ice powers. Just like I do. Every faction of Killer Frost that you've come across is evil and has the same powers. Her powers probably affect her physiologically, as it does with every metahuman, and mentally. It changed the configuration of her brain to make her evil as her ice powers made her cold."

Cisco tilted his head, eyebrows lowering in confusion. "Was that on purpose? Because I have to admit it was a pretty good pun." Barry and Cadence both glared at him. He held up his hands defensively. "I'm just saying."

"It made her cold to everything; morals, ethics, emotions, she killed because she could and didn't care." Caitlin started to pace, her words coming out rapidly as she spoke.

"Okay, say that you're right," Barry said. "But your powers are similar to Cadence's, the same abilities but a different element. Why isn't it affecting her?"

Caitlin mulled it over for a moment. It caught her off-guard. She thought back to everything they knew about Earth-2, Burnout, and Killer Frost. Then she thought about what she knew about Reverb. The idea, the solution came to her quickly. "For the same reason it hasn't affected Cisco. Reverb was only evil because he struck a deal with Zoom. He made that choice. Burnout was evil because of choices she'd made earlier in life, giving up Brady had put her into a sense of despair that made her susceptible to the Assassination Bureau's whims."

"So, my choices kept me from being Burnout here?" Cadence pointed to the ground, indicating their Earth.

"And your powers," Caitlin explained. "Synonyms of fire; passion, impulsion, liveliness. All those traits are exhibited within your powers, seen as positive traits. But ice; cool, frigid, reservation, an aloof coldness, all seen as negative. Thus, making a killer. Killer Frost."

"Caitlin, you're _not_ a killer," Barry said. He grasped her shoulders and looked her in the eye. "You're nothing like Killer Frost. You're not cold and calculating. You're warm, and passionate, and caring about everything and everyone around you."

"You don't—"

"Caitlin, you're not going to turn into Killer Frost," Cadence insisted, stepping up to her best friend and took her hand in hers. Caitlin couldn't help but notice how warm Cadence's hand was in comparison to hers. _Is that from our powers or has it always been that way?_ She thought. "You're _never_ going to turn into Killer Frost. Not with help. All you have to do is stop being afraid of your powers, and learn how to use them the way you _want_ them to. They're not going away. You just need to train with them. I can help."

"Me too," Cisco agreed. "I mean, I've managed to get control of my powers, pretty fast. I think I can show you a thing or two."

"We're not saying you have to go out into battle, but getting control of your powers will definitely help," Barry said. "And we're behind you the entire way."

Caitlin smiled and nodded. But it didn't reach her heart.

* * *

Brady brought back his right foot and smashed it into the soccer ball in front of him. He grinned and pulled the sleeves of his long-sleeved shirt down over his hands and drew his arm across his nose. It was a good goal, even the goalie had to leap to the side to get it and missed only by seconds, the ball bending past his fingers. A cloud of air compressed in front of Brady's face as he turned to run back to the end of the line the rest of his team formed.

"Good job," Conner said one Brady stopped behind him. He held his hands in his arm pits, bouncing up and down as he worked to stay warm. "I thought you were going to miss."

"So did I," Brady agreed. He sniffed loudly and started to mimic Conner's movements, trying to stay warm as well. If he wasn't so angry at his mother at the moment, he would've curled up into her side to take on her body heat. "Anyway, I thought you were going to skip practice today."

"I thought so, too," Conner agreed. "But my mom said she had a lot of stuff she needed to do today and let me come." He turned his gaze to his feet, taking small steps forward along with the team as they moved forward in line. "I don't know, I guess she feels guilty or whatever."

"What does have anything to feel guilty about?" Brady couldn't help the disgust that came to his voice.

Conner looked back at him. "You're still mad at your mom?" He asked. Brady shrugged and nodded. "Don't be mad at her, it's not like she had anything to do with it."

"She could've done something, she always does for everyone else. But not for me."

"That's not true." Conner took his spot on the line and took a few steps back. The coach rolled the ball towards him and Conner took a few small steps forward and drove his right foot into the ball, dragging his left one across the ground so that it drove a divet in the grass. He stood up and shuffled to the side so that Brady could get his turn once more. "I take it back, the angrier you are, the better you play."

"Then I should be David Beckham by my next birthday," Brady deadpanned.

Conner sighed and folded his arms. He looked over his shoulder to be sure no one was listening before saying, "I've left some of the lists we've made in my locker and I think that—"

"—I don't want to talk about it," Brady interrupted.

Conner bristled, suddenly showing a side of himself that Brady had never seen before. "I get you're mad, but we can't do anything about it now. Everything's been worked out. But I'm as mad as you are. This isn't just about you! It's about me! And my mom! And you're acting really selfish!" With that, he turned on his heel and walked away from Brady as their coach blew a long blast of the whistle, signaling the end of practice.

Brady pouted, running a hand through his hair before turning on his heel to gather his things. His eyebrows rose when he saw Barry standing off to the side of the field, hands shoved into the pockets of his jacket. When he spotted Brady, Barry waved, and Brady waved back, stopping long enough to grab his gym bag and hoist it over his shoulder before walking to Barry.

"What are you doing here?" Brady asked when he was in ear-shot. "I thought Dad was going to pick me up today."

"He got stuck at his office," Barry explained. "And I offered to take you back."

"Okay." Brady paused, his eyes shifting when he noticed that Barry hadn't grabbed him and ran them to Ryder's office or even to the CCPD to wait for his mother to be finished with her shift. "So, are we going or…?"

"I wanted to talk to you about something first," Barry said.

Brady's heart sank. He had an idea of what it was. He liked Barry. He really did. But Barry also had the incessant need to fix things and people. If any of them fought, he tried his hardest to trick them into talking to each other again. Almost as if his heroics couldn't be contained to the field. _Then again,_ Brady thought, _he did dedicate his life to proving his dad innocent of his mom's murder._ There weren't many other people that would do that. They'd either sit down and take what life gave them or complained rather than do something about it. When Iris was mad at Barry for not telling her he was the Flash, he wheedled her down until she spoke to him again. When his mother was mad at Barry, when Caitlin was mad at them…Barry always had something to say or do to bring people back together.

And it wasn't like Brad never wanted to speak to his mom again. But…ugh, it was so frustrating. Knowing that there was something serious going on in his life and she seemed not to notice it. But when metahuman or other children were involved she dropped everything for them.

Rather than jumping right to the bait, Brad asked, "Okay, what do you want to talk about?"

"Let's go to Jitters and I'll tell you," Barry said instead. "It's probably something you should be sitting down for."

The idea of getting a free chocolate muffing for a meal other than breakfast was the main factor in Brady willingly going along with Barry. Nevertheless, the two walked to Jitters—which shocked Brady as much as anything else—and tucked themselves into a corner booth to talk. Barry tapped his fingers atop the table while Brady worked his way through his muffin. He brushed chocolate crumbs off his cheeks and looked up at Barry to mumble, "I thought you wanted to talk about something."

May as well get it over with.

"I do," Barry agreed, then cringed. "I just…I guess I don't really know how to start."

Brady heaved an exasperated sigh. "Just say it," he said wearily. He was already tired of trying to pretend that nothing was going on. Every morning since their argument, things had been quiet in their apartment. Maybe Cadence had told Barry not to stay over for a while, Brady wasn't sure, but the speedster wasn't around to buffer the tension between them. They only said a few words to each other, "Good morning. "Morning." "Toast or Cereal?" "Cereal." "Here's you lunch." "Thanks. Bye." "Bye."

No 'did you do your homework?'. No 'how was your day?'. No 'did anything interesting happen at school?'. Honestly, the questions got annoying sometimes. But…he didn't realize it'd be so annoying to _not_ hear it. They'd been mad at each other before but…

Brady shook his head. "What is it?" He demanded, watching Barry carefully. He hadn't known the speedster to be so twitchy before, but now he continued to tap his fingers on the table top, knees bouncing so hard it nearly rattled his coffee cup off the table. It would've been funny if it weren't so jarring, Barry's movements continued to increase in speed until his fingers and knees blurred. "Barry, are you okay?"

Barry nodded. Finally, he stopped twitching and sat up straight. "You know that feeling you get when you're so excited for something you can't focus on anything else?" He blurted, startling Brady so badly that he choked on a bite of his muffin and started coughing. He grabbed the glass of juice that sat to his side and gulped the rest down. "That's me right now, focusing on…well, what I always think about," Barry said.

Brady gave a half smile. "My mom?"

Barry smiled back. "And you know that other feeling you get when that thing you were excited about seemed to take forever to arrive? Imagine being a speedster, days seem like weeks, hours seem like days, and seconds seem like…"

"I get the point," Brady broke in. "So what does that have to do with me? Or what you wanted to tell me?"

"Well, because of all of the time I have on my hands, no pun intended, it's given me the chance to really think about what I want of my life," Barry explained. "And of my future and everything like that. There were a lot of things I thought I wanted and when I got them it wasn't the same."

"Your life in Flashpoint?" Brady asked.

Barry nodded. "I thought I wanted my mom and dad back, and I still _do_ want that but…knowing it happened and my family, the family I've made wasn't the same…I couldn't do it. Things weren't the same in the life I few to love. And I thought about that a lot."

"Barry, you're rambling. I don't even know what you wanted to tell me." _That he thinks I'm being a jerk. That he thinks I should stop being so mean. That he thinks—_

Barry too a deep breath and sat up straight in his seat. He looked Brady in the eye and said, "I've been thinking about asking your mom to marry me."

"Huh?" The word escaped Brady's lips before he could stop himself. Had he heard right? Sticking a finger in his ear, Brady wiggled it around then asked, "What did you say?"

"I said I was thinking of asking your mom to marry me," Barry repeated. "But I wanted to get your thoughts on it first. Because it's a big change," he said quickly, his words starting to blur together as he spoke quickly. "I get it. And I don't want you to think that I'm trying to take Ryder's place or anything or that I'm trying to, I don't know, control you or anything. I just…wanted to know what you thought. That's not weird is it? That I want your opinion? Because, like I said, it's just as important that you're a part of it because you'd be my family, too. And me part of your family, too. Right? Is that okay?"

Brady blinked in surprise. Not surprise of what Barry had just told him, but surprise at how easily excited he felt about it. How it seemed like something that should've happened a long time ago. He remembered how Henry had made a joking comment about it, _"So tell me, when's the wedding?"_ and wondered how much longer it would be until it was official. If they could joke about it…

"So, what do you think?" Barry asked, this time much calmer.

"Mmm." Brady twisted his mouth to the side as he thought about it. "Don't you think it's a little fast?" He asked. Barry gave a wry smile, making Brady roll his eyes. "You've only been dating a year." His eyes furrowed. "I think." Maybe it was a little more than that? He didn't know, it wasn't really his business anyway.

"I seem to remember someone who practically blew up from excitement whenever I came around," Barry teased.

"That was before I got to know you," Brady teased back. "And realized how much of a freak you are." He laughed a little. "Umm, would you be my dad?"

"I'd be your stepfather. Ryder'd still be your dad, he wouldn't be going anywhere. He'd still be part of your life." Barry wrung his hands together. "You allowed him to be there just like I'd hope you'd do the same for me."

Now Brady tilted his head to the side, confused. "Aren't you already?"

"Does that mean you're fine with it?"

Brady smiled softly. He wasn't sure what to say, honestly, or where to start. But at least hoped his smile would show a little bit of how he was feeling. Barry smiled back, and his shoulders slumped in relief. Then Brady frowned, thinking about what Conner had said earlier. A huge sigh escaped Brady's lips and he slumped in his seat, chin nearly coming to rest atop the table.

"Conner's moving away," he finally mumbled. "And it's my fault."

* * *

Breathtaker eyes glowed from beneath the hood of his cloak as he hovered above Central City. The very same place he'd been two years before when working to take down the city the first time. This time, however, he knew it was the right time.

The very first metahuman created thousands of years before any of them had any idea of what life was…he had risen again.

There were missteps the first time he tried to create the life metahumans deserved. But no more. It was going to work out this time. Now that he knew what had to be done. He was a God and would be treated as such. Working to live on as the times passed, acquiring multiple powers to ensure he'd be able to create his vision of the world on those that lived below.

They needed to see what had to be done for them all to live peacefully. Together. Not separated and hiding in plain sight. There was a reason for those that had been created as metahumans and it needed to be celebrated

Everything they built would fall and he'd be there to rebuild it.

Breathtaker smiled.

* * *

 **A/N:** So, a couple of things; on my tumblr and twitter I have age progression pics up of Brady from seasons 1-3 so you can see how he's aged over the course of the series. The second is…Cadence has been nominated as Best Flash OC in a OC competition. And you can help her win by voting. You need to go to the tumblr 'toalltheocsivelovedbefore' and then click on the three bars in the top left corner. Click 'ask me anything' and then write 'Best Flash OC: Cadence Nash' and submit. You DO need a tumblr account to do this and you can only vote once. So please, vote for me!

Please remember to review; any feedback helps me become a better writer and motivates me to write more. I respond to every review, even anonymous ones.

 **Cheers,**

 **-Riley**

 **Review Replies**

 **Ethan:** It was a memory she was re-living in her dream. It was a fight she and Stratos had when Barry was in Flashpoint.

 **DarkHelm145:** I always have to, it's a part of my writing process now! Lol. Hope your exams are going well.

 **Babyj:** Yes, there is going to be more backstory for Brady and Black Blade along with Brady's abilities. As with a lot of other plots, I do have some changes with Alchemy, Savitar, and Frankie that call come into play.

 **Highlander348:** I responded to your review already, but thank you again for your thoughts and continued enjoyment of the series.

 **Yummers:** Hope this worked out as well for you! :) **  
**


	8. Ghost In The Shade

**08**

 _Ghost In The Shade_

* * *

"Good morning," Joe greeted as he walked into the kitchen, finding Iris and Wally sitting around the table. Iris beamed up at him when he leaned over to give her a kiss on the side of the head before dishing pancakes onto his plate. "Hey, baby. Hey Wally." He reached out and ruffled Wally's hair before joining them at the head of the table.

"Hey dad," Iris greeted. "Did you sleep well?"

"As well as you can when your city is constantly under attack by metahumans and your boss's boss is watching you like a hawk," Joe said, twisting his hands together to finish tying his tie. Once he was finished, he tossed it over his shoulder to keep from getting syrup onto it.

"But it's Halloween, aren't you excited about that?" Wally asked. Joe let out a snorting laugh and Iris shook her head, her smile widening. Wally's eyes shifted back and forth. "What? What'd I miss?"

"Dad _hates_ Halloween," Iris explained. She leaned forward in her seat, whispering conspiratorially to her brother. "It's because he's a cop. All the neighborhood kids know and keep TPing the house or play ding-dong-ditch against him. There was one year that he hid in the bushes with a hose to scare them off."

Wally laughed in surprise then looked to his father for confirmation. "Really, dad? That doesn't sound like you."

"You'll understand once you own your own place," Joe pointed out. He lifted his hand to show the little scars on his fingers. "Picking out pieces of toilet paper from the rose bushes is never fun. And I don't _hate_ Halloween. I just greatly dislike it."

"Please, you'd die if you didn't have your stash of Reese's Peanut Butter cups and you know it," Iris teased. She tossed her ponytail over her shoulder and stuck her tongue out at her father, who did the same before starting into his pancakes. "So, what are your plans for Halloween?"

"Um." Wally nervously rubbed his neck. "Before we broke up, Linda and I had planned on going to the CCPN's Halloween party but…I guess that's not going to happen now."

Iris gave a sympathetic smile. "Have you and Linda really talked since…?"

"Not really. We do talk every now and then but it's nothing more than to catch up." He rested his cheek against his upraised fist, poking at his pancakes with his fork. "Things really dropped off since my mom…" he trailed off and cleared his throat. "Anyway, what about you, Iris? What are you doing for Halloween?"

"Barry, Cisco, Caitlin, Cadence and I are going to a Halloween party one of my college girlfriends is throwing."

"That sounds fun," Joe agreed. "Is it a costume party?"

"Yep, and I'm going as Catwoman." Iris's eyes lit up and she turned back to Wally, grasping his wrist. "Hey! Why don't you and Jesse come with us? It'll give her some time to get out of STAR Labs and you can don't have to worry about running into Linda."

"I don't know," Wally said slowly.

Iris folded her arms, pressed her lips together into a tight line. She shook her head. "I don't know, dad. Wally doesn't really sound much like a West." She pointed at her brother but looked at Joe. "I've never known a West to turn down a party.

Wally rolled his eyes. Like it was _that_ strange to not be in the mood to go to a party? But, Iris _was_ right. He wouldn't have to worry about running into Linda if he went and hanging out with Jesse was always fun. Watching her run around STAR Labs, doing as many speed tests was cool, too. No matter how much he wished it was him.

"Okay, I'll go," he said.

"Great! So what costume were you thinking of?"

"Maybe a speedster," Wally joked. "It's probably the only time of year you can be dressed as one and not have anyone look at you funny." He then noticed the looks Joe and Iris exchanged. "Guys, I was just kidding."

"We know that, Wally, it's just…" Iris took a deep breath and looked at Joe again. "Wally, we know you're disappointed about everything that's going on with Jesse and her having powers—"

"—I'm not disappointed, I'm just…" Wally let out a short breath then dropped his hands into his lap. "It's just…we got hit by the same wave of dark matter. How is it that she's managed to get powers and I don't? I thought everyone who was affected by the wave of dark matter from the particle accelerator explosion turned into metas."

"If that were the case, Wally, then dad and I would be suiting up to take on Alchemy and Zoom and the Reverse-Flash and all the other metas that have come up," Iris explained, lowering her voice to a soothing level.

"Harry says it takes time for powers to manifest."

"If they even manifest at all. We're not metas and we're not going to be. Just like not everyone who was hit by the particle accelerator explosion are metas, too. Some of them are dead, Wally. Some of them are crippled for the rest of their lives. You're lucky you're still alive."

"Look, I know that. I know I'm lucky nothing worse happened when I was hit. But I can't…get over the feeling that I'm _supposed_ to be helping people."

"Wally," Joe started.

Wally sat up straight, speaking so earnestly his voice cracked. "I've been having these dreams lately. Dreams where I'm a speedster and working alongside Barry and Cadence and other heroes to save Central City. I'm a _hero_ , dad. And I never thought it was something I wanted…until I knew I wasn't going to be able to do it for my mom. I couldn't save her as much as I'd tried. I did illegal street races to get money to pay for the best medication she could get and even _that_ didn't work. Dad, I _have_ to do something to help. It can happen for me somehow."

"You have! You're helping _me_ by staying out of trouble."

"No, something to help the people of this city," Wally said. He lifted his hands, as if grasping something, trying to explain. Then he dropped his hands back to his lap. "I just want to matter."

"You matter to all of us. The last thing we want is for you to get yourself killed because you think you don't. You really helped during the Metapocalypse and no one can take that from you. But we don't want your life taken, either. Okay?" Iris waited for Wally to say something more, but he continued to look away from his father and sister. Iris reached out and grasped Wally's wrist, shaking it. "Okay?" Her voice was more insistent that time.

Wally nodded, giving a smalls mile. "Okay," he finally agreed.

"I know you want this more than anything, but you need to know it might not happen," Joe said.

"So you want me to just give up helping people?" Wally twisted his mouth to the side.

"Barry was helping people as a CSI before he had his powers. But he owned his brilliant mind. And you have the same brain. A lot of people dream of the word being a better place and with that engineering mind of yours, you literally could build a better world."

"So, I've got to stay in school?"

"Just a couple more years, Wal', it's not going to kill you."

"It might." Wally couldn't help the smile that came to his face at his own joke. Not that he didn't enjoy school, engineering was one of his favorite things in the world, something he soon found to love from his own research into the topic. "School can be so boring sometimes."

"Amen!" Iris agreed. She then noticed the stare Joe gave her and shrank in her seat, blinking innocently.

Joe chuckled to himself before tossing his napkin down to his plate. "Well, I don't know about you two, but I hope this is the most excitement I have today," Joe said. He stood up and dropped his tie back down to his front. Wally stared in surprise, seeing that Joe had already finished his breakfast while he and Iris hadn't even started theirs yet. "Could someone please take the hose out and leave it where I can find it later."

"You do know one of these days you're going to have the neighbors complain about you, right?" Iris asked. She hooked her arm around the back of her chair and leaned back to look at her father with a skeptical eyebrow. "And Wally and I will have to pretend we don't know you."

"What are they going to do?" Joe snorted. "Call the police?" He gave Iris another kiss and Wally another wave. "Bye baby, bye Wally. Have a fun time tonight if I don't see you later."

"Bye, dad," Iris and Wally chorused as he left the house. Iris then turned back to Wally and said. "If I know you as well as I think you do, then dad's words aren't going to talk you out of what you've heard today."

Wally shook his head. "I can't help the dreams I've been having, Iris. They feel so real."

"Then I guess we have not choice but to have Harry or Harrison speak to you about this. They know much more about metas and dark matter than we do. If there's going to be anyone who can help you out, it's going to be them."

"Okay," Wally said reluctantly. "But if we're going to do that, can it be Harrison? Harry's just a little scary."

Iris laughed. "I don't think it's the first time he would've heard that. But sure. Let's go." Iris grabbed her phone from the table and looked at the screen before sliding it into her pocket. "There's something I'm waiting for but it's not anything I can't rush back if I'm needed."

"A break in a case?"

"Just some information I've been waiting on."

Iris changed the subject to the Halloween party and the two spoke about what costume Wally could get on short notice the entire way to STAR Labs. Once they arrived, they found Harry, Jesse, Caitlin, Cadence and Cisco in the Speed Lab, all turning their heads back and forth as they watched the streaks Jesse left behind.

Wally stood next to Cisco and folded his arms, turning his head this way and that as Jesse continued to streak by. Finally, she came to a stop, pulling down the bottom of her t-shirt as she did so. Then, as casual as possible, she shifted her hair behind her shoulders and lifted her hand in a wave. "Hey Wally, when'd you get here?"

"Just now," Wally said. He nodded over to Iris. "Iris and I stopped by to talk to Harry."

Jesse's eyebrows rose in surprise, a smile twitching at her lips. "You want to talk to my dad?"

"Or to Harrison," Wally quickly said. "Whoever is more available."

"Well, as you can see, Harry's a little busy continuing to run tests on Jesse," Cisco called over. "Tests that are _completely unnecessary_ by the way," he raised his voice to carry to the computers on the other side of the room, where Harry and Caitlin stood, looking at the results. Instead of replying, Harry lifted his hand and gave Cisco the finger. Jesse laughed. "Is that any way to treat your friends?"

"What friends?" Harry shot back.

"Rude." Cisco shook his head.

"Does this mean I can take a break?" Jesse asked after a minute. "We've been working all morning."

Harry looked at Caitlin with a stern raise his eyebrows and she rolled her eyes, throwing her hands into the air. "Fine, let's take a break," she said. She motioned towards Wally. "It looks like Wally wants to speak to your dad, anyway."

"A short break," Harry called to Jesse, who grabbed a nearby towel to wipe sweat from her forehead. "Then we need to get back to work." Jesse nodded and opened her and closed her hand repeatedly, only so that Wally could see, mimicking her father's speaking. Wally smiled and laughed quietly to himself. "I saw that."

Jesse laughed along with Wally before walking over to a nearby bench to sit down and stretch her legs. Caitlin, Cadence, and Iris walked over to her as well. Wally took in a deep breath and went over to Harry, who folded his arms, the sleeves of his black sweater pushed up to his elbows, glasses perched perfectly on his nose.

"What do you want?" Harry asked, unable to keep the strain of impatience from his voice. "What's going on?"

"I, uh, I wanted to talk to you or…or Harrison, more about the dark matter wave that hit me," Wally said. He swallowed hard as a light appeared in Harry's blue eyes, making his blue eyes shine brighter. "See if, maybe, you could help me out or explain some things a bit better or something."

Harry nodded. "I'm listening."

Across the floor of the speed lab, Caitlin chewed her lip as she approached Jesse. "You've been doing a great job, Jesse."

"Thanks," Jesse said with a full mouth. She blushed, bringing a hand up to cover her mouth when she accidentally sprayed a few crumbs of a power bar from her lips. "Oops. Sorry." She brushed at the front of her t-shirt. "I didn't think you guys were serious when you said speedsters got hungry all the time."

"Are you kidding?" Iris snorted. She couldn't help the slightly exasperated tone that came her voice. "Barry ate a lot _before_ he was a speedster. It's better that he can get whatever he wants now instead of dad having to pay for it."

"Speak for yourself," Cadence agreed, making Iris laugh. "And it's not just Barry. Since his growth spurt, Brady's been eating me out of house and home as well." Then, as hard as she tried to hide it, a sadness came over her face.

"Things aren't going so well with him still, huh?" Caitlin asked softly.

"Not really, but I was mad at my parents for almost ten years. I think I can handle this."

"You want mad, try having your father bust in on your first date ever because he thinks he needs to chaperone you," Jesse said with a roll of her eyes. "It wasn't bad enough it was my first date, but it was a study date at my house. And my dad corrected my date every time he said something wrong."

"Which, I'm assuming, was a lot," Iris teased. She grimaced when Jesse nodded. "I thought I was kidding."

"Joke all you want, but it's totally my dad. You know how he's got that hard exterior where he must be right about everything. It's not just about science. It's about _everything_ and he's always so protective." Jesse turned the power bar back and forth in her hand. "I'm sure he'd even tell me that this bar Cisco made isn't good for me either, but I don't care. I'm starving."

"About your dad," Caitlin broke in. "About your speed and everything, I just wanted to be sure that you were ready for it."

"What?" Jesse sounded confused, her smile immediately falling from her face. Her eyes narrowed and she scratched at her eyebrow with her thumb. "Are my test results that bad?"

"No, actually, your test results have come back nearly perfect."

"And _that's_ why you keep having me do them?" Jesse sounded skeptical. "Because they're all perfect?"

"No, it's because they're science nerds and can't seem to find any excitement in anything other than running tests," Cadence said sarcastically before smiling sweetly when Caitlin glared at her. "These are the people who keep poking and prodding me to test my healing powers."

Through gritted teeth, and keeping her gaze on Cadence, Caitlin said, "We just want to make sure everything is up to speed before you decided to start running off to take down as many metas as you can get your hands on. It all looks fun, but it's really dangerous out there."

"Oh." Jesse nodded. She pursed her lips, keeping her gaze solidly on Caitlin. "I get it. This is because I'm a girl, right?"

All three women standing around her held varying degrees of offense on their faces. Caitlin's was a mixture of pure surprise with the accusation that had been flung her way. "What? No! Not at all. Why?"

"Well, I mean, Barry didn't have to take things slow. He was stopping criminals the moment he got his powers." Jesse shrugged and her eyes shifted over the faces of the three women in front of her. "Why can't I do the same thing?"

"If Barry hadn't used his powers to stop crime as soon as he got them, I probably wouldn't be here," Iris said to Jesse. "Mark and Clyde Mardon were driving a getaway car after robbing a bank and crashed. That car would've killed me had Barry not been there to stop them and save me." She paused. "Not that I knew it at the time."

"And if this were because you were a girl, do you think I'd be here right now?" Cadence added. She nodded towards her friends. "These guys never had me hold back with using my powers unless it was something they thought was necessary. Before I was able to break out of my plateau, they had me working slowly or else I would've blacked out or suffered brain damage."

"Also, because you were, literally, a ticking time bomb," Caitlin added.

Cadence ignored her comment and continued speaking, "If the tests need to be done then…"

"I'm sure you think it's a great thing to have powers, but sometimes it's not so great. Trust me," Caitlin said. She ran her fingers over each other, almost as if waiting for them to turn into solid blocks of ice. "I'm just saying that I have powers and I'm taking them slow."

"My dad put you up to this didn't he? Of course, he did! this is exactly like my dad." Jesse brushed by Caitlin and rose her voice so that Harry could hear her. "You just want me to be safe, right? I've heard that my entire life. And all of this, all these tests aren't just because of wanting to keep me safe, it's because I'm not Barry. And you don't _want_ me to be Barry." She stepped closer to Harry, jabbing a finger into her chest. "Because you don't have faith in me at all." She turned on her heel and stormed from the Speed Lab.

She could've ran and gotten further away, but knew it wouldn't be easy. She'd gotten so many practice runs in that her legs were starting to feel like jelly. That she'd collapse any minute. That power bar wasn't helping her as quickly as she thought it would. Instead, she opted to walk away as fast as possible, propelling herself forward despite the ache that started to seize her muscles. It didn't take long before she heard footsteps following her, moving rapidly to catch up to her.

"Leave me alone!" Jesse spat.

"It's just me," Wally said, coming up beside her.

Jesse smiled, her frustration quickly and easily moving away. Her hands were still shaking, but no longer from anger. "Hey," she said. "Sorry. I just…ugh, I'm so mad at my dad. He's trying to get everyone to talk me out of using my powers. And, I wouldn't be surprised if you want me to, too."

"No, not at all," Wally denied.

Jesse blinked in surprise. "Really?"

"Yeah."

"When this first started happening, you were the first person I wanted to talk to about it. And…I was hoping maybe it was happening to you, too. It was crazy. One day I was leaving a friend's house, and a car was speeding towards, running a red light. And suddenly, everything was slowing down around me. Frozen. But I felt like there was electricity around me. And then I kept running and running and I never wanted it to stop."

"So you jumpstarted your powers?" Wally asked.

"Maybe? I don't even know how to explain it. It's just…this feeling I got." Jesse thought for a moment. "It was like I was faster than time itself. That there was this energy that was moving through me that kept me going."

"Must be the Speed Force," Wally agreed. He quickly explained it to Jesse, the best way he knew how. "Barry says it's this…space that lets a speedster gave their powers. It helps funnel them and with out it, they can't use their powers anymore."

"Just like when Barry went into the Speed Force to get it back," Jesse agreed.

Wally nodded. "But we both got hit by that dark matter wave…and these dreams I keep having…" Jesse looked at him closely, nodding eagerly for him to continue. "In my dreams, I feel the same way. That there's some sort of an electrical charge that's moving through my body as I run around. I'm a speedster and I have my own suit and…" He ran a hand through his hair. "Harry just told me more about the consequences of dark matter but…even he doesn't think things are going to work with them. And Joe and…"

"You just really want to help people," Jesse broke in. "I get it, Wally. It's what I want, too. It's why we came back here. To get a hold on everything." She laughed sarcastically. "It was a good idea in _theory_ , but having him come here…I can tell it's freaking him out. I guess that's what parents are for, right?"

"Yeah, I guess so," Wally agreed.

The two smiled at each other.

"So, listen," Jesse said, taking a step towards Wally. "I'm constantly being stuck here and there's not much to do. I was…wondering, if you wanted to hang out with some sometime? Maybe get an idea of what Earth-1 is all about."

"Actually, Iris invited me to a Halloween party," Wally said, unable to keep an ever widening grin from his face. "And she said we could go if you were interested. I mean, it may not be as good as seeing everything that Earth-1 has for you, but it could be just as fun."

"It could," Jesse agreed. "Just…there's one problem."

"What's that?"

"What's Halloween?"

* * *

Barry climbed through the window of Cadence's bedroom and raced to the kitchen, skidding to a stop. He reached out a hand and grabbed the stack of napkins that started to fly away, replacing it on the counter. "Hey," he greeted Cadence, who stood flipping through some bills.

"Hey," Cadence replied with a bright smile, lifting her gaze from the envelopes resting in her palms. "How was your day?"

"Slow," Barry said. He leaned against the counter next to her, folding his arms. "I never knew how bad things could be until I had to actually sit there and wait for my shift to end. All with Julian watching me to make sure I actually did leave when I was supposed to." He ran a hand through his hair. "Did you know it seems like a lifetime can go by in a second?"

"I'm sure we've all had that happen before," Cadence reassured him. "Even before you had your powers there had to be days where you were waiting for something and things went by agonizingly slow." She flashed a teasing smile his way. "Though considering your relationship with time, I wouldn't want to be you."

"Ha ha." Barry leaned forward to give her a peck on the lips then stopped. He studied her face, noticing the dark circles under her eyes. "Uh, did you sleep well last night?"

"Yeah. Why?" Cadence tossed a bill aside and picked up another one, eyebrows rising when she saw the numbers on it. "Remind me to never let you use my Netflix account again."

Barry smiled. "I just…well, it looks like you haven't slept much. Did you have another dream about the Assassination Bureau or…?"

"Huh?" Cadence reached up and pressed a fingertip underneath her eye. Then her eyes widened, and she chuckled. "No, that's part of my Halloween costume. I haven't finished the makeup for it yet. By the way, before we go to meet up with Caitlin, Iris, and Cisco, I need to drop Brady off at Chief Paulson's house."

"Chief Paulson?" Barry's nose wrinkled. "Really?"

"Alicia's having a Halloween party and he was invited," Cadence explained. "Otherwise, I don't think even he'd want to set foot there. You know, the whole having metahumans register themselves thing aside." She snapped her fingers. "Oh, and Wally and Jesse are coming with us, too."

"Harry's actually going to let Jesse leave STAR Labs?"

"That's exactly what the rest of us were thinking. Anyway, you need to get dressed so we can get going. I know you had a long day at work, especially with dealing with Julian, so if anyone deserves to have a night of dancing and gorging themselves on candy, it's you."

Barry smiled. That _did_ sound like something he could really use. Mostly because Halloween was his favorite holiday and candy was certainly the treat he would prefer to gorge on when he got the chance. Having the metabolism to support it was something he certainly didn't take for granted. "Well, it's not going to take more than five seconds for me to get dressed so I have no problem handing out candy to anyone who may come by before we drop Brady off."

Cadence finally turned her full attention to him and smirked when she noticed his eyes darting around. "It's a good thing you don't have x-ray vision or else you'd find here I hid it."

"Again, it'd only take like five seconds to do."

"You know, you may have the nickname 'fastest man alive' but there are some things that you don't' want to brag about being fast at." Cadence lifted a finger. "And that's one of them." She smiled and turned her head to the side when Barry leaned in to give her a peck, his lips landing on her cheek.

Confused, Barry leaned back and watched her. "What are you doing?" He asked. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing," Cadence replied, dropping the rest of the bills.

"Cay."

"Nothing!"

Barry winced, expecting for the wallpaper in the kitchen to suddenly burst into flames. Or else the sprinklers to go off and start flooding the entire apartment. Not for his eardrums to throb at the sudden high-pitch Cadence's voice took on when she continued to deny anything was wrong. "You know when your voice gets shrill like that, I know you're lying."

"My voice doesn't get shrill," Cadence defended herself, being careful to lower her voice. Despite the worry that niggled through Barry's stomach, he couldn't help but laugh a little bit.

"So, what?" He asked, finally calming down. "You don't want to kiss me?"

"Oh, I want to kiss you."

That was enough to make his ego stay intact. _But if that's not it, then what is it?_ Barry asked himself. It didn't take him too long to figure it out. He'd already had the conversation a couple of times before and his presence around the apartment certainly didn't seem to be making a difference in anything. "Just not in front of Brady?" Cadence nodded, folding her arms. "Since when has that been a problem?" Cadence lifted an eyebrow. "Oh, since your fight." Barry chewed his lip, wondering how to tell her what he knew. "That's…never really been a problem before."

"Yeah, well…" Cadence reached up and ran a hand through her hair, letting out a sigh that blew her fringe off her forehead. "It's a problem now. Not with me," she added hastily. "But with Brady. He's putting on the rest of his costume, by the way."

Barry pressed his lips together. His need to want to fix things was slowly starting to come up but…this wasn't something he really had a handle on. Or knew _how_ to handle. He wasn't Brady's father yet, just his friend, but he was Cadence's girlfriend so that meant he had a right to explain why he was so angry, right? Or did that mean he'd be breaking Brady's confidence and trust in him for speaking about a conversation he was asked to keep quiet?

Guilt wasn't something Barry dealt with very well. Instead, he changed the subject, hoping maybe he could work things out from a different angle. "You know we're adults, right?" He asked.

"I'm very aware of that, as a matter of fact, it was a point I've brought up to him before. But you're allowed to feel the way you feel so…" She turned away, shifting her jaw to the side. "I don't want to talk about it anymore. Let's get dressed so we can go, okay?"

"Yeah, okay," Barry agreed.

True to his word, he finished getting dressed in his costume, a vampire, in record time. (The only thing taking some time was how to get his hair to lie flat on his head. He'd used enough gel to shellac it in a hard shell it'd at least let him be more aerodynamic if there was any crime he needed to stop that night.

And knowing their luck…, well, Barry certainly wasn't going to say it out loud to jinx it.

But he was at least ready for it.

* * *

A man walked through the glass enclosed walkway of the Central City marina, pushing his way through the throngs of costumed people who surged along the streets towards their parties. He held a phone to his ear, a briefcase in his free hand, and shouldered his way through the crowd, barking a response to the bad news he retrieved as he kept going. The heels of his loafers stomping along the sidewalk as he went.

He listened to what was being said then responded once more. After a moment, he stopped. Something shadowy moving by his eye. He looked over and found nothing. Must've been his imagination. Things tended to run away from him when he wasn't paying attention. With the long hours he put into work, there were many days he thought he saw something that wasn't there. Heard sounds that hadn't happened. Felt a sort of heavy presence surging around him.

Still, the man continued to look around him, eyes sliding over the crowd that surged around him. Had to have been one of them. Costumed teens and young adults running around, ready to celebrate the night. What a shame. Didn't they know that Halloween wasn't a day to be celebrated and just made to push the manufacturing and resell of candy? There were much more important things in the world.

The man focused his eyes forward once more and kept walking. He zeroed in on the voice that was speaking to him, anger rising as he heard something unpleasant, deeply unsettling. He opened his mouth to shout out a retort, but cut himself off. A cold wave of dread washed over him, drenching him from head to toe like a torrential downpour. A sinister presence. The boogeyman you could never pinpoint but knew was waiting in the shadows to attack you when the time as right. Fear.

Pure, unbridled fear. Slowly, slowly, he turned around and looked up…and up…and up…at the shadowy figure that loomed above him. The towering figure that was all shadows and swirls of black and gray, in the shape of a man but having no distinguishing features in its face. The man slowly dropped the phone from his ear, it crashed to the ground, the screen immediately splintering in a million cracks as the screen shattered. His mouth trembled, lips trying to form a sound that would warn those around him. His scream bubbled up, but before it was ripped from his throat, his body was ripped form the ground with a large hand grasping his neck.

Legs flailing, the man struggled to break free, air sucking from his lungs with the force of the scream but unable to be brought back in. Increase of pressure, pressure, pressure. And then the pressure was gone, darkness immediately filling his eyes.

With a sound similar to that of a crushed watermelon, the shadowy figure broke the man's neck—the sickening crack filling the air. His deed done, the man was flung aside and fell to the ground in a heap, the shadowy figure slipping away from where he came.

The boogeyman had gotten away again.

Once the clearing emptied, a lone figure stepped out from beneath a nearby street awning, completely hidden from view of everyone that walked by. His walked over to the man that lay prone on the ground, blue eyes moving over his body. He reached out with his toe and nudged the man's back, the body flopped open but didn't move any more.

A smile came to the man's lips before it faded once more. He placed his hand to his hip, as if making sure the blade strapped there was still as present as the one to his back. He tapped his fingers against it then abruptly turned on his heel and walked away.

* * *

Barry folded his arms, unsure of where to look, unsure of how to feel. He knew there was a chance there were going to be people dressed up as The Flash that night for Halloween. Even Cisco had suggested that he and Cadence go ahead and wear their suits that night.

"There's going to be so many people dressed up that they won't question you having a costume," he pointed out. "So if anything comes up, then you can just get going instead of having to go somewhere and get changed."

"He's got a point," Caitlin agreed. "It'd also significantly cut down on people worrying about finding out your real identity." She paused, bobbing her head back and forth. "Which, of course, would mean it may be harder to find the real you if we ever need help."

"You think costumes of us are that popular?" Cadence had asked, obviously trying to hide her glee of actually having a Flare costume being sold in stores. "I thought Batman and Superman were still the top ones."

"Please." Cisco held up a hand. "Like anyone's suit is going to even _compare_ to what I've come up with. Costume or not."

He expected there to be many Flash suits at the party or any other party they may go to. Hell, he'd even seen some of them on the metro they all took to the neighborhood in Keystone the party was being held, turning down Barry's _and_ Jesse's offers to run them there. He and his friends (Iris dressed as a flapper, Wally as Gomez Addams, Cisco as Jon Snow from Game of Thrones, Cadence as a genie, Caitlin as Minnie Mouse, and Jesse as Madeline after having Halloween explained to her) all stared with wide eyes when they saw the many men and women who had been dressed up in Flash costumes before talking excitedly about it.

Barry's excitement faded when he got to the party and saw how many of the costumes were explained as 'sexy flash' costumes when Jesse eagerly asked, causing his friends all to burst out into incredible bouts of laughter. Jesse shrieked with laughter the hardest, hard enough that tears spilled down her cheeks, clearly delighting in Barry's discomfort.

The costumes weren't _bad_ by any stretch of the means. Some of the men's costumes were just maroon colored shorts with yellow lightning running up and down the sides, similar to Barry's hood. What any of them would wear while out running. The woman's costumes had the same treatment as those of any other procession—turned into a dress that was very low-cut in the front or a bra top that bra top with a lightning bolt in the middle and yellow short shorts and matching maroon boots, and…long t-shirts.

"It's not that funny," Barry said, trying to keep his eyes anywhere that wasn't inappropriate.

"The costumes aren't, your reaction is," Caitlin said, patting him on the shoulder. "Come on, Barry, these costumes are just for fun."

"I know…"

"Just enjoy it while you can," Cisco said, turning this way and that as many of the girls walked past him. He turned back to the disapproving looks Caitlin, Cadence, and Iris were glaring his way and held up his hands, taking a step back. "In a completely respectful way, I mean."

"You should totally see it as a flattering thing," Cadence added. "Think of it this way,"—she motioned towards the male-Flare costumes that were in the crowd. "None of them had to stuff their shirts for your costume."

"I'm not _mad_ that there are costumes of… _me_ out there like that," Barry protested. "Just that—"

"—You know we're never going to let you live this down?" Iris jumped in, making the others laugh again. That was exactly, it, really. He knew this was something he was going to be teased with as long as he would remember. "Relax, Bare. And have some fun."

And they did have fun. For most of the night they gorged themselves on candy and other themed foods that had been left out by the host, drank beer, and danced to popular and Halloween themed music that pumped out of the speakers. Their fun was only cut short when they heard the sound of multiple phones going off at once. Barry immediately felt his heart race, knowing it had something to do with a meta or some sort of other criminal activity going on.

He was right when, seconds later, his phone went off with a text from Joe alerting him to get to a crime scene. He lifted his chin and exchanged a momentary glance with Cadence before they raced to STAR Labs to get into their suits—all the while Cisco shouted 'I told you so' after them—before going to the crime scene.

Barry skidded to a stop with Cadence teleporting behind him. The two nodded at Joe as they walked closer to the scene, Julian already looking over the body that lay prone on the ground, snapping off his gloves. Seeing them come closer, Julian lifted his chin and gave the two a dismissive glance as he reported, "Petechia around the eye, a crushed larynx…the poor chap has fingerprints around his neck." He snapped the locks on his case shut and stood up, looking Barry, Cadence, and Joe all in the eye. "He's been strangled."

"Witnesses have said that he was attacked by a giant shadow," Joe added. His face was a mask of disbelief, flashing red and blue from the cop cars parked nearby, other cops holding back the crowd that had gathered.

"A giant shadow?" Cadence repeated in disbelief.

"So a meta from neverland made the trip to central city," Julian commented under his breath.

Barry ignored him and knelt down by the man's side. He carefully grasped his hand and lifted it to examine his palm. Then he lowered his fingers to examine the man's fingernails. "No laceration marks, no fingernail marks."

"So he didn't try to fight back?" Cadence asked.

"Or else was taken by so much surprise that he hadn't had the chance," Julian said. He clasped his briefcase in front of him. "In which case I'd have to say that it sounds very much the way all metahumans interact." He nodded to the two then to Joe. "Detective." And walked away.

Once again, Barry had nothing but the thought of _I hate that guy_ before took the information they retrieved from the scene and hurried back to STAR Labs, filling in the others as soon as they arrived. He pulled off his hood while Cadence explained the man's name to Caitlin so she could pull up his image on their wall-mounted monitor.

"Killed by a shadow?" Caitlin asked, using a large gloved hand to brush aside her hair. "That's a new one."

"Maybe he was killed by the same thing as Clariss," Cisco suggested.

"Clariss was a meta, this guy clearly is not," Cadence said. She noticed the curious expression turning her way and she pointed with her chin at the screen. "Every meta we've come across so far has been a criminal. Looking into this guy, he doesn't' have any priors and no motivation to have suddenly wanted to start committing any crimes. Look at the way he's dressed; that's one of the most expensive suits I've seen in a long time. He probably has people he could buy to commit crimes for him. Not to mention he had no wounds on his hands. No mistakes made in a hasty exit, nothing that would show he was working to train to harm someone else."

"So that brings us back to this Alchemy person," Iris pointed out. "Is this guy a regular shadow meta from the particle accelerator explosion or is this a meta created by Dr. Alchemy like the Rival was."

" _Was_ definitely being the key word there," Jesse murmured.

"We don't know yet," Barry admitted, running a hand through his hair—or trying to considering how easily his fingers became stuck. "There's no evidence to process. But we _can_ check out the footage from the security cameras." He nodded over to Cisco. "The crime scene was in Chubbuck, Palmer and Mericine. About an hour ago."

Cisco nodded and punched in the correct codes to bring up the video file. The group watched as the man was lifted off the ground and flung around for a second before his neck was broke and dropped back to the ground. All done by the monstrous sized shadow standing before him.

"Wow, that's going to give me nightmares," Brady's voice made everyone jump and he looked at his friends with a confused expression, standing nearby. "Sorry," he quickly apologized.

"What are you doing here?" Cadence asked, taking her phone from her pocket to look at the time. "I wasn't supposed to pick you up for another two hours."

Brady shrugged, pushing the Zorro hat he was wearing off his head while simultaneously dropping his mask to around his neck with deft moves. "I wasn't having a lot of fun," he murmured, looking at Barry meaningfully, who gave a small smile in response. "And I got the alert on this new meat so…who is he?"

"Shade." Jesse explained. "We have him as a meta on our Earth. Dumb, _dumb_ name. But he can do the same thing."

"What'd he do, throw some side-eye?" Cisco joked.

"He vibrates at a high frequency to create the illusion he's a shadow."

"That's how I phase," Barry murmured, bringing up a hand to rub his chin.

Brady frowned, tilting his head to the side. "But I phase by moving my particles through the particles of objects around me," Brady said. Then he waved his hand. "Or whatever it was that Cisco said, I stopped listening."

"So Shade can do the same as Barry," Caitlin confirmed.

"Has to be," Cisco murmured.

"Okay, so he must be slowing down his molecules whenever he attacks," Barry realized. He turned around to face his team. "We have to figure out how to keep him slowed down so we can grab him."

"Couldn't you just move fast enough to stop him?" Cadence asked. "Or would that create an adverse effect to the powers he's been exhibiting." She paused, her eyes widening with horror. "Oh my god, I'm turning into you!"

"Right, so we need to most fast," Iris said. "As far as we know, he may be working with Alchemy. And the sooner we find him, the better off we'll be."

"Then I can help you find him." Again, the team all jumped at the sudden voice speaking to them. But this time they all tensed at the realization that their security alarms had not gone off again. A tall man stood behind them, his silvery hair falling into his blue eyes, swords criss-crossed as they were strapped to his back. "This would be something of my area of expertise."

"Who are you?" Barry asked.

"Black Blade," Brady commented, voice low. "He's the one we saw at the science museum."

"It's nice to meet you." The man pressed his hands to his sides and bent at the waist to bow to the team gaping back at him. "But I'd prefer to be called Ryuto if you don't mind." He nodded over to Brady. "And I was speaking the truth before when I said that my only intention is to train him with his abilities. As you could guess, they're as unique at of a speedster's own abilities."

"Are you one of Alchemy's followers?" Wally demanded, clenching his hands into fists. "Did he send you here after us?"

"I don't know of any Alchemy," Black Blade explained, his eyebrows coming together in confusion. He then turned his attention to Barry, who listened quietly to the man. He didn't believe a word this man was saying. The last time he had allowed himself to be lulled into a false sense of security like that, to be trained by a man who knew of his abilities, he had been betrayed and his world was rocked.

It was what driven him to create Flashpoint. What was going to be made this time? Would it be another betrayal that he wouldn't' see coming? "And all you want is to train Brady?"

"Is there something you know about him that we don't?" Cadence demanded, eyeing him like a hawk. Barry could feel the temperature in the air change around her.

 _"You can heat up the air, too?" He asked her._

 _Cadence tilted her head to the side, her hair moving out of her face. "Only when I'm in a bad mood," she admitted after a slight hesitation. "Usually I have such a good handle on it but—"_

 _"But your powers are intensified by your anger," Barry interrupted._

 _Cadence nodded._

It was the first ability that she'd told him about, back when they first met. It mostly came about when she felt the need to defend her friend and family in some way, but became very dangerous when she focused her powers to take on who they were facing. The entire battle area from where they had come across Zoom had been entirely scorched. As many assets as Harrison and Tess had, Barry didn't think they'd be too keen on having to completely rebuild STAR Labs after the small structural damage from the particle accelerator explosion.

"Just that with the power set he has, he's got great potential to be a nearly invincible meathuman," Black Blade explained. "And that if there's anyone who can take down this meta you call Shade, it would be him and me." He locked his gaze on Barry. "As you've mentioned, his speed is a factor at being able to create a shadow-like creature and I believe your powers and that combined effort from your partner would make things worse."

Barry sucked in a breath.

"Well?" Caitlin asked, breaking the silence. "What do you think?"

Should we trust him or should we be suspicious of him? Barry hadn't expected to be so worried about the outcomes of the tough decision so quickly. The paranoid thought had entered his head as soon as he returned from Flashpoint, unsure of what he would be coming back to. Another Jay? Another Zoom? Another Eobard Thawne? Now there was this meta that he knew nothing about but the others clearly had many run-ins with. Barry looked to Brady, whose face was a mask of an expression he hadn't seen before.

Barry didn't get the chance to respond to the question as the warning alarms went off. "What is it?" Jesse asked.

Caitlin and Cisco immediately got to work, pulling up the geographical map of what was being attacked and by whom. "Shade is attacking the Halloween celebration in the park," Caitlin reported. "There's thousands of people there."

"You've got to go now," Cisco agreed.

Barry nodded back. He looked at Black Blade and made a quick decision to watch him closely. "If what you're saying is true, and you can help take down this meta, I'll trust you. For now." Black Blade nodded. "Let's go."

The group hurried to the park, arriving just to be knocked back by the crowd that frantically ran as far away from the shadow monster that wreaked havoc around them. "You get the crowd out of here, I'll take on this guy until you're back," Cadence called to Barry before racing forward in a blaze of flame.

Barry did as he was told and zipped back and forth through the crowd, moving as many people to safety as possible. In a matter of seconds, the park was empty of any civilians and he went back to the park. He watched as the shadow monster swung a large fist and caught Cadence in the chest, sending her rocketing into the ground so hard a ten-foot crater erupted beneath her.

Barry ran in circles around the shadow monster and threw a bolt of lightning toward him. It arched through the air towards the monster before phasing through him, passing seamlessly. The shadow monster turned and lifted his fist, moving to drive Barry into the ground like a hammer. Barry quickly moved out of the way and Black Blade unsheathed the swords strapped to his back, running forward to attack the monster.

Brady grasped his slingshot and slapped the 'y' crossing together and pulled at the other end, creating a long, metal bow staff. Twirling it over head, he ran forward and started to attack the shadow monster as well. At first, the shadow monster had the upper hand and knocked them back with ease. The phasing abilities of the shadow monster combined with Brady's phasing abilities made the fighting that much more difficult as their blows were not able to land on each other.

Barry got back to his feet and streaked to a stop in front of Shade. He swept Brady and Black Blade aside and turned to face the Flash. "Flash, just who I acme to see," Shade growled.

"So you like shadows, huh?" Barry taunted. "Do you want to see if you can catch mine?" They were going to need a new strategy if straight on fighting wasn't going to work. He turned on his heel and started to streak across the ground. He zipped back and forth, moving in a zig-zag, but soon found a big issue.

He couldn't see where Shade was. Even as fast as he moved, Barry couldn't detect any movement from the metahuman. He saw Cadence sending out streams of fire in multiple directions, throwing out her arms to catch the meta in pyres of fire before she was knocked aside. He could see Black Blade and Brady both using their weapons to fend off Shade. But he couldn't see Shade himself.

Not until a colossal sized fist came out of nowhere and struck Barry in the face so hard that he felt some of his teeth become knocked loose, a fresh wave of blood striking his tongue. Barry crashed to the ground seconds before he felt another blown rain on his back, pressing his face into the ground.

"Barry, are you oaky?" He could hear Cisco's frantic voice in his ear-piece.

"I just got thrown around like a ragdoll," Barry murmured, bringing his face from the ground, clumps of dirt falling off his face.

"No way, Ragdoll would've come back up seconds later," Cadence said, suddenly appearing by his side, grasping his arm to pull him to his feet. "That little booger would be able to bend his way out of being attacked by shade."

"I can't attack him if I can't see him," Barry said. His eyes moved around the park, still unable to tell where Shade's next attack was going to come from. "Is there any way to light this place up?'

"You got it," Cadence said. She backed away from Barry and lifted her foot. Stomping hard on the ground, a large, glowing circle formed around her. It took a few seconds for the glow to increase in brightness before the ground cracked open and a large wall of flames encircled her, shadows flickering across the area.

Black Blade, who was running forward with his swords out to his sides, came to a screeching halt, throwing his hand up in front shield his face as he screeched in pain. Shade screamed at the same time, throwing up his hands. Seeing this, Brady strung up his slingshot and sent a piece of ammo into the ground, illuminating the area with light so bright the darkness reverted to daytime.

Barry watched as Shade stumbled backwards, holding his hands over his face. Barry took the opportunity to run forward and race around Shade once more, picking up electricity as he went. Cadence stopped the fire pyre around her and infused electricity in the flames to throw towards Barry. With the added electricity, Barry grabbed a jagged lightning bolt in his hand and threw it as hard as he could.

It struck Shade directly in the face, exploding in an even brighter ball of light.

Shade screamed as the light covered him. He struggled in vain to make himself bigger, stronger, to keep his wits about him. But the light was too bright, he didn't have the energy, didn't have the power. He couldn't phase, to get away. Slowly, Shade shrank down in size, growing smaller and smaller until he was a man's size once more, dropping to the ground.

He rolled onto his back, holding his hands above him. "Please," he whimpered. "Please don't hurt me."

Brady paused in his steps as he hurried to help Barry and his mother capture their new Pipeline prisoner. "What?" He murmured, listening to the man's cries. "It's a fake?"

"It wasn't a fake," Black Blade groaned, also on his knees. He struggled back to his feet as the light slowly faded. "It was a real as any of the other metas you've come up against," Black Blade explained. He looked Brady in the eye. "But as I've told you before, you needed some training,"

"You did this?" Brady accused.

Black Blade didn't respond. Instead, he took a step back towards the shadows that stretched behind him and disappeared from sight. As Cadence hoisted Shade to his feet, a tight grip on his shoulder that made him whimper in pain, Barry looked over to where Black Bade had been before and frowned seeing he was no longer there.

When would he finally get the answers to his questions upfront?

Barry's eyes shifted to the side when he saw rapid moving white flashes in the corner of the park. He felt his heart leap into his chest.

It looked exactly like the flashes that had been there when Clariss had been murdered.

* * *

"I don't get it," Caitlin murmured, her eyes searching the computer screen. "That was too easy."

"It's Halloween," Cisco reassured her. "Stranger things have happened. Remember the time Ronnie and I were convinced STAR Labs was haunted?"

"Haunted by what?" Iris asked. She whirled around at the sound of footsteps and the group watched as Harrison Wells walked into the cortex, eyes wide with wonder as he looked around all of the machinery.

"Wow," he said. "I just have to say, you've done a great job with this place. It's like a museum, but not, you know? It's got a real quasi-modern thing going on that's just so…oh and these computers are certainly something I haven't seen in a long time." He spun a drumstick around his fingers as he spoke. "Wow, he never said the place would be as great as this." Then he noticed everyone staring at him. "Oh! I'm sorry, I'm being…" he cut himself off to laugh at his faux-pas. "I'm being so rude. Allow me to introduce myself." He took off his hat and bowed. "My name is HR Wells."

* * *

 **A/N:** Woohoo, a more lighthearted chapter! It's been a while since I've done one if I'm comparing it to the last story. And it being a chapter about Halloween certainly made it easy to do. Lol. I hope you guys enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it. Especially the Wally/Jesse scene and the idea of the Flash Halloween costumes.

And now this chapter is the last of the little seeds that needs to be planted before things can really get started. I'm soooo excited for everything else to come to fruition and your guys' responses to it.

Please remember to review; any feedback helps me become a better writer and motivates me to write more. I respond to every review, even anonymous ones.

 **Cheers,**

 **-Riley**


	9. Chilly in Central City

**09**

 _Chilly in Central City_

* * *

Life with HR Wells around was interesting to say the least. More so in his cheerful personality compared to that of Harry Wells. HR was unflappable in the positivity he exuded even when things were difficult. And with some of the metas and criminals Barry, Cadence, and Brady came up against, they tended to get difficult.

At first, the difficulties were in getting used to Harry no longer being around. Jesse took it the hardest, Harry having decided to leave without telling the rest of the team. His reasons, as evidenced in the note he'd left behind, had been wanting to give Jesse some space to figure out her powers on her own, there was still trouble on their Earth he had to deal with, he didn't want to be in the way.

And Jesse had, through a wobbly smile, agreed to it. Saying it was better that they spent some time apart so that she was able to train. But HR…he'd quickly moved into STAR Labs and started to make the place as much of his home as possible, to the shocked and surprised stares of everyone else. His already weird idiosyncrasies—constantly twirling drumsticks around his fingers, misnaming everyone with odd nicknames, and bringing coffee every morning—were even weirder as time went on.

His connection with Harrison and Tess was even stranger.

"I'm Randolph Morgan's partner," HR explained when he was asked what he did on his Earth. Tess's eyebrows had risen in surprise to which HR turned a brilliant smile to her and said, "Ah, I see you've heard of him."

"Randolph is my brother," Tess explained. "I haven't seen him in years." She turned to the rest of the group to explain to them, "He lives in Hawaii and works as a stock broker."

"A stock broker in Hawaii?" Caitlin asked, making a face.

"I didn't say he was a good one."

"Ah." HR wiggled a drumstick in the air. "On my Earth, Randolph Morgan is a brilliant scientist and my partner. We work very well together. I guess on this Earth," he pointed his drumstick towards Tess. "That would make you my Randolph, my partner." He held out his hand to Tess who took it to shake. He grasped her hand and kissed the back of it, making Harrison, who stood next to her, fold his arms and tilt his head to the side. HR then stood up straight and tipped his head. "And you must be Harrison Prime. Such an honor to meet you." His eyes flickered back and forth between the two. "Oh, and you're married." He looked curious, rubbing his chin. "I wonder if that means I'm married to Randolph on my Earth. Or if that you two are interested in…" he broke off at the wide-eyed stares around him. "Well, that's not important right now."

And that was the first day he was there. Since then, he was a fixture in the Cortex, giving his opinions and points here and there. But as another version of a Wells to help while Harrison and Tess were working to keep Chief Paulson from turning over the MRA, the help was needed.

Jesse, however, was the only one who didn't quite warm up to HR. Despite it being another Harrison Wells in name and face, she was not used to HR Wells being around. Especially when her father's enthusiasm of her powers was everything short of being a personal cheerleader of sorts.

She scowled as she leaned forward, pressing her feet together to stretch her legs. "Does he have to be here every time we do some training?"

"Well, there aren't many times that we can hog tie him and stuff him in a closet," Cisco pointed out.

"Not to mention, that'd be rude," Caitlin agreed, stretching her arms in front of her. She pulled her hair up into a ponytail and resumed stretching her arms in front of her. "He may be a little…"

"Weird?" Cisco asked.

"Strange?" Barry broke in.

"I hope it doesn't run in the family," Cadence murmured.

"You already lost that bet," Cisco teased. Brady smiled but otherwise stayed silent.

Caitlin frowned and folded her arms. "You thought Hartley was a jerk, Cisco, and he proved you wrong. Now he's a big part of the team…" she shrugged. "When he's here."

"Wait." Barry's nose wrinkled. "What?" He didn't remember Hartley being anything but a jerk, even when he didn't know Hartley personally, he managed to come across as a prickly young man. As the Pied Piper he was even more insufferable. Going so far as to try and expose Dr. Wells for something he wasn't and for the choices he made.

"He helps out with the repairs in some of our pieces of technology if we can't figure it out," Cisco said, giving Barry a strange look. Then recognition flittered across his face and he ran a hand through his hair, turning away from Barry.

"Are we going to get this training started or what?" HR called from the side of the practice room. A room that Barry also hadn't realized had been expanded since he came back from Flashpoint as well. "C'mon! I want to see some powers starting up around here. I want to see some—" he started to make zooming sounds with his mouth, waving his hands back and forth in the air. "And some—" he made 'pew, pew' sounds as he started to flick his fingers back and forth. "Okay? Let's go!"

Jesse's eyes widened as she turned back to the group. "I _really_ hope it's doesn't run in the family."

"Yeah, you're weird enough already," Cisco murmured.

Caitlin gently nudged him on the arm. "Let me just get the first aid kit and then we can start."

"It's in the cabinet under the examining table," Brady called over to her from where he sat on the floor, resting his chin in his hands. "I moved it there the last time I helped alphabetize and organize the inventory."

"Thank you."

"You're welcome." Brady looked at his watch and let out a long sigh, his head dropping even further. Barry gave him a sympathetic glance before letting out a big breath.

"Okay, I guess we should get started," he said. He thought for a moment before motioning to himself, Jesse, and Brady. "We'll get started working on Jesse's speed and some of her other abilities. If we can teach her to phase, then it'll help with her all-around abilities. Cade, you stay here and work on Caitlin's and Cisco's abilities." He looped his finger in the air. "We're going to be running around a bit."

"No problem," Cadence replied. "Just don't get too tired. I still plan on kicking you butt later."

"Last I checked, I won last time." With that, Barry reached out and grasped Brady's shoulders, racing out of the practice room leaving a trail of yellow lightning behind. Jesse followed right after him, an eager smile on her face.

Cadence let out a low breath and placed her hands on her hips as she turned back to Caitlin and Cisco. "Okay, you guys have been doing a great job with training in terms of being able to control your powers and knowing the muscle memory to tap into them. But you really need to work on your fighting skills." She nodded between the two. "I know the last thing you want to do is fight, but from what Ragdoll has taught us, there's a chance people can get back here in STAR Labs and the last thing we want is for you guys to be in trouble when it happens."

"She's right," HR agreed. "Candace is right." Cadence made a face, realizing how HR butchered her name. "The last thing we want is to be totally and completely vulnerable to any attacks that come through to STAR Labs. Like, I'm talking some of the bigger things that can come in. Security risks, breaches of our fall back line, things like that."

Cadence clicked her tongue, her eyes narrowing slightly, before she turned back to Caitlin and Cisco, who looked as annoyed. "Anyway, there's always a few basic moves that you can learn. The best thing at this point is to know what you can do without access to the weapons we have on hand." She waved towards Cisco. "Not that I'm dissing anything that you've created but we should use them as a fall back point."

"Then don't come crying to me when you're in a jam and have no access to weapons that can take down a meta like _that!"_ He snapped his fingers for emphasis.

"I can teleport, Cisco, I think I'll be fine." Cadence took a few steps back until she was on the edge of the practice mat. She cracked her knuckles before bringing her arms back to stretch behind her. Then she fell into a fighting stance, looking back towards Caitlin and Cisco. "Okay, now attack me. And I want both of you to use your powers to do it."

Cisco and Caitlin glanced at each other, apprehension moving over their faces. It was one thing to practice fighting skills—using punching bags and lifting weights to get stronger—but another to fight with powers they hadn't completely grown use to using yet. But Cadence didn't wait for their first move. Instead, she crouched low to the ground and did a leg sweep, a wall of flame erupting in front of her as she did so.

Throwing up their hands, Caitlin and Cisco backed away from the sudden influx of heat in front of them, giving Cadence the perfect opportunity to leap upwards and land on the ground in front of them, simultaneously bringing up a cloud of smoke that obstructed their vision. Caitlin coughed and backed away while Cisco brought up his goggles to cut out the glare and darkness. He held up his hand and sent a vibrational blast back towards her.

Cadence rolled out of the way, but didn't move fast enough for the second one Cisco shot shortly after the first one. She was caught in the stomach, sent tumbling heels over head across the practice mat. Cisco threw open a breach and jumped through it, coming up behind Cadence. She whipped around and bent back out of the way when he sent another vibrational blast. She grabbed his arm and flipped him over onto his back with a quick shift of her arm. Then she swung her arm up into the air and the smoke immediately cleared, revealing Caitlin to stand on the other side of the practice mat with her arms up, chest high.

Wisps of ice wafted around her hands. "Things are about to get a little cold in here," she said, voice suddenly holding a strange echo to it. With that, she brought back her hands and threw them forward, sending a sheet of ice across the floor of the practice mat. Cisco, who moved to take down a distracted Cadence with another vibrational blast fell as his feet slipped out from beneath him.

Cadence threw up her arm and a pyre of fire shot to the sky, blocking most of the attack. She cried out in pain when she felt an icicle shoot past her face, cutting her cheek open. Blood dripped down from the wound seconds before it closed. Then Cadence countered by stepping forward and clapped her hands together. A bright ball of fire, the size of a basketball, immediately shot back to Caitlin. She held up her hand seconds before it hit her and froze it over. With a flick of her wrist, she sent it back to Cadence.

Cadence's eyes narrowed, and she sucked in a deep breath before blowing out. The air around the ice ball immediately warmed, shimmering at the sudden temperature change, before the ball imploded into a ball of water. Then Cadence raced forward and leapt high into the air. With a flip, she landed on the ground and created a large circle of fire that exuded from where she landed.

Cisco grabbed onto Caitlin and the two fell out of the way. He flipped his hair from his face and said, "Man, now I know how barbecue feels," he muttered. He turned to Caitlin to ask, "Are you okay?" Then gaped in silence. She was cold, completely cold all over, but that wasn't what made him speechless. It was her eyes, the normal, friendly, chocolate brown eyes he loved to look into were now an icy white. A snarl pulled at her lips, a mask of anger he'd never seen before reached her eyes.

"Get your hands off me!" She snapped, that eerie echo still stuck in her voice. "I can take care of myself." She pulled her arms out of Cisco's grasp and stood up, tilting her head back and forth to crack it. She wiggled her fingers. "Let's see if you can handle this." She held up her hand and thrust it towards Cadence, who watched in confusion.

Then horrified recognition slid onto her face. She hadn't thought it was possible and yet…it was staring her right in the face. Killer Frost.

"Yes!" HR cried before clapping repeatedly. "Yes! This is…this is _gold_ people. This is what I came to see and…and you brought it. Thank you!"

"Cisco," Cadence said slowly, keeping her eyes on Killer Frost. "Get HR out of here."

Cisco's mouth opened and closed as he slowly pulled himself up off the ground. He stared at Killer Frost, who, for all intents and purposes, was still Caitlin. The same face, the same hair, the same hair color…the only difference was the color of her eyes and the hard lines etched into her face.

"Caitlin?" He breathed.

Caitlin looked at him over her shoulder and her lips turned up at the corner. "Sorry, Caitlin's not here right now." Then her eyes closed and when she opened them again, they were back to the brown color. She let out a strong gasp, looking down at her hands. "What's happening to me?" She whimpered.

"Caitlin." Cisco took a step towards her.

"Cisco," Cadence said, warning still in her voice. Flames flickered in her eyes and around her hands. She, too, had her eyes on Caitlin. "Get out of here."

"Caitlin. I…I don't know what's happening." Cisco continued taking steps towards her. "But you have to fight it. We can help you. I promise." He held out his hand. "Let me help you."

"No," Caitlin whimpered. She backed away from his outstretched hand, hugged her arms to herself, hunched her shoulders forward. Blocked herself off from the world. "I can feel it." A soft whimper escaped her lips and she sucked in a shuddery breath, looking at Cadence, Cisco, and HR. "You have to get away from me."

HR finally stopped smiling and tilted his head to the side in confusion. He clicked his lips and pointed towards Caitlin. "Okay…that…that doesn't look good. What's going on?"

"Cisco!" Cadence was practically shouting now. Her voice cracked with desperation. With the shout, Caitlin's eyes shifted back towards Cadence and while they stayed brown, the snarl was back on her face. Without a word, she sucked in a deep breath and blew as hard as she could. Much like Cadence's ability to heat up the room with fire breath, sending flames shooting in all directions, Caitlin's created an icy vapor that filled the room.

Cadence immediately felt her temperature drop, the flames around her hands snuffed out by the lack of heat. She brought her hands to her arms, struggling to warm herself, already feeling her jaw violently move up and as her teeth chattered. _It's always dangerous if my body temperature gets too high,_ she thought. _What if it gets too low?_

"Caitlin!" Cadence cried, continuing to hold her hands up in front of her. "Caitlin! Stop!"

But Caitlin continued with her attack.

Across the city, Barry and Brady twisted their heads back and forth as they watched Jesse continuously run around and around the clearing they stood in. Finally, she came to a stop and with a bright smile asked, "How'd I do?"

"You ran really fast," Brady said helpfully. "Enough so that if there were anyone nearby you would've taken them down fast. Giving an opening to whomever may try to attack." Then he clasped his hands together and waited for Barry's words.

Barry gave him a small smile before turning back to the eager, young speedster. "Brady's right, you're doing a good job of what could be clearing the area," he explained. "And your pattern formations have been working out well." He gestured towards a smoldering patch in the grass that was a figure eight. "You're getting into top speed and created updrafts really well." He leaned back over to Brady. "Remind me to fix that before anyone sees."

Brady smiled and nodded.

"And?" Jesse prompted.

"The only thing you have to remember about being a speedster and running into areas that may be holding criminals or villains is that you need to case the place. Slow down and make sure you see every angle of what's going on. You have to case the place and make sure you've gone over every angle and…" he trailed off, grinning to himself. "Hey, I'm starting to sound like Oliver."

"That might not be a good thing, Barry," Brady reminded him. "Next thing you know you're going to start using everyone as a pin cushion."

"I'm not the one who's training with him."

"Yeah, but Oliver wouldn't kill a kid, he'd just kill you."

Confused, Jesse looked back and for the between the two and brought up a hand to scratch her temple. "I'm sorry," she said. "Who are we talking about and is it someone good or bad?"

"It's, uh…" Barry grimaced, realizing he may have made a mistake, speaking so candidly about Oliver Queen. Especially when Jesse was a new speedster and new to the world of metas and the rest of their vigilante team. "Just someone we know. He likes to keep in shape and be very particular about…other people…keeping in shape." He cleared his throat and brought out a hand, resting it on Jesse's shoulder. "But I was telling the truth when I said you're doing a great job. You're getting the hang of your speed really fast."

"Yeah, it took Barry months to get that fast," Brady added.

Barry cast him an annoyed glance. "You weren't even there, how would you do?"

Brady shrugged but continued to grin.

Jesse smiled back and forth between the two then rubbed her hands together. "Okay, what's next? We've done speed trials, obstacles, worked on casing places. Am I going to learn how to phase now or are there are any other formations I need to learn how to do?"

"I think we can move onto phasing," Barry said. He nodded over to Brady then took a step back.

Brady's eyes widened in surprise and he pointed to himself. "Me?" He asked. He took a step forward when Barry nodded encouragingly and cleared his throat. "Well, the main point of my powers is phasing. I can move through objects as easily as objects move through me. And it's also something Barry can do, though it works a little differently. When Barry phases, he's focusing on vibrating fast enough that he moves through solid objects. I interact with the particles of the objects around me and move through it. Like this." He held up his hand, which seemed to turn translucent, and moved it through the trunk of the tree sitting next to him. "If you focus on the object and passing through, really concentrating on its makeup and the Speed Force, then you can get through it."

Jesse shook out her hands, flexing her fingers. "Okay, I can do that. Concentrate on the object and passing through, it's make up and the Speed Force." She bobbed her head back and forth. "Yeah, I can do that." She took in a deep breath and a step backwards. Then she blew out the breath and raced forward, using a burst of her superspeed towards the tree. Barry and Brady watched as she ran headlong into the tree trunk and ricocheted off it.

"Ooh!" Barry winced, bringing a closed fist up to cover his mouth while Brady, on the other hand, followed her falling trajectory to the ground with a blank look on his face. "Jesse, are you okay?"

"Yeah," Jesse groaned, slowly peeling herself off the ground. "I think so."

"I said to run _through_ it, not _into_ it," Brady said.

"Sorry, but there's a lot to think about when you're running like that," Jesse said. She finally stood up, brushing leaving and dirt off her t-shirt. "A few seconds is a _lot_ of time."

"I know the feeling," Barry agreed. He started to say something else when his phone started to blare, setting off the metahuman warning app. His eyebrows immediately lowered in concern when he saw the app was pinging from STAR Labs. "Guys, we have to go," he said. "Something's going on at STAR Labs."

The three hurried back to the practice room just in time to find the last remnants of the icy vapor Caitlin left behind with Cadence, Cisco, and HR all speaking quietly. As soon as HR saw the three, he threw his arms in the air. "It's about time!" He cried. "Honestly, you have the ability to move somewhere as fast as possible, and it takes you that long to get here? We must work on your speed Mr. Allen, and Ms. Wells, you're just as fast as him, I can't believe it took you so long. You missed everything."

"What happened?" Brady asked.

"Uh, 'everything'," HR said before Cadence or Cisco could respond. "Did you not just hear me? We need to work on your listening skills, Bradley."

"It'd Brady."

"Right."

Barry held up his hand, causing HR to fall silent, and turned to Cisco and Cadence. "What happened?" He demanded.

Cadence and Cisco exchanged guilty glances before Cisco cleared his throat and took a step forward. He twisted his fingers together and took a deep breath, shoulders slumping when he let it out once more. "It's Caitlin," he finally said.

* * *

Caitlin swallowed thickly as she stood outside, Tannhauser Industries. It was the last place she ever expected to end up. There were enough scientific and technological companies inside Central City that she didn't give much thought to the ones outside the city. Especially that one. It was the only one her resumes and applications never went to. So much so that Caitlin was sure she was blacklisted from it in some way. Every science convention or conference she ever went to, if there was anyone from Tannhauser Industries, she made sure not to spend too much time around them.

Even Dr. Wells—the _real_ Dr. Wells—had noticed but didn't say anything about it. He, instead, directed her towards the representatives from other companies and startups that needed her attention more. And now here she was, standing outside of the one place she never thought she'd set foot in again.

But things changed, and they were more dangerous now than ever before. But this time _she_ was the dangerous one. There were too many things that could go wrong, she had to get some answers and had to get them now.

Caitlin closed her eyes, unable to keep the images of fear and horror of her friend's faces from her mind. The way she hurt them all because she couldn't control her powers. And if she couldn't control them, she had to find a way to get rid of them completely. And that was only possible once she had some answers. Caitlin took in another breath then walked into the lobby of Tannhauser Industries.

"Can I help you?" The receptionist asked as she approached the front desk.

"I'm here to see Dr. Tannhauser," Caitlin said quietly, almost timidly. She curled her hands around the handles of her purse, anything that would keep her hands busy. If she had too much time on her hands, even for a second…

"Do you have an appointment?" The receptionist's voice brought her back to attention. She looked up at Caitlin expectantly, ready to type in the key points to bring up the set appointment.

"No," Caitlin admitted. "But I'm sure she'd want to see me."

"Well, Dr. Tannhauser is really busy and—"

"—Thank you for your diligence, Janice, but Caitlin is always welcome here." Caitlin turned around as she recognized the voice. She hadn't heard it in a long while, but recognized it immediately. She lifted her gaze to the immaculately dressed woman who slowly made her way down the stairs, from an upstairs office. "Even if I wish she'd call first."

"Nice to see you, too, mom," Caitlin said sarcastically. Carla Tannhauser flashed a short smile before walking towards Caitlin. She tilted her head, indicating Caitlin to follow her and the two walked down a set of winding corridors before making it to an even immaculately designed office. Caitlin closed the door behind her and looked over the room. White everything; picture frames, curtains, office chairs, computers, all white.

Then her eyes shifted over to the lone picture that sat on her mother's desk. Her heart stopped when she recognized it. A picture from when she was about six, with her mother's hands on her shoulders, and her father's arms around her mother, the three smiling into the bright sun. A picture of the last happy time in their lives. Shortly before her father had been diagnosed with MS, shortly before everything fell apart for her.

Caitlin looked over at her mother and saw her watching her closely. Caitlin felt her anger swell at her mother's stare. How dare she still have that picture on her desk, acting like they were such the perfect family when it was far from perfect. It was far from a family.

Carla continued to watch her daughter before she said, "I didn't forget your birthday, did I? I did send a card." Her lips pursed, and Carla turned to her computer, methodically typing out a few keystrokes. They sounded like gun blasts in the otherwise silent office. "I wrote it down in a memo."

"Yes, mom, you sent me a birthday card…in April," Caitlin replied, doing her best not to roll her eyes. That had been for her last birthday. Much longer than her November day. Caitlin cleared her throat and changed the subject. "Um, I read your paper on application sin cryo-medicine and I thought you might help. I have a patient who could really use it."

Carla nodded as if she expected it. "If you want to send over their file I can help." She continued to type on her computer, and Caitlin was sure she was doing anything else but working to help Caitlin out. Caitlin gritted her teeth. How many times had she been ignored by her mother, completely set aside for work. They were both adults now and she was _still_ being treated like a child? "But right now, I have a shareholder—"

"Mom!" Caitlin slammed her hand on the table and it immediately became encased in ice, crystals forming over every piece that could be touched. Carla gasped and quickly shuffled her feet, moving her away from the desk so that she didn't get touched as well. Caitlin glared at her mother, unsure if it was herself that was coming out, or Killer Frost.

She didn't care.

" _I'm_ your patient," Caitlin said firmly. "Me. _I_ need your help. _"_

Carla stared at her daughter, eyes so wide Caitlin could see the flecks of gold in her brown irises. She sat up straight and cleared her throat, reaching up her hands to smooth back the fallen pieces of her hair. She composed herself as much as possible before saying, "Then I'm glad you're here," as if that display of power was an everyday occurrence.

 _What does she know about metas?_ Caitlin suddenly thought. _There's no way she could've missed them._

"We have work to do," Carla said firmly. "It appears that…your abilities are very powerful. I want to study it as much as possible." She looked at Caitlin curiously. "And I'm sure you are aware of the reputation metahumans have in this city as well as the Registration Act that nearly passed."

"Yes, mom, I'm aware of it," Caitlin said quietly.

Carla looked at her daughter sharply. "I didn't mean anything by it, Caitlin. I was simply making sure you were aware of the consequences of this sort of…predicament you're in."

"I've already covered my bases," Caitlin said coolly.

"Very well." Carla stood up from her chair. "Please follow me." She led Caitlin out of her office and to the biolab, introducing her to her assistant Nigel along the way. Caitlin smiled her greeting to the African-American man and allowed her blood to be drawn by her mother before being led to another section of the lab. Her eyes roved over an orange slab of…heat that sat in the middle of a contained tube.

"What is this?" She asked.

Carla waved a hand over the heated metal with a flourish. "We're going to test how your ability affects molecular motion," she explained. "That shaft is solid tungsten and is heated to over 2000 degrees centigrade." She motioned to Caitlin with a flick of her head. "I want you to cool it down and when we can figure out how you do that, we can figure out how to best help you."

Caitlin smirked, folding her arms. "Cadence can do more than that," she murmured.

"I'm sorry?" Carla blinked rapidly, a smile frozen on her face.

"My friend, Cadence, she can do more than that," Caitlin explained. "The fire she can exhibit, it gets to be very hot. And…I've been able to stop it a few times." She took a deep breath, thinking of how she had hurt— _nearly hurt_ , she reminded herself—her best friend before running out of STAR Labs, a fresh wave of guilt making her nauseas. "If we can't figure things out with her abilities to help me, how can we figure them out here?"

"Just trust me, Caitlin." Carla placed her hand on her daughter's shoulder before immediately removing it as if she had placed her hand into a pile of mucus. "Having a more stable environment for it—" Caitlin glared at her mother, immediately making her change the subject. "Alright, try to freeze it and don't hold back."

Caitlin held up her hands and sent ice towards the burning pyre. She didn't use her powers the entire way at first, didn't want to change again. Didn't want to be taken over. But then she looked at her mother and saw the serious expression on her face. She had no choice. She had to do it or else they didn't have any chance of getting any answers. Eyes with horror, Caitlin froze the pyre with ease. She lowered her hands to her sides. Not holding back…she could already do so much.

But how?

She'd never used her powers for more than a few seconds. _No,_ she reminded herself. _Eobard trained you a little. And since Eobard knew the future…_ Caitlin shook her head. He knew _a_ future. Not exactly the one that was going to come since Barry created Flashpoint. Or did Eobard know that was coming as well?

"How long have you had these abilities?" Carla asked, breathlessly.

"They manifested two years ago," Caitlin admitted. "The particle accelerator explosion caused it. But it took me some time before they actually started to show compared to the others."

"And no one knows?'

"My friends do."

"Of course. Your _friends_." Carla took off her glasses and tapped the arm of it against her teeth as she watched the frozen block in front of her. Finally, she turned on her heel and picked up the clipboard they'd been holding. "I knew you never should've taken that job at STAR Labs." Caitlin lifted her eyebrows in offense. "You would've had access to world class facilities."

"And have all my work be in your shadow, your reputation?" Caitlin shot back sarcastically. "Yeah, that would've been the dream job for me. There's always something that I could do that would've been great, but no one would know because of you."

Carla snorted and gave a thin smile to her daughter, tossing the clipboard aside. She folded her arms. "Of course, the only time you need your mother is when you're in trouble. And when I try to help, you act like a spoiled brat."

Caitlin sucked in a deep breath. Spoiled brat? She'd never been spoiled in her entire life. She worked hard for everything she had and for the relationships she'd managed over the years. Handouts were the last thing she wanted. "What's that supposed to mean?" Her tone matched her mother's. An equal amount of snootiness and ice.

"Oh, come on, darling." Carla all but rolled her eyes. "You ran off to Central City to be a scientist with that disgraced quack—"

"I was trying to make a name for myself," Caitlin snapped.

"For three years, barley a word and then you come running to mommy hoping her to fix it."

"You have no idea what I've been through."

The two were interrupted by Nigel's shout to his boss. "Dr. Tannhauser, look at this!" Carla was by his side in a second. "I'm not sure how she did it, but she's absorbed all of the energy from the tungsten when she froze it."

"She's absorbed all that energy?" Carla gasped.

"I don't know," Nigel said, unable to hide his excitement. He sat up straight in his seat and rubbed his hands together eagerly. "But if we could figure it out, it can change everything we're doing here. We need to run some more tests."

Caitlin took a cautious step back, she didn't really like the way Nigel was looking at her. Something stirred in her stomach that she couldn't quite place. "What are you testing for?"

"Anything that can help us understand how you can absorb that much energy in molecules to—"

Caitlin folded her arms. "You know I've run those tests before."

Carla slowly stood up straight and mimicked Caitlin's stance, folding her arms. Her eyes flashed behind her glasses and she pursed her lips once more. After a second, she sucked in a short breath and asked, "Then what was the point of coming here?"

"Seriously, mom?" Caitlin gaped at her. She brought her hands up to her hair then lowered them with a slap to her sides. "I'm _terrified._ Terrified of what I'm becoming, of what I can become. And you haven't even asked how I'm doing. I'm your _daughter_ —"

Carla gritted her teeth. "I'm trying to keep emotion out of this—"

"—and that's your specialty, right? Being cold? Just like after dad died."

"I did everything I could to save your father."

"And lost your daughter at the same time."

" _You_ were the one who ran away."

Anger burst through Caitlin like a waterfall. She could feel Killer Frost starting to come out again. Could feel herself slowly starting to lose control. As she spoke next, her words started to take on the familiar echo that was Killer Frost. She only hoped her eyes hadn't changed color yet. "Because I had to. You never acted like my mother again after dad got sick. You could barely even look at me."

"I couldn't handle the pain. My work got me through it. Losing someone like that, you don't know— "

"—My husband died over a year ago," Caitlin snapped.

"I'm sorry. But you didn't even invite me to the wedding."

"Why would I have introduced you?" Caitlin shook her head, taking a few steps away from her mother, heading towards the door. "I'm glad I could help you. But I'm done now. Goodbye." Caitlin left the biolab and headed back towards the lobby. She heard footsteps hurrying behind her and looked over her shoulder to see Nigel running to stop her.

"You're leaving already?" He asked. He looked nervously over his shoulder and rubbed a hand over his bearded chin. Then he tilted his head to the empty office next to him and led her inside so that they could speak in private. "We have a lot we still need to do. I know your mother can be tough to work with, but there's a lot she can do."

"I'm done," Caitlin said apologetically. "I don't mean to waste anyone's time. But there's nothing else that can be done to help me. I don't need help with the science part…I came to get something from my mother that I realize I'll never get—" she stopped when she heard a locking sound. Nigel had locked her into the room. Her gaze shifted to him and he looked menacingly back at her. "What are you doing?" Her voice quivered in fear.

"Sorry, Frosty," Nigel apologized, though he didn't sound like he meant it. His eyes blazed with a manic light. "But you're not going anywhere."

Caitlin immediately tried to open the doors but found she couldn't. It was locked fast. "I'm sick of working day after day to have my work benefit your mother," Nigel explained, his voice taking on a growl. "With the information I can get from this, I can finally get out of this place."

Dropping her hands from the doorknob, Caitlin felt a growl come to her voice as she said, "You're not going to test me."

"Yes, I am," Nigel insisted.

"No…" Caitlin turned around and thrust out her hand. "You're _not_!" Caitlin grasped his arm and tightened her grasp around his wrist. There was a moment of silence then a cracking sound filled the air as she froze Nige's arm. His screams made Carla come running, opening the door with a key and hurry to Caitlin's side.

She wrenched Nigel's arm from Caitlin's grasp, taking some of his skin with it, making him yelp even louder. Then she held up her hands, standing in front of Caitlin with worried eyes. It was the most emotion she'd seen from her mother in years. "Caitlin don't do this," she said. "This isn't you."

"You don't know me," Caitlin shot back.

"I know you enough to know I didn't raise you this way."

"Oh please," Caitlin snorted.

Carla swallowed hard. "I know I wasn't much of a mother and I have a lot to work on, but I didn't raise a killer. For whatever it's worth, I'm sorry."

Caitlin's eyes shifted away from her mother's. "It's worth a lot. But it's too late." She brought back her arm and started to send out another blast of ice but was stopped by a breach opening in front of her. Cisco's upper body poked out.

"Caitlin!" He cried.

Faltering, Caitlin blinked in surprise. "Cisco?" She asked.

Cisco grabbed her arm and pulled her through the breach. When the blue swirl faded, Caitlin and Cisco crouched on the ground in STAR Labs. Shaking, Caitlin reached up her hands and grasped her head. "No," She whimpered. "No." She lifted her head and ran her hands through her hair. "No, no! Not again!"

"Caitlin, relax, you're safe," Cisco said to her. "You're safe now."

"No." Caitlin shook her head. "No, I'm not. I'm not safe. It's too dangerous to be around me." She started to pull away from Cisco's grasp. "I can't be here. You have to get away from me, I'm too dangerous."

"Cait!" Cisco tightened his grasp on her. His hands were warm. Warmer than her skin, a contrast to the chill she felt. She slowly felt herself calming down. "Caitlin, you're in STAR Labs. You're back here. You're with me. You're safe. I promise." He lifted her chin and forced her to look into his eyes. "It's me. You're okay."

Caitlin felt tears start to come to her eyes. "Cisco, I don't know what's going on," she said tearfully. "I didn't want…I never wanted to hurt you guys like that."

"Caitlin, we're okay," Cisco said. "None of us are hurt."

"I needed answers," Caitlin continued, as if she hadn't heard her friend speak. Tears started to drip down her cheeks when she realized how scared he really was. "I needed my mom."

Cisco took a deep breath, knowing how his friend's relationship with his mother was. Estranged was the nicest way to put it and even that was hard. "And…did she help?" Cisco asked.

"Yes." Caitlin nodded. She reached up and wiped at her eyes. "In more ways than I thought she ever could. It was something I've wanted my entire life but it's too late. Too late for me. I'm dangerous. I hurt someone."

"When it comes to family, you have to do whatever it takes because one day you may not be able to do that anymore. You're my family and I'm going to do everything I can to help you," Cisco said gently. He pulled Caitlin into his arms and gently rubbed her back. "I'm glad you're back."

"This is home," Caitlin said, hugging him tightly.

Cisco continued to stroke Caitlin's back then gasped as everything around him flickered and shimmered. It took a few seconds before things flickered into focus. He looked down, no longer holding onto Caitlin. Instead, he was standing in the middle of a clearing, a forest, maybe. His breath condensed in front of his face, snow falling around him. Then he heard a commotion and turned back to see Caitlin throwing icicles towards someone.

No, not someone.

Cisco gasped as he recognized himself. It was him. Caitlin was attacking him.

Then everything shifted back to focus, and Cisco was back in STAR Labs, continuing to comfort Caitlin. He looked up when he heard the shuffling and saw Barry standing in the doorway of the room, looking at the two anxiously. Cisco tightened his grasp around Caitlin and nodded to Barry, reassuring her she was okay.

Barry nodded and walked away.

Cisco lowered his head, resting his cheek atop Caitlin's head. Maybe if he held onto her long enough, she wouldn't go away again, and everything would go back to normal. Maybe they could pretend that nothing was going on and Killer Frost didn't exist.

* * *

Brady tossed his phone to his lap after checking the time. He settled back into the couch and tilted his head back, resting it on the back of the couch as he stared at the ceiling. Not much longer. And even then, he still didn't know what to do. If there was anything _to_ do. He didn't even know how to feel.

Upset, guilty, and then guilty for being upset and upset for being guilty when things with Caitlin were starting to go so badly. Maybe it was how his mother felt, that there were serious things going on and some things needed more attention than others. Especially when it came to metahumans and keeping the city safe. But he hadn't been a metahuman for too long, and if it weren't for being in Central City during the explosion he may not have turned into a meta in the first place.

 _But you can't predict the future,_ Brady thought. _It's not anything you can change._

That's what Barry had told him when he explained everything to him. How he and Conner were doing everything they could think of to keep Conner from moving away. And all of Brady's ideas hadn't worked. Conner could stay in Central City with him and his mom. Conner would miss his mom too much. He could stay in Star City with Oliver. His mom didn't like that idea. Oliver was the reason they were leaving.

Then Barry had said it was more likely that Flashpoint was the reason he was leaving. Through his look into Star City to see what had changed—Barry got into contact with Felicity shortly after he got back—Barry had found that Oliver's mayoral run and work with Damien Darkh had meant there were a lot of things that had to change and would be affected by him if he kept moving forward. He hadn't realized until Brady said Conner was moving it was likely that they were being moved to be kept safe in a witness protection capacity.

And he was going to be moving anyway, no matter how hard Brady tried to get him to stay. He didn't even know if they were still fighting or not. He didn't even know if he were still mad at his mom now knowing what he knew, that she didn't even know he was leaving. That Conner's mom hadn't said anything to her about it. And he'd gone and called her so many mean things because he was upset.

Finally, Brady lowered his chin and looked over to his mom, who was texting on her phone. He took a deep breath and asked quietly, "Hey, mom?"

"What?" She didn't look his way.

"Is Aunt Caitlin going to be okay?" He asked. "With this whole Killer Frost thing?"

"She'll be fine," Cadence said, setting her phone aside. Brady craned his neck to see she was texting with Iris. He couldn't quite see what the text had said, though. "Barry said Cisco was looking after her and that she was fine." She looked at her phone. "He should be back with the pizza any second, so you should wash your hands for dinner.

"Okay." Brady nodded but didn't move. He took a deep breath. "Hey, mom?"

"What?" Her voice sounded a little sharper now, as if she were annoyed.

Brady ducked his head and ran a hand through his hair. "Are you _sure_ she's going to be okay?" That hadn't been what he wanted to say, but it came out before he could stop himself. His chest started to hurt.

"I just said she's safe," Cadence said. "Apart from the faulty security we've got at STAR Labs, we're keeping an eye on her, bud. If anything was going to happen, we'd know as soon as it did. And we'd do something about it."

Brady's voice got caught in his throat. The second he heard her say 'bud', the name she'd been calling him since before he was born, he knew things were going to be okay. That they _were_ okay. That his words hadn't made her stop loving him. As soon as he said the words 'I hate you' and saw the look on her face, he knew he'd made a big mistake. Not just for saying such nasty words, but because he knew how badly she hated losing people she loved. It nearly tore her apart—as much as she tried to hide it—when his grandfather died and with how much she tried to keep her him and the rest of their friends safe meant it was a battle she probably worked through every day.

"Mom," he said, voice wobbly. "Conner's moving away."

Her eyebrows immediately came together as she looked at him, dropping her phone. "What are you talking about?"

"His mom's making him move away," Brady explained. "She says being around you and Oliver isn't safe and that they need to move so they don't get in any more trouble. But they won't tell me where they're going and they're moving today and—" he took in a deep breath. "I didn't know you didn't know. I was talking to Barry and he said you probably weren't doing anything about it because you didn't know."

"I didn't," Cadence agreed, blinking rapidly. "I don't." She ran a hand through her hair. "You had to have known that if something was going on with Conner and I knew about it, I would've done something."

"I know," Brady mumbled. "But I thought maybe you were too busy to care and he'd known for a while and…" he broke off, shaking his head. "I thought you…" he shrugged. "I don't know."

"You thought I cared more about metahuman stuff," Cadence said. She turned to face him completely, looking him in the eye. "I know I've told you this before, but I don't mind reminding you. The minute I knew I was having you, you became my number one priority. And until I feel that you're able to take care of yourself or you turn eighteen, whichever comes first, you're _always_ going to be my first priority."

"Only until I turn eighteen?" Brady asked.

"Well, with your powers and everything, I think you have a slight advantage above everyone else." She reached out and tilted his head up. "If there's anything that's bothering you, whether I know or not, you have to know I'll always be there to help you." She reached out and smoothed his hair back from his forehead. "Even if you do hate me."

"I don't hate you, mom."

"I kind of figured that part. I don't know anyone who hates someone and continues to bug them every five seconds with 'hey, mom?'" Her smile faded. "But you really did hurt my feelings."

"I know. I could tell when I said it. I'm sorry, I was just mad."

"Your best friend leaving? It's not the easiest thing to get through. I went through the same thing when I left Central City and had to leave Mallory behind."

"Auntie Mal?" Brady tilted his head to the side. "I don't really remember her."

"She hasn't been around a lot, so I don't expect you to. But it still hurts when I think of her, and how I had to leave. Just like it hurts when I think Cisco or Barry, or Caitlin are in trouble. And when I think I can let any of you down." She looked at her phone. "When does Conner leave?"

"Soon," Brady said. "I didn't know if I wanted to go—"

"—We're going," Cadence declared. She had just gotten off the couch when Barry came blowing into the apartment holding onto a long, flat box.

"Hey, I got the pizza," Barry said once he came to a stop. "Sorry it took so long. Normally it wouldn't' have but at first they tried to give us Pepperoni when I said we really didn't want it and then they messed up the order and—" he paused, noticing the two looking at him. "What?"

"We're going to Conner's house right now," Cadence explained.

Barry looked startled, setting the pizza box aside. "We are?" He asked.

"Yep!"

Cadence grabbed Brady's arm and dragged him over to Barry and grasped his wrist as well. Barry looked at Brady in complete bewilderment and Brady shrugged and said, "If I knew she was going to end up like this, I would've said something sooner."

They teleported to Conner and Samantha's house just as the last of their possessions were being loaded into their van. There was no moving van in sight and as Brady peered into the windows, he saw most of their things were being left behind. They were leaving fast. "Maybe if you're there, you can help explain things," Cadence said as she dragged Barry to the van. "How we had to keep everything a secret, I mean."

"Right. Got it." Barry nodded in agreement.

Brady stopped at the back of the van and leaned over to look inside. He saw Conner's baseball caps, soccer shoes, and soccer ball tucked neatly into a box and frowned. "Conner?" He called. There was a shuffling sound and Conner's head popped up from the backseat, eyes bloodshot and holding onto his phone.

"Hey," Conner greeted then sniffed loudly. "What are you doing here?" He lifted himself up and climbed over the backseat into the trunk of the car, scooting forward until his legs dangled out the back. He spotted Barry and Cadence and smiled a little. "Hi, Miss. Nash. Hi, Mr. Allen."

"Hey sweetie," Cadence greeted him warmly. "Is your mom still around? I wanted to talk to her?'

"Cadence." Samantha's voice came coolly from behind her and she and Barry turned to face her. Samantha folded her arms after putting down a box of plates. "You have a lot of nerve coming here," she said. "Or should I say, 'you have a lot of nerve teleporting here'."

Cadence winced. "I know you're mad," she said. "About the whole Flare thing, but you need to know I kept that a secret for a reason. I couldn't have anyone around me get hurt if they knew."

"Then you and Oliver are more alike than I thought," Samantha said. "You keep secrets so well that it does nothing but keep hurting everyone around you. And now, because of you, Conner's been through something so traumatic that we have to leave Central City."

"Look, this wasn't something that we could just come out and say," Barry said. "Having to keep that secret is really important to keep the people we love safe. Yes, every now and then things will happen, but everything we do is to keep everyone safe. You have to believe that. Oliver, too."

"Oliver's been nothing but selfish since I met him…"

Brady turned away from the conversation and looked at his best friend once more. "Your mom's angry," he said matter-of-fact.

"And I thought she was mad when I accidentally turned all her clothes pink," Conner said. He sniffed and wiped at his nose. "So…what are you doing here?" He nodded towards his mother. "It looks like you and your mom aren't fighting anymore. That's good."

"Yeah, I apologized. She didn't know you guys were leaving."

"I think my mom was too mad to say anything to her. She blames her and Oliver for what happened and…and why we have to leave."

"And Barry blames himself."

Conner looked confused. "I know he's The Flash, but I don't think Barry had much to do with this. He didn't know mom as well as Oliver and your mom do."

"That's…a long story," Brady said. "So…do you know where you're going?"

"Yeah, but I can't say. Everything has to be secret."

"Can we still talk to each other?"

"Not on the phone. I have to change my number and everything. Mom says it might be too dangerous. I don't get it, though. How can talking on the phone or you knowing where I live be dangerous?" He sighed. "I guess she thinks metas are going to come after us or something. I don't know." He suddenly perked up. "But she doesn't know about our Instagram account or that we're trying to find other metas. I can still help with that!"

"Yeah!" But the excitement in Brady's voice didn't match his face. "So, uh, have you said goodbye to anyone else?"

Conner blushed. "Leah and Alicia were here earlier to say goodbye." Then he noticed the look on Brady's face and said, "Alicia's not so bad. She just likes things to be a particular way…" he paused. "All the time. But otherwise, she's not that bad. We had fun at her Halloween party."

"Only because she gave away great goodie bags," Brady commented. "And I had to leave early to stop that meta."

"But that was cool, too," Conner said. "I saw the footage on TV that night. But Black Blade was there, too?"

"That's a long story," Brady said with a roll of his eyes. "And I don't think we have enough time to talk about it." He looked over to his mother, who was still speaking to Barry and Samantha, but with a softer expression on their faces. "So, um." He kicked at the ground, watching as a rock skidded under a nearby car, disappearing in the shadows of night. "I just wanted to say I was sorry, about making you so mad before."

"You didn't make me mad," Conner said. "I was just mad about leaving so soon. I didn't think mom would've found a new house so fast. And I'm going to miss everything here. My house, Central City, all my friends, metahumans…" He twisted his mouth to the side. "It's not going to be the same."

"I know," Brady agreed. "Now I'll be stuck with two girls to hang out with and unlike my mom, I don't really like to shop so much."

"There's nothing wrong with hanging out with girls."

"I know, Leah's cool. I'm just…I don't know, I guess I'm going to miss you."

"I'm going to miss you, too."

There was a sharp slam sound that made Brady and Conner both jump. Brady looked up to see Samantha had just closed the door to the house and was locking it. She placed the keys under the mat and walked down the front steps towards the van, looking through a few more keys.

"Well, I guess it's time to go," Conner said in a low mumbled. Brady nodded back and took a step back from the van. "I'll try to talk to you as soon as I can. Let me do it first, because I don't know if you'll get in trouble if you call me or whatever."

"Okay."

Conner jumped down from the van and went to Cadence. "Bye Miss. Nash. Thanks for everything."

"You're welcome, sweetie." Cadence gave him a hug and pressed a kiss to his forehead. "I'm going to miss you."

"Me too." Conner smiled as Barry reached out and ruffled his hair. Then he turned to Brady and held out a small notepad. "Here. It's all of the information I wrote about the metas you guys have come across. I can do some more when I watch the news coverage."

"Thanks." Brady took it from him and held it tightly in his hand. "Bye."

"Bye."

Conner gave a small smile and nod before climbing into the back of the van and closed the door behind him. Brady stepped back onto the sidewalk and watched as Conner flipped back over the seat and buckled up so that Samantha could drive away. He waved until the van pulled out of sight before turning to press his face against his mother's shoulder, doing his best to keep back his tears. He felt his mother gently running her fingers through his hair as she comforted him.

"You'll see him again, Brady," Barry reassured him. "Things like this always have a way of working out."

"I know," Brady agreed.

He continued to hold his mother for a few more minutes, until the bulk of his sadness passed. He wasn't going to cry, but it was going to hurt for a long time. Having his best friend around to help him with metahumans was the best part of having powers. What was he going to do now without him around?

"Can we just go home?" Brady sighed, taking a step back. He started to say something else when he noticed Barry's head suddenly whip around, eyes shifting back and forth. "What?" Barry continued to look around, his head turning this way and that.

"Barry, what's wrong?" Cadence asked. She reached out her hand to take his wrist. The moment she touched him, he was suddenly lifted off his feet and into the air. Barry gasped, bringing his hands up to grab his neck while Cadence and Brady let out yelps of shocked surprise. "Barry!"

"What's going on?" Brady asked.

"I don't know."

Barry struggled to get out a response, but his windpipe was crushed too far. His eyes frantically darted from Cadence and Brady to the figure in front of him. The tall, mechanical figure dressed head to toe in a silver suit with blue glowing from the inside. It reminded him of the transformer toys he used to play with when he was young, moving mechanically in a way he hadn't expected.

Its hand tightened around Barry's neck as the seconds passed. "You may serve the Speed Force Flash," its mechanical voice rasped. Its voice swirled around in and out of Barry's ears, almost taunting him. "But I rule it. You're only a man, but I am a God. Your God." He threw Barry hard to the ground.

Barry yelped in pain as his body collided with the ground. He rolled onto his side and did his best to push himself up to his knees. Gravel dug into his arm, knees, and palms, blood already trickling from some puncture wounds from the road rash—the speed of his body skidding over the ground.

Before he could get himself back up, the speedster was in front of him once more. Again, he grabbed onto Barry's neck and lifted him into the air.

With that, Savitar streaked out of the neighborhood and in seconds he was in front of the CCPD, being hefted to the ground. In the next second, he as in the harbor district, being thrown into the statue standing in the middle of the fountain. His body broke it with the ease of Savitar's throw, and even before he hit the ground, Savitar had grabbed his arm and punched him in the face.

Then with a swing of his arms, Savitar lifted Barry up and when he was slammed straight to the ground it was grassy. A park area just outside of Central City. He could see STAR Labs looming in the distance. Coughing hard, blood splattered out of Barry's mouth, dribbling down his chin as he painfully rolled to his back.

With each deep breath, pain shot through his body. His ribs were broken, he could feel it every time he moved. He was sure he damaged his back from how slowly his legs shifted up and down, working hard to get back to his feet. His arm couldn't handle his weight, his wrist was broken, eyes bruised shut.

Then Savitar was above him once more, blue eyes boring into his. He knelt on Barry's arms, holding him still. Savitar clasped his hands together and brought them up above his head.

"I am Savitar."

Barry barely got a chance to release another breath before everything went black.

* * *

 **A/N:** Well, things certainly are heating up for everyone now. With the arrival of Killer Frost and Savitar all in one chapter. There has to be some good moment soon, right? Right. Things won't always be so dramatic. But I'm excited for you guys to see what I'm going to do with Killer Frost and Savitar as the story goes on.

Please remember to review; any feedback helps me become a better writer and motivates me to write more. I respond to every review, even anonymous ones.

 **Cheers,**

 **-Riley**

 **Review Replies**

 **Ethan:** Nope, only two Wells. It would've taken too much time to differentiate HR, Harry, and Harrison to make sure they each got their time to shine when having two of them was easier. So Harry is gone, for now, and HR is there. I actually already really like writing HR. It's always so fun for him to be a bit of an annoyance to everyone.

 **Laura:** Hope this was a good start for you for Savitar. There's more with him coming.

 **Guest:** No, just HR and Harrison.

 **DarkHelm145:** I'm an anime fan myself (though I haven't had much time to watch as of late) and usually take a lot of inspiration from anime as well as comic books for my Flash stories so there's a lot that I pull from. Glad you liked Black Blade.

 **Yummers:** We had a great Christmas, actually. Hope yours was as good. Thank you for taking the time to review as always.


	10. Life's Not Fair

**10**

 _Life's Not Fair_

* * *

Cisco shook his head as he gazed at Barry, watching as Caitlin slowly and carefully flicked a flashlight over his eyes. Barry winced and leaned out of the way, gently pushing at Caitlin's wrist.

"Cait, I'm fine," he said. "I've been up for hours."

"You're not fine, Barry," Caitlin said. She shook her head, lowering her hand. "You were unconscious for a long time. Longer than we've ever seen." Her eyes roved over him, almost as if she expected to see an alien burst from his chest. "We weren't sure if you were going to come out of it."

"I think you're overreacting a little, CaIt," Cisco said calmly. He folded his arms and angled his head towards Barry. "He was only out for a day."

"Considering his healing powers, that's a long time for a speedster," Cadence pointed out.

Caitlin nodded in agreement. She lowered the flashlight and took a step back, allowing Joe and Iris to move to Barry's side, looking him over. Barry, weakly, started to protest their fussing but knew it was no use. Every time he went out the front door there was a chance he would be killed in some way that they wouldn't see coming. But another speedster? They thought they'd gotten rid of them with Zoom. Or even with Jesse being there now. Caitlin glanced over at the young speedster, who hovered near the side of the group.

What was she thinking? That she would've been able to handle who came after her. She suddenly became aware of how Harry had to have felt. How much fear and trepidation he had for Jesse going anywhere near any of the villains they came across. She understood how Cadence felt in her almost vicious want and need to protect Brady.

"You're the only one that could see that thing?" Caitlin finally asked, putting her supplies away.

Barry nodded to confirm it. "Yeah," he agreed. "Cadence and Brady were there, but they couldn't see anything that was attacking me."

"It was like he was floating," Brady added with an earnest nod.

Iris dropped her hands from Barry's face and folded her arms, chewing her lower lip. She let out a long breath and exchanged a glance with her father before asking the question they were all silently pondering. "Why? Why were they the only ones that couldn't see him?"

"When we got the panic signal from Brady, we didn't see anything either," Cisco reminded her. He twisted his mouth to the side, eyes moving downcast. Almost as if he couldn't look at Barry. "It was like he was a puppet on strings, being pulled back and forth."

"But you saw…whatever it was?" Joe asked Barry, who nodded again. "And you said it was like a…" he trailed off, allowing Barry to fill in the rest.

"It was like a mechanical armor, moving all on its own," Barry explained. He looked away, as if staring at the entity once more. He reached up a hand and moved it through the air, drawing the outline of the creature. "It was a metallic suit with spikes all over it, a blue glow coming from beneath the cracks of its armor." He reached up to scratch the back of his head. "Honestly, I don't know how they were able to move that fast with all of that armor on it. But, yeah, I could see him just fine."

"It has to be that they're both speedsters," Cadence decided. "I can move fast, but that was even too fast for me. And this guy was practically teleporting. He was going for broke." She had grabbed Brady and teleported as fast as she could after Barry and the new speedster. But what Caitlin and Cisco had seen on screen, dots rapidly appearing on screen all at the same time, had been what Cadence had seen.

She twisted back and forth, clutching Brady to her side as she watched Barry continue to get dragged around and around. Only finding him when the speedster had finally come to a stop, his point proven with an unconscious Barry lying silently on the ground.

Barry shook his head. "Whatever it was, it's what we're really up against. Alchemy has to be some sort of a distraction, waiting until we were preoccupied with that and Clarriss so that he could come in and…" Barry broke off and looked around at his friends, his team. He didn't know what this new speedster was going to do. He—or she, Barry realized—could've killed him. Instead, he let him get away. There was a reason for it and the sooner they figured it out, the better. "I think he's more than a speedster. It was like we weren't moving it was like we were instantly somewhere else. Like when Cade teleports, but faster. He said his name was Savitar."

"The Hindu God of Motion," HR remarked, turning all eyes to him. It was the first time he'd spoken since Barry woke up. Long enough that Cisco continuously looked over at HR while they waited over Barry. It was jarring enough when he was quiet compared to when he didn't shut up.

"How do you know that?" Cisco asked. This was a man who didn't seem to know much about what they were doing as Team Flash, so to pop that up out of nowhere? Uh-uh, no. There had to be something else going on.

HR's eyebrows rose when he realized Cisco spoke to him and he grinned, spinning his drumsticks around his fingers once more but not with as much fever as he typically showed. After a nasty incident of a wayward drumstick flying into a computer screen, and Caitlin's giving him a stern talking to, he kept better track of his instrument accessory.

"Oh! When I shook hands with the Harrison Wells over here,"—started to motion to Harrison then stopped, eyes narrowing for a fraction of a second. "Sorry, not this Harrison, the _other_ Harrison."

"Harry," Jesse supplied.

"Right! Whew, kind of hard to remember, right? Just be glad we're not exactly triplets you know? Anyway, I got some sort of a brain zap that gave me a lot of information. And I mean a _lot_ of information. It was like my brain melted." He wiggled his fingers beside his head, chuckling to himself. Nearly giggling with glee. Then he sobered and added, "Oh, and I'm a crossword wizard."

"A mind-meld," Cadence said, speaking of the phenomenon they learned when visiting Earth-2. If one doppelganger on and Earth touched their doppelganger of another Earth, they were able to see everything the other doppelganger had experienced in their lives while simultaneously keeping them linked together. Every now and then Cadence got glimpses into what Burnout was doing and knew it was the same vice-versa.

Though Burnout probably disliked watching her life more than Cadence disliked watching Burnout's.

"Hindu God of Motion," Harrison said. He pulled off his clear-rimmed glasses and pinched at the bridge of his nose, eyes scrunching up in thought. "In many depictions he has golden arms and large, skillful hands. Just as his arms are golden, his eyes are golden as well. He has a golden chariot with a golden axle."

"He said he was a God," Barry added.

"And apparently, he really, really likes gold," Brady remarked, lifting his eyebrows. If it wasn't for the fact that he had seen Savitar in person—as much as one could see an invisible individual—he probably wouldn't have thought much of Savitar.

"Yeah, well, we'll have to figure some things out if we're going to stop this guy," Barry said. He raised his hands and started to put it on the end of the examining table to get up. Joe quickly held out his hand and placed it on Barry's shoulder, holding him down.

"Not so fast, Barry. You _just_ woke up from a coma," he said.

"A one day coma, Joe. I'm fine." Barry started to move again then stopped, feeling Joe's hand press harder down onto his shoulder. He sighed and hung his head, knowing Joe wanted to speak to him about something. He hadn't even needed to look at Joe's face to know for sure. The look was burning into the side of Barry's head, the same way it always had when things were serious.

The others must've noticed the same, or else Joe had given them a look, for they all slowly, quietly started to leave the examining room. But Barry couldn't help but become curious when Iris turned to Cadence saying, "Can we find a room to talk in?" with Cadence nodding back. She then walked to Barry and carefully pressed a kiss to the side of his head, pressing her forehead against his to quietly murmur, "I'm glad you're okay," before leaving the room.

Barry looked up at Joe as he folded his arms. Then he pulled up a chair and sat next to Barry, placing his hands on his knees. Joe looked at his proverbial son for a long moment before finally speaking. "What is it, Bare?"

Taken aback, Barry blinked in surprise. "What do you mean?"

Joe waited another long moment, as if trying to figure out if Barry was telling the truth. Then he leaned forward, looking deep into Barry's eyes. "I mean, what is it? This Savitar thing. What is it about it that's bothering you? What is it that made you want to stay in your coma?"

"Stay in my…I don't…" Barry started to falter, squeezing his fingers into a fist.

Joe shook his head. "I know you, Bare. I know you better than you know yourself. Your powers aren't what makes you a hero. Your speed isn't your superpower. Your hope is. Your drive. Your want to make the world a better place. All of that is what makes you, Barry Allen, a hero." He continued to look Barry in the eye. "Which is why I find it so hard to believe that, even with your powers, you'd heal so slowly. Savitar hadn't done anything that others haven't done before but the longer you stayed under…"

He trailed off and Barry saw then, how much Joe's hands were shaking. It was then he realized how scared he was. The man who could go into a shadowed room with a gun drawn, no questions asked, was scared. And why wouldn't he be? The boy that had essentially became his son for most of his life had been struck by lightning and put into a nine-month coma. How did he know it wasn't happening all over again but by the hands of a speedster who may have just succeeded in killing him?

But the most important question, is how did Joe know he wasn't sure he wanted to wake up?

"If there's something going on, Bare, you have to tell me," Joe insisted. "I never thought you'd try something like…like…" he couldn't say the word.

"I wasn't," Barry reassured him. "I didn't, I _don't_ want to die. I just…wanted everything to stop." He lifted his gaze and looked Joe in the eye, everything came spilling out at once. "Joe, you don't know what happened. Over in Flashpoint. I saw a life we didn't have, could've had. Over there, you were essentially an alcoholic. You didn't have your relationship with Iris and Wally or even with me. You were on the verge of being kicked out of your job, because of what happened to Francine, because you never told Iris about her and when Iris found out she was pissed. And there was Caitlin and Cisco and Cade…everything was different. We weren't a team. And the Reverse-Flash was there."

"Eobard Thawne was in Flashpoint?" Joe repeated.

Barry nodded. He clenched his hands tighter together. "I had captured him, had him locked in the same sort of cell Zoom locked me in. I had him." Tears came to his eyes. "I had him."

He hadn't told anyone about Flashpoint, about absolutely everything that happened. He'd told Brady a short version of it, not able to admit everything. He had to say it now. And as he told the story, he continued to relive it in his head, every last detail that haunted him.

"Having a bad day, Bare?" Eobard had lazily asked when Barry stalked back into the hidden warehouse that housed him. His eyes roved over Barry's. "I can see it in your face, something must've shaken you up. I mean,"—he looked at his gloved fingers—"It's not like I didn't warn you what'd happen. You only did what you wanted to do. Tsk tsk, Flash, do any of your friends know how selfish you are?"

Barry swallowed hard. A roaring filled his ears as he stood in front of Eobard. He had to say the words out loud. The ones that almost make him sick. Still, he pushed his disgust away and said firmly, "We have to go back to that time." He nodded once. "To that night."

Eobard's smile was ghastly. He felt nothing but pure glee as he asked, "To do what?"

"You know what," Barry spat.

"Yeah." Eobard slowly got to his feet. He brought his hands up to the side of his cowl, ready to bring it up over his head, over his eyes. Ready to conceal his identity once more. "But I want to hear you say it."

A lone tear streaked down Barry's cheek. "I want you to kill my mother," he managed to force out.

"With pleasure."

Another tear fell and while Barry didn't collapse into sobs, his entire body shook with effort. "I hate you."

"And I hate you," Eobard agreed. He waved a hand, ushering Barry to get a move on. Reluctantly, Barry let Eobard out of his prison. He stood back, watching as Eobard made a show of stretching his arms overhead before pulling up his cowl, eyes starting to glow red.

Barry turned, ready to run, then stopped when his legs buckled beneath him. No. Not again. That flushing feeling in his brain. He was losing more. He had to get going. Had to start running. Barry's feet shuffled, but he didn't' make it too far. Instead, Eobard grabbed him by the collar of his shirt and hefted him off the ground. With a disdainful shake of his head, Eobard said, "God, I wish I could kill you. But today, I get to be the hero."

And with a crack of thunder a flash of light, they were back to his childhood home that night and he had to watch, again, as his mother was murdered.

It was only then that Barry cried. He burst out into tears as Joe leaned forward and wrapped his arms around Barry, rocking him back and forth. "It's not fair," he murmured. "Everything was supposed to be okay. Then dad…and now mom again?" He sucked in another deep breath and started to speak, but found himself collapsing once more. "Now it's another speedster. Everything was supposed to be okay. When will it be okay?"

And Joe continued to rock him, rubbing his back as he always did when Barry as young and scared, after first arriving at the West house. And Barry knew Joe understood. Why was life treating him so badly? Why did his mother have to die, why did his father have to die, why did everything else fall apart when his mother was saved, why did she have to die again, why did it have to be another speedster? Why couldn't life just leave him alone?

And as Barry cried, Joe quietly rubbed his back. It was the only thing he could do. There was so much he could say, how Barry was strong, stronger than most of the people he'd known in the police force. He made tough decisions and stuck with those decisions even when things turned out in ways he didn't expect. And yet Barry continued to have a huge heart for the world around him.

Too bad the world wasn't always so kind to him.

* * *

"So, what'd you find out?" Cadence asked as soon as she closed the door to her practice room behind Iris. She turned to see Iris walking by her balance beam, gently running her fingers along the top of the polished wood. When Iris lifted her fingers, bits of chalk stuck to her fingertips. She was stalling, Cadence could tell. "Iris?"

Finally, Iris turned back to Cadence. "For White Hot? I found nothing." She slapped her hands to her side. "All of the contacts I've had, all of the security footage I could see…I even got some stuff from the CCPD, thinking they could've found something that Cisco and Caitlin may have missed. But nothing. There's no leads to who White Hot could be." She thought for a moment. "It's like, she suddenly appeared in town leaving no return address in case she got lost."

Cadence frowned, bringing her thumb up to chew at her nail. That wasn't what she'd expected but in many ways, it was _exactly_ what she expected. Breathtaker had been alive for thousands of years, there had to be somewhere where he made a mistake. Any mistake at all. She thought hard about her time in the Assassination Bureau. She hadn't learned much until she started to rise up in the ranks of the hired assassin group. She had to have an open mind, quite literally. Multiple times he reminded them that they were only able to work well within the group had they opened their minds to him.

She was brought in to deliver packages and the next thing she knew, she was being taken along for the first hit. Against a political figure. Getting back after the hit had been completed, Cadence fell to her knees and sobbed for the life that had been taken. And Breathtaker and knelt along with her, pressing his hands to her head, reassuring her that everything was okay. She hadn't known it was his first step into figuring out how to break her.

His first step in figuring out how her mind worked, how hard she could be pushed before he had complete control. It hadn't taken long. His powers combined with Mindboggler's had taken her down. Then there were the times she moved, almost robotically, pushing aside the mounting horror that started to come up.

 _Come on, Cade, think,_ Cadence scolded herself. _There's something you're not seeing._ Minboggler, Incognito, and Stratos had been working for Breathtaker as long as she could remember, then White Hot suddenly joined…

"Cade," Iris said slowly. "What happened with the Assassination Bureau?" She paused then re-focused her question. "I know you've done some horrible things but…" She shook her head. "I don't know, I have the feeling you're not telling us everything."

Cadence gave a humorless smile. "Trust me, you don't ever want to hear it."

"I've heard a lot of terrible stories over the years. Stories from the cases my dad's worked on, stories about terrible people and horrific crimes. I can handle it."

"It's not a matter of whether or not I think you can handle it," Cadence said honestly. "It's about what you'd think of me after. Honestly, I don't think any of you would like me very much." Frustrated, she let out a low breath, blowing her bangs off her forehead. She ran a hand over her forehead, through her hair. "There's got to be something," she murmured.

"No past crimes, not even a traffic ticket," Iris said, changing the subject back to White Hot. Maybe she felt the temperature of the room change, or maybe it was the subconscious change in Cadence's face. One that was almost sinister, eyes starting to glow like coals from a fire burning deep within. "If there was anything she'd done it'd be covered somewhere—"

"—That's it!" Cadence interrupted. Her expression changed to excitement as she turned back to Iris. "I know the others, Leah and Lucas, they've done some things before. I don't know if their files would've been erased in some way from Breathtaker or not but—"

"—But if it's out there, I'll find it," Iris agreed. She took a step forward and placed a hand on Cadence's shoulder. "Whatever is going on, we'll figure it out. Breathtaker's not going to get away with this, the way he's hurting you."

"The only thing that's hurting me is how long this has been going on," Cadence said honestly. "Trust me, they can't actually hurt me anymore. But I have lots of plans to hurt them." She quickly thanked Iris for the information and the two left to go to the Cortex. Her mind swirled. She knew Iris tried her hardest to figure things out about White Hot but still…there had to be a reason she was so familiar.

It hit her like a ton of bricks, causing Cadence to stop short. Iris, who was walking along with her, stopped and turned to her in concern. "What?" She asked.

"White Hot," she said. "The reason we can't find her here…she's not from this Earth. She's from Earth-2." Of course, that was it. She remembered Burnout mentioning something about her when she, Killer Frost, and Deathstorm had cornered her in Jitterbugs on Earth-2. And when she'd done her mind-meld with Burnout, she was stuck there. "Maybe she's not after me, but after Burnout."

Iris's eyes widened in excitement. "So, if you mind-melded with Burnout, she'd know who White Hot is, and maybe we can find her doppelganger here!" She lifted her palm and the two girls slapped a high-five. "C'mon, let's tell the others." She and Cadence hurried into the cortex, bursting to tell the others about their news, only stopping when they saw Barry standing on the floor of the Cortex, looking confused, worried. "What's going on, Barry?" She asked.

"Where's Caitlin?" He asked in response.

Cisco paused and looked around the Cortex before saying, "I hadn't even realized she was gone. She probably has some things to do," Cisco said, looking up from his computer screen where it was illuminated in a glow of whatever program he was running. "I mean, after seeing her mom…well, if you knew her you'd know why she needed some time off. Cade says her mom is terrible—"

"—I didn't say she's terrible," Cadence quickly defended herself. "I said she's crazy. Which she is." Iris started to say something about what they found out, but Cadence held out a hand, cutting her off. The Assassination Bureau could wait, Alchemy and Savitar were the more important things at the moment. "I understand Cait needs some time to figure out what's going on, but we really need to figure out this Killer Frost stuff. Of what to do with her."

Cisco gave her a critical look as he turned his gaze to her. "What do you mean?" He asked. "She's Caitlin, not Killer Frost. We'll find something to cure her, to _help_ her. I know we will." He lowered his head again, once more, focusing on his computer screen. Cadence had a feeling he was doing just that, looking up something, anything, that'd help Caitlin. "We just need time."

"And what are we going to do until then?" Cadence pressed. "We can't have her turn like that all the time, especially if she can't control it." She looked to Barry and Iris. "She's not just a danger to herself, but a danger to us, too."

"Caitlin's not dangerous," Cisco said firmly.

"That's not what she's saying," Barry said quickly.

"She _just_ said it."

"I'm saying we have to be careful," Cadence said.

"What do you want to do? Stick her in the pipeline?'

"No," Cadence said flatly. "I wouldn't wish that on anyone." She saw Cisco grimace, showing a tiny bit of shame for when he and the rest of Team Flash had immediately put her into the pipeline upon meeting…not knowing she suffered from claustrophobia. Of course it wasn't a worry of thiers at the time, they didn't know her and couldn't trust her. All with good reason. But it was still something she wouldn't readily suggest to someone, not even for any of the evil metas they came across. "But…maybe we should really think of a way to take away her powers. If it's going to keep doing that."

Barry opened his mouth to speak once more, but found himself cut off by Cisco. He and Iris exchanged worried glances, feeling the tension that was slowly starting to come between Cisco and Cadence.

"For real?" Cisco demanded.

"She may have a point," Barry finally managed to say. "If Caitlin doesn't want her powers and she does that—"

"Of course you'd agree with her," Cisco said sarcastically. "You always agree with her." He ran a hand through his hair and growled in frustration. "This is Caitlin we're talking about! _Caitlin_. Caitlin Snow. The one who's been part of Team Flash from the very beginning when it was just the three of us."

"Cisco," Iris said in warning.

But Cisco didn't listen to her. Instead, he motioned towards Cadence, while speaking to Barry. "We didn't even want to make her a suit, remember? Dr. Wells talked us into it, and then she tried to kill you."

Now Cadence winced. How many times was she going to hear the truth about what she did without it making her feel an insurmountable amount of guilt? Shame? Fear that things would end up happening all over again? As it was, she couldn't look Barry in the eye.

"And we were able to see that it wasn't something she was willingly doing and helped her," Barry shot back then added passionately, "Just like we're going to help Caitlin."

"Whatever." Cisco pushed himself away from the computer and fixed his friends with a hard stare that bordered on a glare until he shifted his gaze to look directly at Barry. That's when his expression became hostile. "You're the Flash, so I guess you call the shots, right?" With that, he turned on his heel and stormed from the cortex.

"I'll go talk to him," Iris said, heels clacking along the ground in her haste to catch up to Cisco.

Defeated, Barry ran his hands through his hair before turning around to face Cadence, who turned hre gaze from the floor to him. "You know he didn't mean that," Barry said to her.

"Yes, he did," Cadence said calmly. She reached up to scratch the side of her neck. "You know, I always thought that it was going to be hard to be part of Team Flash. And I always had the slight feeling that I didn't belong. And now knowing you didn't even originally want me there and that you didn't want to make a suit for me…" she looked him in the eye. "It hurts worse knowing that one of my best friends feels the same way."

Barry shook his head but found himself unable to comfort her, to prove her wrong. Because it was the truth. At the very beginning, they were hesitant to have her be part of the team. She'd started a fire to get his attention, a grand gesture if there ever was one. And now, everything with Team Flash was starting to fall apart when they needed each other the most. That was the last thing he needed. Barry dropped down in a nearby chair and hung his head. He thought of what his mother and father would do or say in that moment. What they'd do. What they'd do to help him. But came up with nothing.

That was the scariest part.

Suddenly, his phone rang, and Barry hurried to answer it. "Yeah, what's going on?"

"It's Julian," Joe said as soon as he answered the phone. Cadence glanced around, sure Joe had just been with Barry in the medical room. He must've just left and gotten the information himself. "Caitlin's attacked him. She's holding him hostage." Barry lowered his phone and in a flash, without warning, raced Cadence to their suits. "It's Caitlin," he explained when they jerked to a hard stop. "We have to go."

Cadence merely nodded. She didn't need any more information than that. If Caitlin was in trouble, it was important to find her and find her fast. No matter what they'd do when they were all back together. The two changed into their suits and raced out of STAR Labs while Cisco ran into the Cortex to look through their mapping system. "Start looking for Caitlin," Barry called as they raced along. "We need to find her before the CCPD does."

"Detective Patterson is already leading the charge," Joe explained. Cisco must've tapped his phone into their communication link.

"Then we know he'll move fast," Barry said. Cadence shot him a confused glance, never having run into Detective Patterson before, but he shook his head in response. There wasn't enough time to explain, all she needed to know was that it wasn't good if he was part of the team going after Caitlin.

"What do you think she wants Julian for?" Cadence asked instead.

"I'm not sure," Barry replied honestly.

"Is there anything we can do to help?" Jesse's voice then came onto the comm-link, trying in vain to hide her eagerness to help. "Do we need to come up with a plan. Or maybe meet you there."

"No," Barry said firmly. "It's too dangerous. You guys stay there, and Cade and I will handle this. We don't know the extent of Caitlin's powers yet and you and Brady are still the not experienced enough to handle her powers."

"Okay, so about this Savitar," HR's voice broke in.

Barry rolled his eyes. "Let's find Caitlin first, then we can deal with Savitar."

"Yeah, I agree with Barry, let's find Caitlin."

"Then what?" Brady asked.

Barry and Cadence exchanged another worried glance. That was the only part they weren't quite sure of. For anything. Now what? What could they do now that they knew there was a Savitar out there? What could they do with the very little information they had about Alchemy? What would they do with Caitlin once they got her back. If it was _her_ they got back.

Cisco directed them to the frozen food warehouse and the two arrived in time to find Caitlin turning away from Julian, her eyes shifting from a silvery gray back to its original brown color. Then Caitlin saw Julian frantically typing something on a laptop beside him and she sent an icicle through the computer screen. Julian gasped in surprise and stumbled back, just in time to move his hand away from the path of another icicle that embedded itself into the wall behind him.

"What par of I'll freeze you to death do you not understand?" Caitlin demanded, her voice echoing in a very unsettling manner. She brought her hands back to send a wave of ice into him, but Barry and Cadence quickly moved in front of her.

"Stop," Barry breathed, holding up his hand. Caitlin paused. No, not Caitlin. The scowl on her face wasn't' Caitlin. The glare in her eyes weren't Caitlin. Her _eyes_ weren't Caitlin's. No, this was a different entity.

"Get out of here," Caitlin pleaded, voice coming out in a whisper. For a moment, her sanity returned, they could see it.

Cadence swallowed hard as she took a step forward. Was this what she looked like when she was being controlled by the Assassination Bureau? "You know we can't do that," Cadence said quietly. She licked her lips, making them unstick from each other and added confidently, "We can't let you hurt him."

"What are you doing?" Julian demanded, steadying himself. He popped his head up behind Barry's shoulder and frantically gestured towards Caitlin. "Take her out. _Take her out!_ She's willing to hurt someone. Knock her ou—" In a blurred motion, Barry lifted his hand and punched Julian directly across the face.

He couldn't help the smile that came to his lips when Julian's body arched away and slipped to the ground. Then he looked at Caitlin and said in a slow, comforting manner, "Caitlin—"

"Leave me alone," Caitlin interrupted. Her face twisted up, seconds away from breaking down into sobs. "Please, just leave me alone. I need…you can't be around me."

"Caitlin, what are you doing?" Cadence demanded. "Why'd you take Julian, why—"

"I have to find Alchemy!" Caitlin burst out, tears now falling down her cheeks. "I need him to help me. To get rid of my powers. He gave Edward Clariss his powers, he said that. He gave Clariss his powers with that stone he attacked you with. And you said Clariss was a speedster in Flashpoint, Barry." She was starting to ramble now, grasping desperately at straws. "I need him to get rid of my powers."

"I don't know if it works that way," Barry whispered.

"You don't know that it doesn't." Caitlin brought up a hand and smeared away her tears. "You don't understand. If I keep using my powers, then I won't be able to control it anymore. I won't be able to stop." She shook her head, eyes downcast, her hands still elevated. "I'm turning into Killer Frost and there's nothing I can do about it."

"You're not going to become her," Barry insisted. He looked to Cadence for help. "There's too much good in you to become her."

Cadence nodded and stepped towards Caitlin. She didn't move, just continued to whimper. Cadence took another step forward, then another until she placed her hands on Caitlin's shoulders. Caitlin slowly lifted her chin until she was looking Cadence in the eye. When their eyes locked, Cadence gave her a small, warm smile.

"Caity, listen to me," she said slowly, firmly. "The only reason you're turning into Killer Frost is because of your fear. The more you feed your idea of what Killer Frost is, the more real it'll became." She swallowed hard, licked her lips. "You just need to be brave and you can use your powers without being Killer Frost, and without Killer Frost ever showing up again."

"We love you, Cait, and we'll do everything we can to help you," Barry added, moving close to her as well. "We've been through too much to let you down right now. Please, let us help you."

Caitlin looked back and forth between the two with eyes filled with sadness. In a snap, Cadence felt Caitlin's muscles tense beneath her hands and looked into Caitlin's eyes once more, seeing the choclate brown turn back to icy gray. Caitlin's eyes snapped to Barry. She snarled. "Like you helped your mother? You keep messing with everyone's lives and messing things up, you keep breaking everything." Barry took a step back amongst the onslaught of words. "Wrecking it. And we have to pick up the pieces form _your_ mistakes. Some things you break can't be put back together."

"I can fix this—"

Barry's plea was cut short. "Like you fixed Jesse, like you fixed Wally, like you fixed me, Francine, Cade, Brady? You've ruined everything over here for _everyone_. When you created Flashpoint, when you changed things you messed up _everything_." She looked at Cadence. "The Assassination Bureau…Barry is the reason all of us are like this."

Barry started to say something but stopped when he heard a familiar locking sound. Icy cold landed in his gut. He'd recognize that sound anywhere. He'd heard it enough, on almost a daily basis from numerous practices that he and the rest of those at the CCPD were to participate in, even if their positions didn't recognize it.

A gun about to fire.

The CCPD had to have been inching closer as they spoke, and having seen Julian knocked out, there was only one thing they could do. Open fire. Barry turned in superspeed, everything moving in slow motion. He watched as the CCPD drew their guns and started to fire towards them. At the same time, Cadence shot fire from her eyes to take on the guns, heating them up in their hands. The silver metal of their pistols slowly turned orange, spreading from the handle up to their palms and to their fingertips. Barry turned and grabbed onto Caitlin, racing her out of the line of fire.

"Gah!" The moment they stopped, crouching behind a pallet, Barry felt the most immense pain in his leg. Much stronger than what he felt after having been crushed by Savitar. It felt as if his entire leg had suddenly burst into flames. He turned around, struggling to put weight on his leg, to find Caitlin had stabbed an icicle through his skin.

She put her face close to his, an icy air wafting over him. "That punctured your tricep sera," she hissed. "Even with your healing abilities it'll take four hours for you to regenerate. Don't. Follow me." With that, she raced away, leaving Barry and Cadence behind.

* * *

"How much does it hurt?" Cadence asked, removing her hand from Barry's leg as the last of his open wound slid shut.

Pain was irrelevant to him now. How many times could he be hurt before the pain started to subside. And how painful was that pain compared to what he'd felt when his parents passed? When he had his mother and father alive once more and had them ripped from him with Eobard's cruel laughter ringing in his ears. He'd expunged all that pain from him when he cried to Joe, when he finally said everything that had been bothering him since he returned from Flashpoint.

"You're the Flash," Joe had said when he pulled back, drying Barry's tears from his face. "But you're my Barry Allen. And I know things are hard for you right now, but I need my Barry Allen to know that everything's going to be okay, but he truly does believe that. And the more he believes it, the more I believe it, too."

Barry had been grateful for those words of encouragement, for the reminder. Still, he couldn't push away what Caitlin had said. It was the truth. He'd ruined everything and if there was anything he could fix in that moment, it was going to be what's happening to her. It wouldn't happen until they knew how to find her. Once Caitlin had left the warehouse, and the police were too busy tending to the wounds on their hands from melted metal, Cadence ducked under Barry's arm and hauled him to his feet before teleporting them back to STAR Labs.

"As much as I deserve," Barry replied hoarsely. He continued to stretch his leg out in front of him, wincing if he moved too far, sending a fire of pain up to his thigh. "Ah. God, that's hurts." He let go of his leg and rested his arms on his thighs, waiting for the dull throbbing to subside.

He could heal faster than anything and yet he hadn't been able to remove the pain he'd been feeling. How ironic.

"You're going to have some scar tissue in there," Cadence apologized with a half smile. She brought up her hand and rubbed at her collarbone. "Unfortunately, that's the only thing I can't heal." She sighed and leaned back on her hands, resting them on the floor behind her. "You guys, what are we going to do about Caitlin?"

"We have to find her before we can do anything about her," Cisco reminded her, a dark edge to his voice.

"And ideas of where to start?" Barry asked. "It's not like I can run back and forth across the city until I can find her," he pointed out. Brady started to say something to prove him wrong, but one look form his mother immediately made him clam up. "And we can only follow her cold signatures when she's using them and if she's not using them—"

"You're starting to ramble, Tholly," Cadence stopped him.

"Well, the trick to finding her is simple; you just need to think like Caitlin," HR pointed out. He tapped his drumstick against his temple. "Get into her head, reach into the old noggin to figure out what it is that she'd be running off to. Everyone has a place they like the most and it's the first place they'd go." He tilted his head towards Jesse. "I'm sure hers is somewhere back on Earth-2."

Jesse sighed sadly, her arms folded across her chest. "If my dad were here he'd know what it is." She smiled sadly. "The cabin in the woods."

"That sounds like a horror movie waiting to happen," Brady remarked, wrinkling his nose.

"Spending that much time alone with Harry, I have to agree," Cisco added.

Jesse laughed quietly. "No, every summer, my dad and I would go to this cabin in the woods. Just off of Gotham city. We'd spend a week there, going hunting, fishing, hiking…" she thought for a moment. "I think it's the only time he give away his technology stuff."

"Yep, sounds like a nightmare," Cisco said. He shook his head and turned back to the conversation at hand. When he spoke, it was like he was trying to convince himself of something. "Caitlin's out there scared and alone and we need to find her." He looked straight ahead and snapped his fingers. After a few moments of typing, he turned the laptop around. "I hacked Julian's laptop and she had him search some addresses. I thought it was weird, but then it was like you said, she was trying to find Alchemy. Maybe these are people associated with him. A lead to help her find him."

"It'll take too long to search these addresses," Barry said, shaking his head. "We just need to find her. Use the same algorithm as before—"

"—It doesn't work if she's not using her powers—" Cisco shot back.

"-Then we have to think logically of where she'd go. Some place safe."

The room fell silent, but after a moment, Cadence's eyes widened and she gasped, "I have an idea."

And her idea proved to be right. Caitlin stood outside of her mother's house, staring up at the immaculate house. Her hands were splayed at her sides, fingertips twitching as if she were fighting a battle within herself. A soft rain fell around her, but she paid no attention to it. Caitlin tilted her head to the side as her eyes glanced over the glass in front of her, straining to see through the windows.

"You should've helped me when you had the chance," Caitlin murmured. She widened her stance and started to bring up her hands. "Let's see how you like it when everyone else is cold to you," She said. "Maybe they'll start using _you_ for their little experiments!" She started to throw her hands forward.

"Caitlin!"

Caitlin slowly lowered her hands and turned towards the voice that called out to her. Her upper lip curled in disgust. The rain started to drop faster as Cisco stood across from Caitlin. "Get out of here," Caitlin drawled with a dismissive wave of her hand. "I don't need your help and I don't need you to stop me. Trust me, I'm doing you all a favor. The sooner my mom's gone, the better off we'll be."

"Caitlin, you need us to help you," Cisco called, taking a step forward. "You're our friend, we want to help you." He continued to take steps towards her. "You're not thinking clearly, you don't want to hurt your mom."

"Why not?" Caitlin shrugged. "I'm not Caitlin anymore, I don't think logically." She twirled her finger beside her head as if to make a point.

"You _are_ Caitlin," Cisco insisted.

"I'm Killer Frost."

"You're Caitlin Snow."

Caitlin's lips pulled back into a sinister smile. Cisco took a step back, understanding the danger he was suddenly in. The temperature suddenly dropped dramatically as vapors swirled around Caitlin's hands. "Can Caitlin Snow do this?" With a grunt of effort, Caitlin shot icicles towards Cisco, who quickly dove out of the way, landing behind a tree. He rolled to his feet and peeked out from behind the trunk. Caitlin pouted, lowering her hands. "Almost gotcha."

"Caitlin please!" Cisco shouted. He ducked out of the way when Caitlin sent even more icicles his way, knocking piece of bark off the tree. He ducked out of the way, running towards another tree for safety. As he ran along, Cisco sent a vibrational blast back towards her just as she threw icicles at him.

The icicles vibrated so rapidly it cracked, shattering all over the street like glitter on New Year's Eve. This time, she rose her hands and sent ice into the trees, which froze the branches, causing them to shatter and fall to the ground towards Cisco. Cisco cried out as he threw his arms up to shield his head and face.

Caitlin rubbed her hands together, slowly walking towards Cisco. Her attention was diverted when there was a booming crack of thunder. As she turned her head, Cadence teleported in and grabbed onto Cisco, bringing him to safety while Barry raced up the residential street towards Caitlin. She lifted her hand and froze the ground right as he nearly reached her. Barry's feet slid out from beneath him and he rolled along the ground, collapsing in a heap in front of her.

Caitlin brought back her foot and kicked Barry in the ribs, making him cry out in pain. "Oops. Guess I don't know my own strength." She kicked him again and he curled himself up into a ball. "How's the leg?" She mocked him.

Barry pushed out a gasping breath and said, "Pretty good. How's yours?" With a burst of speed, he brought himself up to his hands and swung his feet around in a large arc, knocking Caitlin's legs out form beneath her. Caitlin collapsed to the ground next to him, eyes wide with surprise.

"I'm sorry, Caitlin," Barry apologized. "I don't want to hurt you."

Caitlin snorted then worked to catch her breath. Cisco continued to hover nearby, hovering his hands as he waited for an opening to attack. "That was cold, Flash," Caitlin growled, eyes flashing. "But this is colder." Swinging herself up, Caitlin straddled Barry waist before leaning down to kiss him. The moment her lips pressed against his, his body started to freeze, skin turning blue under his cowl.

Barry's eyes widened in surprise then fear as he felt his body slowly start to stiffen, the coldest cold seeping into his bones. He struggled to bring in a gasp but couldn't. Every time his chest expanded it was like tiny knives stabbing his skin repeatedly, tiny knives ripping his lungs apart.

Caitlin grinned when she pulled herself away from Barr, bringing up her fingers to touch her lips. "Hmm. I can understand why so many girls are after you now, Flash."

A stream of fire raced towards Caitlin. She immediately leapt out of the way of the incoming attack seconds before Cadence teleported behind her and punched her directly on the cheek. Caitlin rolled on the ground and came to a stop, blood dripping from the corner of her mouth. Lifting her fist, Caitlin wiped the blood away and rose her eyebrows.

"Now, Cadence, I didn't know you to be the jealous type," she taunted.

"I don't do jealousy," Cadence replied. "Unlike you, I trust people."

Caitlin laughed a loud, cruel laugh. "Well, isn't that the pot calling the kettle black. You're probably the least to be trusted out of all of us. I mean…how long is it going to take before you decide to fulfill your mission and finally kill Barry?"

Cadence ignored the taunt and clenched her hands into fists. She lifted her hand as it started to become covered in flames. Around her, the air started to heat up, rain drops evaporating faster than it could come close to her. Caitlin pursed her lips, noticing what was happening. Around her, the rain froze before it hit the ground, little droplets pinging off the asphalt around her. They looked at each other for a long moment before starting to fight.

They moved at the same time.

 _Thwoom._

Their movements blurred together, fire vs. ice. Caitlin's head twisted to the side when Cadence punched her in the face. Then grabbed her by the front of her jacket and threw her hard across the street. Caitlin flew through the air and smacked into a tree, falling to a heap. Caitlin growled and got to her knees, punching her fists forward, sending snowballs to Cadence. Cadence lifted her hands and punched back. Instead of shooting fireballs back at her friend, she simply used the movements to melt the ones that were coming towards her. Her eyes stuck to Caitlin's face, watching to see where she'd move next.

So much so that when Caitlin's eyes lowered, ready to take down the fire metahuman with a slick sheen of ice over the ground, Cadence used her heat vision to melt it back to Caitlin's hands, who squealed in pain when the heat reached her fingertips. Then Cadence teleported forward and grabbed Caitlin by the neck, slamming her to the ground. Stunned, Caitlin could only grab onto Cadence's arm as the fire metahuman started to teleport back and forth across the street.

Much like Savitar had done to Barry, Cadence continued to throttle Caitlin, moving her back and forth across the street as she attacked until she felt Caitlin grow limp. The difference in power was obvious; while Caitlin shied away from practicing her skills, Cadence worked hard to control it.

Caitlin sucked in a sharp gasp when she felt Cadence's hands on her head and neck, able to twist her head to the side. One sharp twist and it was lights out for Caitlin. Cadence's eyes smoldered with unbridled hatred as she looked down at Caitlin.

"Do it," Caitlin taunted in a low whisper. "I dare you."

Cadence tightened her grasp around Caitlin's head, looking down into her face. No, into Killer Frost's face. She gritted her teeth, slowly allowing her strength to move into her hands. Killer Frost's face screwed up in pain as Cadence's super strength slowly started to set in.

Cisco raced to Barry's side, crouching over him, examining his friend. Barry shivered pitifully, struggling to move his hands to his shoulders. Desperately needing warmth. But he was still moving, that was moved to Barry's side. "start vibrating," he said. "It'll warm you up." Barry did as he was told and was soon back on his feet. Cisco grasped his hand and pulled him to his feet, looking over at Cadence and Caitlin.

Noticing their movement, Cadence lifted her head and looked at her friends. She locked eyed with Cisco then looked away, dropping her hands from Caitlin's head. She took a few steps back, allowing Caitlin space to flop over, coughing loudly. She placed her hands on the ground and started to get up, flipping her hair from her face. She started to move, as if she were about to start running, but Cisco walked forward, his hands up in front of him, Barry's eyes flickered with lightning, and Cadence's hands covered in flames.

She wasn't going to run.

She was trapped and knew it.

Caitlin smiled. "You're all smarter than I thought." She nodded towards Cisco, her voice taking on a tone of surprise. "You know, that was some blast there, Vibe. Kinda hurt."

"I don't want to hurt you," Cisco said, voice quivering.

"You're pathetic." Caitlin tilted her head towards Cadence. "You should be more like her, ready to kill when the time comes. It's the only thing that'll help me at this point. Other than finding Alchemy, getting rid of my mom…"

"Alchemy can't help you," Barry said. "We can. I promise." His voice cracked with emotion, desperation.

Caitlin's eyes flickered to him as she slowly stood up. Then she let out a sigh as if she were tired of having the conversation. "Like you promised Eddie, and Ronnie, and all those other people who've died?" She wiggled her index finger back and forth. "For a hero, Flash, you let a lot of people die."

Barry shook his head. "This isn't you, talking, it's your powers. You're sick."

"I'm _broken_ , Barry." She lifted her hands and slapped them to her sides before motioning to the fire metahuman who watched the conversation closely. Her fingers twitched at her sides, ready to move if the time came to start another fight. "But what do you care? You've got Cadence. You got your happy ending. You're happy. So just let me go—"

"We're not abandoning you—"

"—YOU DID THIS TO ME!" Caitlin shouted so loudly her voice echoed through the otherwise quiet street. A cold wind blew through the clearing, but still, none of Team Flash moved. The threat of danger had passed, it was now them trying to save their friend who, in a way, was trying to save herself. After a few moments of silence Caitlin tilted her head to the side. "Isn't this the part where you talk some sense into me?"

"No, it's the part where I let you go," Barry said. He motioned to his friends and nodded. Cisco and Cadence nodded back and the three slowly started to take a few steps away from Caitlin, giving her a wide berth. If she wanted to attack, she could do that. If she wanted to run, she could do that, too. They weren't going to stop her.

Eyes narrowing in suspicion, Caitlin looked at her friends' faces before she settled on Barry once more. "For a smart guy, that was an awfully dumb move. So I'm free to go?" Barry nodded again but didn't respond. Still, Caitlin didn't trust it, her eyes narrowing. "What's the catch?"

"You have to kill me," Barry said. "I'm not going to fight you. But if you're going to leave us, this team, this family…then you'll have to kill me."

Caitlin started to stalk towards him. "Don't think I won't."

Barry held up his arms. "Then do it." The threat was evident, hanging in the air. He wasn't going to back down. If Caitlin wanted to get rid of her powers so badly, if she wanted to stop being part of a family, if she wanted to throw away everything that was given to her, that was fine. But he didn't want to be there to see it. She'd have to take him out. "Go ahead."

Caitlin created an icicle in her hand and held it above Barry's chest, right where his heart would be. She pressed it to his chest, the tip starting to rip its way into the suit. Caitlin kept an eye on Cisco as she did so. "I'm sorry, I know how much your suits mean to you," she said. "I'll make it quick."

"Not as much as you mean to me, Caitlin," Cisco murmured in response. "My suits will never compare to how much you mean to me."

"That's sweet, I'll keep that in mind for when I get lonely." Caitlin turned back to Barry and started to push the icicle in further then stopped.

Barry tilted his head as he looked down at her, waiting for her to continue. "What are you waiting for? What's the big deal. Live up to your name, Killer Frost. That's what you want, isn't it?" Reaching up, Barry ripped off his cowl and looked at Caitlin as Barry. Not as The Flash. As Barry Allen. His voice dripped with disgust as he said, "Villains kill their friends, it's what they do because they don't care anymore, right? _Right_?!" He grabbed her wrist and moved the icicle closer to his heart, wincing as he felt the pinprick in his skin. "Come on. Kill me, Caitlin."

Caitlin glared back at him, affronted, then looked down at her hand. Almost as if it were betraying her. She grunted quietly, her hand starting to shake with effort. Barry shook his head. "You can't do it. You can't, because underneath all that cold, you're still you. You're still Caitlin Snow."

The seconds passed and as they passed, the wind slowly subsided until the air was still. The only sound that shattered the silence was Caitlin's icicle shattering to the ground. She'd dropped it. Opening her hand, Caitlin looked at her palm, her fingertips, eyes widening with sheer horror. A tear slid down her cheek and she moved a hand up to her mouth, then she lifted her gaze and gasped in fear.

"Barry," she whimpered before breaking down into tears. Caitlin threw her arms around Barry's neck and shoulders as she started to sob. Cisco and Cadence moved to flank Caitlin's other sides and wrapped her arms around their friend as she continued to cry. "I'm sorry," she sobbed. "I'm so sorry."

"Don't apologize, Cait," Barry replied. "You never have to apologize." He looked at Cisco, who nodded and mouthed the words 'thank you' and Barry nodded back.

The four continued to stand in a group hug, holding onto each other. Finally, when Caitlin's crying started to subside, she started to speak again. "It's not fair," She murmured. "All I want to do is help people and my powers won't let me…" she closed her eyes, a few more tears escaping down her cheeks, chin trembling. She lifted her head to address Caitlin.

"You have to…" Caitlin swallowed hard. "If I become her again, you have to kill me. _Please._ You have to kill me."

Cadence didn't respond, she merely kissed her friend on the temple and hugged her tighter. She knew she had to do it, had to kill her when Killer Frost came back and that would hurt her more than anything in life.

Right now, they had their friend back and that was all that mattered.

* * *

Barry leaned back against the wall of Caitlin's apartment, head tilted to look out the window. Hearing a soft sigh, he turned back to the couch to watch Cisco roll onto his side, dragging a blanket with him. Said blanket being pulled off Caitlin's sleeping form. Rather than shiver and reach to grab the blankets back from him, as most would do, Caitlin simply curled herself further into a ball.

A sleepover. It had been an odd suggestion. Not really a suggestion at all. Caitlin had mentioned after going back to STAR Labs and being looked over that she was going home and Cisco said firmly that she wasn't going alone. And that was that. They all went to her apartment for dinner and drinks, being sure not to speak about anything metahuman related, Cadence made sure to bring up that point as to how she and Barry were able to get through dates—when they had the time to go on them, and it was a rule for that night.

Once the initial awkwardness got out of the way, they were soon talking and laughing without a care in the world. And after a brief argument of whether or not to watch Star Wars for the movie night—of which Cadence lost 3-1—they all started to drift off to sleep before the movie even made it halfway. Cadence was the first to nod off, even prefacing the night by saying, "I've never made it through a Star Wars movie." Caitlin was next, curled up into the corner of the couch with a pillow tucked under her head, looking much more innocent than she had been before. Cisco was after her, draping a blanket over her—of which he'd now stolen—before falling asleep right after the credits ended.

Barry, however, was the last one awake. He couldn't sleep. Not yet. Not when his mind wouldn't stop replaying the night. Not when there was so much that could've gone wrong that thankfully hadn't. But life didn't always work that way. It wasn't fair. Many people don't deserve what they've got and others don't get what they deserve. But they had to keep living.

Barry wasn't like most people. He had the ability to change things when he saw fit. But they didn't end up working out the way he'd hoped. What was the point of having that ability? Why was it bestowed upon him when he couldn't do anything when the time came. What if he'd gone back and changed things so that Caitlin's powers didn't take her over? Was that possible?

A sigh escaped Barry's nose. He didn't dare breathe louder than that, not wanting to wake up his friends when they were finally feeling so at peace.

"You're not a God, Barry," Cadence's voice said quietly from behind him. He looked over his shoulder and saw her shuffling over, a blanket pulled tightly around her. He smiled. She was the first one to complain about the temperature of Caitlin's apartment, sneakily turning it up when Caitlin's back was turned, who then turned it back down later.

Barry found himself unsurprised to know she knew exactly what he was thinking. He'd found himself able to do the same of her lately. Cadence moved to Barry's side and threw the end of her blanket up to his shoulders.

"That's what Jay said," Barry replied, looping an arm around her shoulder to pull her closer to his side. The warmth under the blanket increased from her body heat. He felt himself slowly then all at once relax. Much like he was falling asleep, falling into comfort.

"Jay's a smart man," Cadence agreed. She tilted her head up to look at him, eyes boring into his. "But you have to stop playing the 'what if's' and the 'why me's'. Believe me, it gets boring fast. And I know this is hard for you, but you need to be the leader right now. Because, in the end, you always know what to do and we'll always follow you."

Barry smiled at her.

They'd always follow him.

They were a team.

That was all that mattered.

Barry reached out his hand and grabbed onto Cadence's. "Cay," he murmured. "I have something I need to ask you."

* * *

 **A/N:** I originally intended this to be a very heartfelt chapter for all of those associated with Team Flash (Harrison and Tess, HR, Joe, Iris, Wally, Jesse, etc.) but then I felt it was even better to be used for Barry, Caitlin, Cisco, and Cadence and showing how far their friendship goes with each other. Especially with the micro-friendships within their group. That's not to say the others will be ignored, you will see it in the next chapter. I'm especially excited for you all to see how I bring Harrison and Tess in further with this story.

Please remember to review; any feedback helps me become a better writer and motivates me to write more. I respond to every review, even anonymous ones.

 **Cheers,**

 **-Riley**

 **Review Replies**

 **Highlander348:** I hope you at least enjoyed the emotions of what went on here. I said Cade was going to help and she is, but they needed to get through this first. It can't be easy to know that your best friend wants you to kill her if she turns into her evil side again.

 **Ethan:** Conner and Samantha are being put into the witness protection program. With Oliver's being the mayor and the Green Arrow, it just means too many people can figure out who he is and his family and they'd all be in danger. Especially because Conner had already been kidnapped before, so his interactions with Brady would be very slow or completely non-existent.

 **DarkHelm145:** I hope the fights with Caitlin/Killer frost were just as good.

 **Babyj:** Thank you for your concern about Savitar, I do actually have things planned with him that are a little different, which is why Savitar's introduction was a little stunted. I agree, it could've been a bit better. Or at least shown a little bit more. The impact of it was seen here, he was in a coma for a day, but there's still more lasting effects.


	11. Alien Invasion (1)

**11**

 _Alien Invasion_

* * *

 **Deity, who you may recognize from Fuel to the Fire, is owned by PowerHero432, who also co-write this crossover.**

* * *

"I swear, she gets faster every time we test her," Harrison said, shaking his head as he watched Jesse continue to blaze around the Speed Lab.

"Mach 2 and climbing," Tess agreed from beside him. She folded her arms, tilting her head as her blue eyes shifted back and forth over the computer-generated form in front of her. Reaching out a hand, she ran her fingers over the hologram, pinching and pulling at different parts. "Not showing any signs of slowing down either." She called to Caitlin over her shoulder. "How are her vitals?"

"Running economy lactate threshold are above expected levels," Caitlin said.

"Looks like we've got a prodigy on our hands," Cisco crowed, making the adults laugh. "Like a Wizard of Whiz."

"And Harry's not here to see it?" HR asked. "What a shame! What a shame, indeed. She needs that support that she can only get from her father and,"—he gestured to himself, raising his hand—"I for one will be glad to step into that role."

"Wouldn't it make more sense for Harrison to do it?" Tess pointed out. She nodded her head towards her husband. "Considering he already is a father."

"Well, just because I don't have an actual _daughter_ doesn't mean I haven't sired any children," HR pointed out. He rubbed his chin. "Come to think of it, I may actually have thousands—"

"Okay!" Cisco held up his hand, squeezing his eyes shut. "We don't need to hear anymore, thank you." He turned and gave Caitlin a look, one that clearly read 'can you believe this guy' making her smile a little. A beeping sound came from his computer and he leaned towards it, cheering loudly. "Whoo! And it looks like she's beating Barry's time record. Is there anything this girl can't do?"

"I mean, yes, it's impressive," HR said. "But can she engineer her own—"

"—she's got five degrees, if she wanted, she could reverse-engineer you. Though I don't know why anyone would want to do that."

"She may have the speed, but that doesn't necessarily mean she'll be able to take down Savitar," Wally called from where he stood with Iris and Joe. His tone, a dark, almost longing tone brought a serious tone to the room. "Or this Alchemy guy that's working with him. If Barry couldn't stop him, our best bet is to have Jesse help, too. But can she do it?"

"She's got the speed," Cisco reminded him.

"But speed isn't everything," Iris agreed. She ran a hand through her hair. "She's been training as hard as she can, but she's hardly seen any battle. And it's all she wants to do." She waved her hand towards Jesse. "Why else would she be working so hard?"

"And she's not like me," Caitlin agreed. "She doesn't want her powers gone. We're going to have a hard time convincing her not to go out there."

"We'll have to," Iris insisted. "Not until she's ready."

Joe gave a sarcastic laugh, running a hand over his head as he asked, "How?" at the same time Wally whipped his head around to his sister, staring hard at her.

"And why would you want her to do that?" He demanded. "With that sort of power, with that sort of speed she can really help Barry and Cadence out there on the field. Having two speedsters is better than none, especially if this Savitar guy is so fast that no one but Barry could see him." He clapped his hands together. "People would give anything to have those sort of powers and you want her to stop using them?"

"I don't want her to stop using them," Iris replied, affronted. "I just want to be sure everyone's safe. And no one's safe if Savitar is out there. We won't be able to do anything until we know what he can do and what he wants."

"He wants Barry, dead," Wally insisted. "I don't think its a stretch considering Zoom and what you've told me about the Reverse-Flash."

Tess bobbed her head back and forth. "Iris _does_ sort of have a point," she said slowly. Then she lifted a finger. "In terms of training, not in the refusal of her powers." She folded her arms and turned to face the group. "There's a psychological theory called PERMA created by Martin Seligman that speaks about this."

"Martin who?" Joe asked.

"Martin Seligman," Harrison explained. "He's an American psychologist and the founder of positive psychology. Very nice man, though there's a lot to say about the collection of gnomes he has around his house and garden."

Tess threw a knowing smile his way and continued her explanation. "His theory, PERMA, meaning Positive emotion, Engagements, Relationships, Meaning, and Accomplishments all stems to the positivity of man and what makes life meaningful and worth living. In Jesse's case, you have to think about what makes her life worth living. Right now, it's her excitement towards her speed. And why has she thrown herself into it so much? Because she doesn't have her father around for that positive reinforcement of her abilities. So, she's trying to fill the void by training to go out there with Barry.

"Iris is right when she says Jesse's speed use is reckless." Iris smiled and nodded. "But I _don't_ think it's something that should be hidden," Tess added firmly. "It's only going to spur her further."

"What should we do?" Caitlin asked. "We can't keep telling her she's not ready. She'll just keep thinking it's because she's a girl."

"We just have to remind her that in Harry's absence, we're her family," Tess said calmly. "And that she doesn't have to prove anything to us in lieu of her hurt."

Harrison shoved his hands into the pockets of his slacks. "People wonder how I was able to get STAR Labs off the ground," he remarked the nodded towards his wife. "And it's because of that woman there. Had it not been for her, things would've fallen apart. Especially with the way I treated my staff."

"Yeah, don't think we've forgotten about those super late nighters," Cisco muttered under his breath. "That was a week of sleep I'll never get back."

"But then you wouldn't be the talented mechanical engineer I know," Harrison said sincerely, making Cisco beam with pride.

Cisco jumped when there was a sudden blast of air and Jesse appeared beside him. "You'd think we'd get used to that by now," he remarked, pulling his hair back behind his shoulders.

"So?" Jesse asked. "How was that? How was I? Did I do a good job?"

"Mach 2," Cisco relayed to her, after studying Harrison's and Tess's faces for approval. "And climbing. Girl, you're going faster than a rocket!"

Jesse grinned, pumping the air with her fists. "Yes! I knew I was getting faster!" Her eyes roved over the group standing in front of her and she eagerly rubbed her hands together. "Okay, so when do I go out with Barry?"

"There's still time for that," Tess said gently.

Jesse nodded slowly, seeming to accept it, but still frustrated if the way she chewed her bottom lip was any indication. Wally quickly stepped forward and grabbed her attention. "Hey, you must be starving," he said. "Why don't we get something to eat and get out of here for a while."

Jesse immediately brightened. "I know just the place," she said, taking his hand before super-speeding the two out of the cortex.

Tess smiled for a moment before it faded. She turned to the side and Harrison followed her gaze, watching the computer generation in front of her. She pressed her thumb and index finger into a portion of the hologram and opened it, causing it to zoom in. A low hum escaped her lips when she noticed something strange by the projection of Jesse's hand.

"What?" Harrison asked, moving closer to his wife. "Do you see something?"

"You tell me."

Tess motioned to the spot on the screen and glanced over her shoulder to see the others were distracted, most notably Joe and Iris. Harrison leaned close to his wife's side and glanced at the projection. Just as Tess had seen, there was a sparkling that occurred around Jesse's hand. And while the projection ran at the top speed Jesse was moving—indicating she and Wally were still heading towards wherever she was taking them—the capacity to move much faster was shown.

She'd only seen that a few times before and it was when Barry was locked in battle with other speedsters, and when Cadence was giving him a recharge after he depleted most of his power and energy.

But there was no fire metahuman around this time.

The smile that came to Harrison's face was a mixture of glee and awe. "Seems we've got another speedster in our midst," he murmured.

"It seems so."

* * *

With music blaring from the speakers around her, Cadence lowered her head and did a low butterfly twist across the wooden floor before launching into a series of pirouettes. She whipped her head back to the front every time she spun around, keeping her eyes locked on her reflection in the mirror.

After six successfully rotations, she bent over to a cartwheel then did a series of backhand springs to the beat of the song before finishing with a back tuck. Cadence flipped her hair back from her face using both hands and turned back to the class—full of tween and teenagers—that stared back at her, looking stunned.

She laughed, clasping her hands together.

"I'm not saying any of you have to do that, but if you want to put in some extra stuff into your competition pieces then you may want to think about it," Cadence said, placing her hands on her hips. "I at least want to see you working on your pirouettes, the more you can do in succession will really come in handy when you want some show stopping moments, alright?" She smiled and clasped her hands together. "Okay, that's all for today, I'll see you next time."

Cadence waved to the girls as they hurried to gather their things calling, 'Bye Miss. Nash' or 'Bye Miss. Cadence' as they went giggling out the door. Their excitement was so cute, thankfully it was matched while in the dance classes so that Cadence didn't have to become a 'drill sergeant teacher' like her cheerleading coach from years past.

Cadence danced her way to the boombox to turn off the music, doing a roundoff to start backhand springing again. As she did so, a blue, swirling vortex opened in the corner of the room and out popped a Kryptonian-Alien Hybrid. Deity landed on the ground in a crouch before standing up, eyes widening when she noticed Cadence coming towards her. Before she could move, Cadence planted her feet firmly on the ground in front of her and sprang upwards, grabbing her legs to her chest to flip over Deity and land on the ground behind her.

The second she stood up, Cadence thrust out her hand and sent a blast of smoke up towards the video camera that sat nestled in the corner of the room. Deity Ann, also known as Debby Danvers, turned to her, pushing her hair back behind her ears and adjusting her glasses on her face.

"Has anyone ever told you to look where you're flipping?" Deity asked.

"I've never had someone run out in the middle of my dismount," Cadence replied, lowering her hand once there was a significant haze floating at the top of the room. She thought for a moment. "Well, Brady never made that mistake again after the first time." She smiled. "You're lucky I didn't take your head off."

Deity chuckled and turned back and forth, glancing around the dance studio. She took in the mirrors on the side of the room and walked closer to study her reflection. She frowned, as if not seeing what she wanted to. "I knew you liked to dance, but I didn't know you were _that_ good," she remarked. "It was amazing."

"You didn't come all the way here just to tell me that, did you?" Cadence turned off the boombox beside her, the sudden silence in the room more jarring than usual. "Because that would've been a waste of a trip."

Deity's lackluster greeting was curious. Cadence expected a bone cracking hug, a squeal of excitement. It'd been a while since their last meeting; first on her Earth, Earth-38 to take on Live Wire and Killer Frost, then back to their Earth to take on Ragdoll.

Cadence frowned as the thought of Earth-38's Killer Frost entered her mind. She'd vowed then that if she saw another Killer Frost, she'd kill her. How was she to know that months later the same would happen on their Earth but Caitlin would ask to be killed instead? The request had stunned Cadence, sticking in her mind for hours that night. She barely slept within the last week, unable to think of anything else. Could she really do it? Kill one of her best friends?

If she were being honest, killing was as hard as it was easy. It took a lot of energy and strength to kill someone if you didn't have the powers to aid in doing it. With her abilities it was easy; smoke inhalation or crushing the trachea only took as much as closing her hand into a fist. When the emotions were put aside it was as simple as a movement of her arm and she was back doing her day job without a second of thought. Could she put aside thoughts of her friend to do it?

"Maybe, maybe not," Deity said. She flashed a teasing smile over her shoulder. "I still have a lot of Earth stuff to learn, and dancing is pretty…weird at the best of times."

"That's only if you don't know what you're doing," Cadence said. She giggled to herself, remembering the last time she'd gone dancing with her friends. "Or if you're Cisco." He certainly had the enthusiasm for dancing. Not that she and her friends had spent a lot of time together without a bit of tension around them.

She hadn't talked to Cisco about his remark of her not originally wanted to be part of Team Flash or what was making him making snide comments towards Barry every now and then. Clearly, there was something bothering Cisco about Barry since he returned from Flashpoint, but not even Caitlin knew what it was. Their friendship was falling apart and Cadence didn't like it.

Instead of addressing it, Cadence folded her arms and smiled at Deity. "So, where's Kara? Should I expect another breach to open up in my shower?"

Deity's smile faded in reaction to Cadence's light joke. She reached up to scratched the back of her head. "Uh, she's not coming. She's, uh, still back there on our Earth. With Alex and the others."

Cadence lifted an eyebrow. Something wasn't sitting right with her. She'd seen how Kara and Deity were with each other, almost as if they couldn't go anywhere without each other. Traveling through dimensions wasn't as dangerous but it wasn't so safe either. "And she let you come here by yourself?"

"What can I say? I like to travel." But the enthusiasm didn't reach Deity's voice. Cadence made a noise of disbelief and folded her arms, stepping towards the teenage girl. Cadence eyed her for a long moment. Women's intuition aside—adding in the mother's intuition of sensing something was wrong—this wasn't the feisty Deity she knew, who could rival her own enthusiasm and excitement for life. Deity spoke up, realizing that Cadence didn't believe her. "I like a sense of adventure?"

"Try again."

"I left," Deity finally admitted.

"There you go," Cadence conceded.

"I told Kara where I went, but…" Deity reached into the pocket of her jeans and pulled out second Tachyon device, the first being pressed against the front of her shirt. "Unless she can go at the speed of sound, it'll be hard for her to get here."

Now Cadence's eyes widened as she studied the Tachyon device. Cisco had given them to her and Kara when they were last on Earth-1, giving them the opportunity to go back to their Earth whenever they wanted to. If Deity had both, then something was really going wrong. She looked into Deity's eyes, her own narrowing for a moment and found the teen looking away taking in a deep breath.

She didn't have to use her own perception to know her intuition was right.

What was wrong was something big.

"What's going on, Deity?" She asked, lowering her voice to a calm, gentle level.

Deity was silent for a long moment. So long Cadence was about to repeat the question. But then Deity started to speak quietly, as if afraid to let the words escape. Or maybe it was relief? Cadence could see her shoulders drooping slightly as Deity folded her arms and turned her head away. "I can't go back there," she said.

"Go back where? Krypton?" Cadence tilted her head in confusion. "That should be a difficult trip considering it's gone."

Deity smiled a little at her joke. She rubbed her arm, tugged at the bottom of her sleeve. "I can't go back to my Earth. I can't go back to…I can't go back to Kara." She reached up and scratched at her temple, though Cadence was sure she was wiping away a tear. "Not right now."

"What's going on?" Cadence asked.

"I can't say."

"Can't or won't?"

"Won't."

"But—"

"Not now," Deity insisted. She turned back to Cadence, eyes brimming with tears that threatened to fall. "Please."

Cadence nodded. She would never push anyone to talk, especially when it looked like Deity were about to break down completely. No, now certainly was not the right now. "Okay, well, are you hungry? I was just about to head home."

"You mean you don't go feed the homeless after this?" Deity sniffled, wiping at her eyes.

"When would I have time?" Cadence teased. She clenched her hand into a fist and the smoke dissipated. Hopefully he wouldn't have to do too much to convince Cisco to erase the footage of Deity's arrival. A drawer full of candy or a date with one of her co-workers could probably do it. "Come on. Lucky for you I drove today, all of that interplanetary flying must've worn you out."

"Thanks."

Cadence drove Deity back to the apartment, taking the elevator to the top floor. She unlocked the door, tossing her keys aside once she made it over the threshold, Deity following her with her mouth and eyes wide. "Wow," she gasped. "You _live_ here?"

"Yeah, we moved," Cadence explained. It had surprised her when Barry had asked if she would move in with him. It certainly wasn't the question she'd grown to expect. Not that she truly _thought_ he was going to propose to her, but every girl knew when a guy you had seriously been seeing said, 'I have something I need to ask you' with the way he was looking at her, it was serious.

"Okay," Cadence replied slowly, bracing herself for a flash of confusion. No pun intended.

"With everything that's been going on around here; with our villains and rivals being able to find us so easily…" Barry shook his head. "I don't think where we're living is safe. And I don't think it's right to keep putting Joe and Iris and Wally and others in danger every time one of them comes close to us. I think it's the right time to…take a new step in our relationship,"—Cadence made a face, unsure of how to respond—"and I think we should move."

Cadence tilted her head. "Who's 'we'?" She asked blankly.

Barry blinked back at her, startled for a moment. "You, me, and Brady." Then he shifted uncomfortably, running a hand through his hair. "I mean, if you want to. I'm not forcing you to or anything. It was jut an idea. It's not like I already have the place picked out. I mean, I sort of do. But you know me, I do everything fast. Not that I've already signed for it, I just looked around, and it's perfect. For us. For all three of us, but I know this may be a little fast and you might want to talk about it more but it was a steal and I can pay a lot of the rent from the money that was left to me from my mom and dad and from dad being wrongly jailed and there's the money _you_ have and…" he finally trailed off. "What do you think?"

Cadence thought the idea was crazy, but after a few days of thinking, talking to Brady and Ryder about it—as it affected the two of them as well—and talking to Tess (who had dragged it out of her after a failed training session where it was obvious something was on her mind), Cadence agreed to the idea and they quickly moved in to the new apartment. A loft sitting at the top floor of the building near STAR Labs, Jitters, the CCPD, and Joe's house. With the fire escape that led from the master bedroom they were able to get in and out at top speed when needed, and go through the front door when trying to be normal for everyone else.

"Not too long ago, actually," Cadence explained, closing the door behind her. "I still have some stuff to unpack." She headed towards the sound of clattering pans and voices. "I'm back!"

"Hi, mom!" Brady called back.

"Hey, Cay," Barry shouted. "How was class?"

"Fine." Cadence waved a hand and motioned for Deity to follow her to the kitchen. "Leah says 'hi' by the way," she said to Brady, ruffling his hair as she passed him.

"Okay." Brady smiled at her and, without looking over his shoulder, tossed a pancake out of the pan he was holding. Barry caught it on an elevated plate. Brady gave Barry a high-five before he smiled at Deity. "Hi Debby," he greeted her.

"Hi, Brady," Deity replied, a little self-consciously. She lifted her chin and gave a soft smile to Barry. "Hi, Barry."

"Hey, Debby!" Barry lowered the plate to the counter and rounded it to give the hybrid a hug. Deity backed away for a second before allowing him to wrap his arms around her. "It's good to see you! Where's Kara?" He looked over her shoulder and caught Cadence's eye as she frantically waved her hand back and forth over her throat. "I mean, uh, Kara who? I don't know any…how did you get…uh…" he pointed over his shoulder as Deity rolled her eyes and smiled. "Dinner's almost ready."

"Okay, great. I was just going to show Debby to her room," Cadence said.

"Is she staying here?" Brady asked. He nodded at Cadence's response of, "Just for a little while."

Barry gave Cadence a curious glance and she mouthed, 'I'll tell you later' in response. He nodded and said, "Okay, we'll have everything ready by the time you're done," Barry said.

Cadence started to turn away but Brady's cry of, "Wait!" caused them all to stop and look at him. Brady regarded Barry with wide, pleading eyes and gestured with the spatula. "Don't you have to ask my mom something?" He rhythmically tapped the spatula against his palm while waiting for Barry's answer.

Cadence raised an eyebrow and looked at her boyfriend, who set his jaw while staring at the young boy. It wasn't the first time it'd happened. When Cadence had explained to Brady how Barry had asked them to move in with him, he'd seemed disappointed and borderline confused by it being that they were moving. Almost as if he were expecting something else. Since then he'd ask, a little too innocently, if Barry had something he needed to ask her.

She was glad they were really getting along, but it was starting to be a little ridiculous.

Barry cleared his throat and scratched his neck saying, "Uh, no. _No._ I don't have anything to ask her, Brady."

"Are you _sure_?" Brady pressed. Impatiently, he waved the spatula back and forth. "It's as good a time as _any_."

"No, Brady, I don't think so," Barry practically growled, making Brady roll his eyes.

"Are you two just going to pretend that I'm not here, or...?" Cadence asked, planting her hands on her hips. She looked back and forth between her son and her boyfriend. "Does someone need to ask me something or not?"

"Hm?" Barry looked at her as if he just noticed she was in the room. He pressed his hand against his mouth, resting his elbow in his other palm. His eyebrows rose, mimicking Cadence's movement, before he dropped his hand. "Oh! Me. Yeah, no, I uh, just wanted to know…"

"Iiiif?" Brady pressed.

"If you figured out what color dress you're wearing to Captain Singh's wedding," Barry said. He started to speak rapidly, moving across the expansive kitchen to grab Brady's shoulder. "Because, you know, we need to match and everything. Or maybe not. Am I supposed to match with you when I'm in the bridal party? Who would've thought Captain Singh would've wanted _me_ in the bridal party? Me, little old Barry Allen." He grabbed Brady's shoulder and started to drag him out of the kitchen. "What a joke, right?"

"Everything okay, bud?" Cadence asked her son.

"Everything's fine," Brady replied, sounding suspiciously like Barry as he kept talking. "Why wouldn't everything be fine? Everything's fine. You worry too much, mom. Geez."

Deity turned to Cadence with a questioning look and Cadence held up her hand. "Don't ask," she said. "Things have been really strange around here lately and those two are the least of my worries. Though Brady's babbling made me realize he might be spending a little _too_ much time with Barry."

"I don't know, I haven't heard an accent from him before," Deity said, shifting her bag over her shoulder.

" _That's_ from spending a lot of time with Ryder."

"His dad?"

"Yeah. I'll introduce you later, I think he may be coming for dinner. Anyway, I'll show you to your room." Cadence left the kitchen, practically skipping as she did so. Deity laughed at her display of energy, it was obvious she enjoyed the new space.

"You don't have to give me a room," Deity said. "I don't want to put anyone out. I can just…sleep on the couch or something."

"You're not putting anyone out, it's a three-bedroom loft," Cadence explained. She waved her hand towards the stairs set by the front door. "Barry's and my room is up there." She pointed down a hallway. "The laundry room is over there. That's Brady's room. And this guest room can be yours for as long as you'll be here," Cadence said. She leaned in and flipped on the lights, stepping back so Deity could go inside.

It was certainly set up as a guest room, Deity noted. Almost like a hotel room, complete with a basket filled with toiletries at the end of the bed. She doubted Barry had much to do with the decorating of it. She looked around for a few moments before nodding. "It's nice. Thank you."

"You're welcome," Cadence said. She lifted a finger. "But I do have some rules."

"Rules?" Deity repeated. Her eyebrows furrowed. "I thought…" Well, she didn't know what to think, really. A free space to live for a while. Some food. Then she could be on her way. She didn't know how long she'd be there, as it was.

"I know you're running from something, something that you're not ready to talk about. I can respect that. But if you're going to stay here, there's going to be a few rules." Cadence quickly rattled out the rules she gave to any of the kids she took from their homes—only when they were in any immediate danger—and waiting to be put into the foster system. (Now that she thought about it, she hadn't heard from Frankie in a little while and needed to catch up with her again). "1) You have do some work around here to earn your keep." Deity's nose wrinkled as if she didn't understand. "Chores," Cadence clarified. "Laundry, dishes, picking up after yourself, cooking. We rotate on what we do…except folding clothes cause Barry hates it, but I hate to actually do them. If you don't know how to do anything I'll teach you."

Deity nodded.

"Two; you have a curfew. No later than 11:30. If you're going to be late I would prefer that you tell me than try to sneak in, but I'll give you until at least 12 if you'll be late. City curfew." Deity opened her mouth to protest but Cadence added with, "Or you'll have to find somewhere else to stay."

Deity closed her mouth and nodded again. "That's fair," she said quietly.

"Good. Dinner will be ready in ten minutes," Cadence said. She was surprised for a moment when Deity moved forward and wrapped her arms around her in a hug.

"Thanks, Cadence," Deity said quietly.

"You're welcome, Debby," Cadence replied, hugging her back. She stepped back and repeated that dinner would be ready soon.

"I don't have to dress for it, do I?" Deity asked with a teasing smile.

Cadence held a blank expression on her face for a moment then said, "Have you been talking to my mom?" She laughed and left the room, leaving Deity's confused expression behind. Barry met her in the kitchen, holding onto two glasses of white wine. Cadence took hers with a grateful smile, started to take a sip, then pulled her head back, eyeing it warily. "You didn't do anything to this did you?"

Barry swallowed his sip and shook his head. "No. Why would I do that?"

"It'd explain a little about why you and Brady have been acting so weird lately," she said.

"It's nothing, Cade, just guy stuff. You were the one who told me that you wanted us to do more things together, right?" He took her hand and led her towards the living room. He placed his glass on the coffee table in front of the couch and lowered himself to the floor. Cadence followed his lead and did the same.

"Yeah, I think I'm starting to regret that," Cadence said. She turned towards him, resting her cheek against her open palm, resting her elbow on the couch and pouted. "I didn't think I'd dislike sharing him so much. I was used to it just being the two of us." She thought for a moment. "Though I'm good without his talking so much."

"I _heard_ that!" Brady shouted from his room, making Barry and Cadence both laugh.

"He heard that," Barry repeated, gesturing back towards the bedrooms.

"I noticed," Cadence said.

"Speaking of 'share'." Barry turned and mimicked her stance, lowering his eyebrows as he stared at her. "What's up with Debby? I thought Kara would be with her, but she hasn't mentioned her at all."

"That's because Kara doesn't know she's here," Cadence explained. "Well, by now she probably does, but Debby didn't tell her why she left. She's avoiding something, I can tell."

"Well, if anyone would…"

"Shut up!" Cadence punched him on the arm.

Barry laughed. He reached out his hand and tapped his fingers against Cadence's, running their fingertips over each other's. Finally, they had time to relax. With Alchemy, Savitar, and the Assassination Bureau running around, and Killer Frost a constant shadow over their lives, it was good to take some time to themselves when they had the chance.

"I'm just saying, she obviously need someone to talk to and it has to be something big or else she would've found someone from her team to go to." Cadence nodded, mulling over Barry's words. How true was it for her own life? There were a lot of things she could tell her friends and everyone in her life, but some things with the Assassination Bureau she was sick even thinking about telling them. The guilt would get to her at some point, she knew that was true. "Or even Kara. So…maybe it has to do with her. Like how Brady—"

"—Had some problems with me?"

"I didn't mean it like that," Barry quickly amended, seeing the hurt that flashed through her eyes. Cadence tried to hide it, but no matter how much Brady apologized for what he said and how much better they were, knowing at one point he thought he hated her was hard to handle. He was justified in how he felt, his best friend was moving away; and he was having a hard time handling it, but all the same it made Cadence's insecurities of being a mother come back to the surface. "But yeah, maybe something like that. And, you know, if there's anything I can do to help, I'm always here. I'm not sure what it is I can do, but at least I can do it fast."

"I know." Cadence reached up and gently brushed his bangs back from his forehead. He gave a goofy smile in response, making her giggle. "You know, you're really sexy when you're caring like that."

Barry smiled modestly. "I know."

Cadence giggled and leaned in, giving him a kiss. Barry brought his hand up and pressed it to Cadence's neck, increasing the passion in the kiss. Cadence closed her eyes and allowed herself to get lost in him, enjoying the way his fingers gently grazed over her skin, mimicking how his lips glided over hers. She pulled back long enough to get some air, smiled, and leaned in again, resting her hands on Barry's forearms. Anything to know he was still there, to know he wasn't going anywhere anytime soon.

"Hey, where are the towels?" Deity asked, floating into the living room. Then she noticed Barry and Cadence's embrace and dropped to the floor saying, "Woops. Sorry. Ruined a moment."

Barry sighed as he pulled back from his girlfriend and looked at Deity over his shoulder. "I live with a ten-year-old boy," Barry said. "There are no moments to ruin."

Cadence laughed. She pushed her hair behind her ears and tilted her head back, saying, "They're in the closet by the bathroom."

"Thanks."

She left the room. Barry was silent for a moment eyes shot open and he whipped around, holding his hand out feebly. "Wait! Debby! Don't!"

Barry and Cadence both jumped at the sound of Deity's startled scream before a loud thumping sound. The two got up and hurried towards the source of the sound. Rounding the corner, they found Deity crouching on the ground with her hands covering her eyes and Ryder standing above her, tightening a knot in the towel that rested low around his waist.

He caught Cadence's eye and shrugged while Barry smiled sheepishly. "Sorry, I forgot that he came here straight after work."

Cadence sighed and did her best not to burst out laughing quickly noticing the irony in Ryder's predicament and Barry's from months before with her mother. "Well, I can't say this is how I wanted you to meet but at least you'll remember," Cadence said. "Ryder, this is our friend Debby. Debby, this is Brady's dad, Ryder."

"Nice to meet you," Deity squeaked, using one hand to continue shielding her eyes, the other to hold out to Ryder.

He chuckled and shook her hand. "You too," he said.

"She's a Kryptonian-Alien Hybrid," Barry said, then added when Ryder didn't react, "You're okay with that?"

"My life has been nothing but a freaking roller coaster since I met her and the rest of y'all," Ryder said, nodding towards Cadence. "Nothing phases me anymore."

Cadence smiled. Their lives were weird, there was never a dull moment, but she was glad she had the chance to stop and enjoy it every once in a while.

* * *

Barry ducked out of the way when Jesse sent rapid-fire punches to his head. Then he attacked when she was the most vulnerable. He had the upper hand, knowing her inexperience was going to be her downfall. When her arm stretched around for a punch, Barry grabbed her arm and kneed her in the stomach. Then he flipped her over his arm and onto the floor, where she landed on the practice mats with a loud _thwack._

"Ah!" Jesse squeezed her eyes shut, the wind knocked out of her. Barry gave her space, waiting for her to catch her breath, and moved to the speed bag that was set up in the corner of the room. With a burst of speed, he continued to punch the bag, the motions blurring in front of him. "Wow, that hurt."

"Sorry." Barry managed a small smile and stopped, pressing his hands to his waist as he fought to catch his breath. "I didn't mean to hit you that hard."

"It wasn't you, it was coming to a stop against the mats," Jesse said. Finally, she sat up and looped her arms around her legs. "If that hurt, I can't imagine what it'd be like to run into Savitar."

"Trust me, you don't want that," Barry said.

He could still feel the cool metal of Savitar's claws against his neck, squeezing tighter and tighter as the seconds passed. Could still see the edges of his vision growing darker as he came close to passing out. Could still feel the ground slam against him every time he was thrown. Savitar's eyes haunted his dreams, the glowing blue that bored into him seconds before he was crushed by the bashing of his fists.

"Barry?" Jesse's question brought Barry to join her on the mat. He sat in front of her and mimicked her stance bringing his arms around his knees. "What's it like? Being the Flash? Being a speedster that saves the city? Just…being a speedster?"

"I think you'd know what it's like to be a speedster," Barry said gently.

Jesse shook her head. "Don't get me wrong, you and Cade have been doing a great job in my training. I hadn't realized how much I needed to learn but…on Earth-2, my dad wouldn't let me do anything. He worried, and his worries turned into him being controlling. He'd only let me take care of small crimes, someone who as trying to rob someone or maybe steal a car. I've stopped a few people from being jerks just by messing with them." She laughed a little, finally smiling. "That's always my favorite part, just messing with people a little bit because of my speed. Making them think that the thing they put down a second ago, they moved."

"I know what you mean," Barry agreed. He thought back to the first few weeks of having his powers. He'd been so excited about his abilities and what he could use them for that he became excited when he was being robbed. And he had used his powers for the same reasons that Jesse had admitted to. He messed around with Cisco and Caitlin a little; moving their mugs a few inches to the left or right when they weren't paying attention. Moving so quickly it seemed that he hadn't even left his chair despite the tell-tale wind that would follow him. "Having these powers…it makes you feel even more alive than you ever felt before. And, you think it's not possible, to be more alive. But when you have the Speed Force in you, you understand what it means to feel every particle in the air and how it can be used with you."

"What about being The Flash?"

"Being The Flash is the icing on top of the cake," Barry said after a minute. "There's a lot I had to learn to be The Flash. I didn't know how to do a lot of my abilities until I put the work in. And having my team behind me, they've helped me along the way. They've gotten me out of more jams than I could ever imagine. And they've helped me grow as a hero." He tapped his fingers against his lips as he thought about it. "Cade's taught me how to be strong and how to stick by my decisions; to see things in gray rather than just black and white, good and evil. Cisco's taught me how to think on my feet and to figure out creative ways to take down the metas we come up against. Caitlin's taught me…" he trailed off.

Caitlin.

Now that she had Killer Frost as a persona when she used her powers, Caitlin was starting to shut down and Barry felt for her. She had powers that could be very helpful. And yet she was afraid to do anything because of the persona she was afraid of coming out. Cadence had said she feels it's just Caitlin's fear that's created Killer Frost and Barry agreed. But how do you convince someone who's afraid of their powers to use them to help?

"Caitlin's taught me that everything isn't as it seems," he said. "That there are real people underneath the villainous masks that were put on and that they have their own lives that we don't know about. It's hard to keep that in mind when doing what we do, but it helps."

Jesse nodded.

"Being able to do all this," Barry gestured around STAR Labs with his hands. "That's nothing compared to knowing that I'd do it even if I didn't have my powers. There was a point last year when I had to give my powers up and even though it was frustrating, I still wanted to help. I can't imagine people getting hurt even if I don't have the ability to help them as fast as I can." He looked Jesse in the eye. "Why do you like having your powers? Is it because of the powers you can show off? Or because you really want to help people with it?"

Jesse thought for a long moment. Then she lowered her gaze and shrugged. "I guess…I don't really know," she admitted. "Sometimes, I think about what Zoom did to me and my dad and…and I want nothing more than to be ready if he comes back, so I can take him down. In the mean time I helped rebuild the city. But…sometimes I just like having the powers."

"And that's fine," Barry said. "But you need to decide whether you want to be a hero, or if you just want to have fun. I'm sure there are plenty of people out here who have powers and use it for fun and for their own gain. But they're also not masquerading as a hero, either."

Jesse nodded. "I get it."

"Good. Practice is over, you can go rest."

Jesse nodded and left the room slower than Barry'd seen her leave in the last couple of days. Typically, she had a bounce in her step and a grin on her face, ready to take on the speed that could take her to Paris and back in a few minutes. And, he couldn't help but notice, the same bursts of speed she'd use to see Wally. They'd certainly grown close since her appearance on their Earth once more. He hoped things worked out well for them and that they could get through any issues having powers could bring. No matter how glamorous it looked, everyone, metas or not, had problems.

And his continued to swirl in his mind, no matter how hard he tried to push them away. Keeping both parts of his life separate was becoming harder than ever before.

"You're really growing into being a leader." Harrison's voice captured Barry's attention, making the speedster whip around to face him. Harrison leaned against the doorway to the room, legs crossed at the ankle, and hands in the pockets of his slacks. "Having to make tough decisions for what's best is always something that'll be hard to grow used to, but you're taking it with style and learning really fast. No pun intended."

Barry smiled.

"The advice you've given Jesse, is probably the same advice I'd given you once upon a time."

"Thanks," Barry replied. He let out a long sigh running a hand through his hair. He looked Harrison in the eyes, suddenly finding him easier to look at. Before, he wouldn't be able to look at Harrison despite how close he'd been able to work with Harry. Harry's demeanor had been so far from the Dr. Wells he knew that it'd been easy to fall in with him. Harrison's having been his Dr. Wells for a while, even if it had been Eobard Thawne the whole time. Their faces and demeanor were the same, and even Harrison wasn't sure where Eobard started and Harrison ended. "Does the uncertainty ever go away? The uncertainty of being a good leader?"

"Well, I think you'd need to ask Caitlin and Cisco that question for me," Harrison said. "Because I think they'd tell you I wasn't a good leader form how hard I rode them and my other cohorts with their work." He shrugged. "Of course, that was all before the Particle Accelerator went online."

"And you still made the decision to turn it on?" Barry asked.

"Oh, no. I could tell that was going to be a disaster. I created it, I knew the numbers that went into it and the outcomes. As far as I knew, it was always going to fail." Harrison held up a finger. "It was Eobard that decided to go along and turn it on. But that's the tricky part of it, isn't it? If he hadn't turned on the Particle Accelerator, you wouldn't have become The Flash until…I'd say…your thirties."

Barry could hardly imagine himself in this timeline with his parents around let alone making it to thirty. He was sure he'd be dead before then. It wasn't an admission he'd given to anyone. A secret he kept to himself.

"But I can't imagine you think that far ahead," Harrison continued, as if reading Barry's mind.

"I could always take a trip through time," Barry joked.

"As far as I know you can only make it into the past and I feel you've learned your lesson with that one." Harrison's smile widened as Barry nodded. "There's a reason Tess and I are leaving STAR Labs to you. There's something about you that reminds everyone that there's always something to hold out for. To believe in. And that, Mr. Allen, is something that can't be taught. It's a good quality of a leader."

"So, it _doesn't_ get easier?"

Harrison smiled, his eyes flashing. "Not that I'm aware of."

Barry smiled back then tilted his head when he heard HR's voice coming over the loudspeakers. " _Test! Test! Fellow STAR Labs employees, your presence in the Cortex would be greatly appreciated_." He rolled his eyes.

Harrison's lips twitched. "I told Tess installing those speakers was a bad idea."

* * *

Deity had no idea why Cadence rushed her to STAR Labs, she'd been having a good time catching up on Earth-1 movies she'd missed, but since she was getting a free bed and breakfast from her, as well as all the other meals, she didn't have much room to argue when the short woman asked her to do something. It still amazed her how both Cadence and Brady were so much taller than her now, last time they'd been about the same height but now Deity had to look down at her friend.

Standing in the Cortex, they were all dressed casually, having been summoned in by HR. At first Deity had thought he was an improvement on the old grumpy model but after spending more than ten minutes with the hyperactive version Deity was starting to miss the old grumpy fart.

She was sat along with Brady and Caitlin behind the main desk in the Cortex with Barry, Cisco, and Cadence standing on the other side with HR.

"You want to open STAR Labs to the public? In two weeks?" Barry asked slowly as he and the entire room frowned at HR, who stood proudly by the mockup that was presented to them on the monitors surrounding the Cortex. It baffled Deity, the whole idea did. Why would you want to advertise where a secret base was? It would be like the D.E.O. operating out of a shopping center, they'd never get any work done. Plus, even more people would notice Team Flash coming and going.

"Soft open. Not a hard open," HR pointed out. "But, you know, I'll use your input. All right? Right now, it's very important 'cause the clock is ticking." He tapped at his wrist before motioning towards the images on screen once more. The ones that read STAR Labs Museum. The ones that made Team Flash stare at the images with open mouths that HR ignored. "My vision is set to include, but not limited to... _bam_!" HR used the remote in his hand to bring up an image of people on Segways. "A personal transportation tour of the facility. Or, for the faint of heart, we have... _pow_!" He hit the remote again and the screen changed to a short video. "A virtual reality alternative. Both set to include particle vision."

"Particle...vision?" Barry said aloud though the whole room was thinking it.

"Particle vision, which is…" HR paused, waiting to see if anyone could guess. No one had any idea. "A moment-to-moment reenactment of the particle accelerator explosion, but seen from the point of view of…"

"A particle," Cisco began to say in dread before HR said it more in enthusiastically over him. For a moment the whole room started at him, waiting to see if he really was serious. When it became apparent that he was in fact serious Deity turned to Cadence with a lowered brow.

"You dragged me away from the couch for this?" she groaned.

Cadence didn't respond. She had a hand clasped over her mouth and turned to exchange a glance with Brady, who looked as baffled as she did.

"Listen, HR, I know you're trying to figure out how you add value to the team, I get it, but this…" Barry said sympathetically before being cut off by HR

"Let me stop you right there, B.A."

"Don't call me B.A…." Barry mumbled.

"I can make STAR Labs the powerhouse in the scientific community that it once was, and, moreover, earn back the people's trust," HR explained while around the room the everyone groaned. Cisco was banging his head against the desk, Caitlin was running her hands down her face, Barry was pinching the bridge of his nose, Cadence had her head titled back as a groan purred from her throat and Brady and Deity shook their heads.

"Look at you guys." HR pouted, placing his hands on his hips. "You just...your faces are so darn gloomy. Here's what we'll do. I'm gonna make you guys a-" Thankfully a loud alarm noise cut HR off as everyone stood to attention.

"Thank God," Brady murmured, earning an elbow in the side from his mother.

"Was that...was that the satellite?" Cisco asked looking to Caitlin who nodded. "I hope that wasn't the satellite," he said as he made his way over to the nearby computer bringing up on the screen what appeared to be a meteor heading for Central City.

"Is that a meteor?" Caitlin asked, tilting her head to the side to study it closer.

"Why, yes, that is a meteor, and yes, it is heading for downtown," Cisco announced after glancing over the screen.

"We got to go," Barry said to Cadence.

"Right behind you," she agreed.

The two quickly got changed and rushed out of the room. Deity and Brady weren't asked to go along so they stayed in STAR Labs. Whatever it was, they would be called if and when they were needed.

"You guys get a lot of meteors crashing around here then?" Deity asked ideally as they watched Barry and Cadence's trackers race towards the impact soon of the meteor. Luckily it was down by the river in a hopefully quite park area and since it wasn't all that big it shouldn't do that much harm to the surrounding area.

"Nope, first one," Brady said as they started at the screen.

"Guys," Barry's voice came through his comm-link a few seconds later. He sounded strange, almost statled by something.

"What is it?" Cisco asked but Barry didn't respond. "Barry, what do you see?"

Still no response.

"Can we see what's going on?" Brady spoke up and after a few clicks from Caitlin one of the monitors showed the nearby security camera's footage.

"This isn't a meteor," Barry said as the footage came into focus and the jaws of everyone in the room dropped. Barry was right it wasn't a meteor, it was space ship and not a friendly looking one at that. "Are you guys seeing this?"

"Yeah, Barry, we're seeing it," Caitlin said, still shocked from the sight.

"Debby, do you recognize this thing?" Cadence asked as she and Barry slowly made their way towards the ship. Deity moved out for behind the desk, walking over to minor to get a closer look but even up close she still could remember seeing anything like this.

"No," Deity said. "I've never seen anything like it."

"Maybe you ought to come down here and—"Cadence began before Barry was suddenly flung off his feet by a bright blast of energy. "Barry!" Cadence ran over to him after he hit the ground.

"What the hell?" Barry asked as he sat up. Cadence knelt beside him, a hand on his shoulder, ready to get them out of the way of an attack if needed.

"So, it's got a forcefield," Cisco said.

"Are you okay, Barry?" Brady asked, frowning in concern.

"Yeah, yeah. I'm good," Barry said. With a _whoosh_ of escaping air, a hatch to the spaceship opened. Deity narrowed her eyes at the screen watching as part of the space ship opened up.

"Guys…" Cadence said slowly seconds before a herd of monsters came running out.

"Oh my God!" Cisco cried in a mix of excitement and horror.

Caitlin gasped, bringing her hand up to cover her mouth. Then she lowered it and shouted Barry's name along with Brady who cried out for his mom. As for Deity she just stared wide eyed at the screen, taking a step back when she realized what was coming out of the ship. Dominators. Just like the one she'd fought on War World. Fighting one she had seen how violent they could be as well as a glimpse at some of the power. But that was one and now there were thirty streaming past her friends, swarming like ants. Even she wasn't sure she could take on that many.

However, that wasn't what was at the forefront of her head. All she could see was the first Dominator she'd met, the one she killed in cold blood. Other aliens she'd killed in the area began to flash through her head again.

Deity cried out, clutching her head wishing it would stop. In the background she faintly heard Barry cry out "Aliens?" Deity collapsed to her knees, now shaking. She'd come here to escape all that pain and the memories but clearly the Gods didn't want her suffering to end.

"Debby. Debby, what's wrong?" Caitlin asked, suddenly by her side.

But Deity couldn't answer, she just brought a hand up over her mouth as she began to whimper, looking up at the screen from the ground. She couldn't stop thinking about how this was potentially her fault, how everything was her fault.

* * *

 _"Government officials are saying the unidentified aircraft that has landed in downtown central city was simply a DOD aircraft in a training operation."_

Joe shook his head as he listened to the reporters crowding around the waterfront. He looked over at Iris, who stood beside him, sunglasses covering her eyes and hands placed in the pockets of her coat. It was starting to get colder outside; the closer Thanksgiving came. And the closer it got to Christmas, the more it seemed that stranger things happened in Central City.

When he'd been called in by Captain Singh to investigate the 'UFO' crash that had been on every news channel, Joe thought it was a joke. But went along with it anyway and finding some of the big wigs of the police, CIA, and the military in the area, he knew it was serious. Iris joined him shortly after he arrived, saying she'd quickly jumped on the story when it was passed around the CCPN office.

It had to be for the same reason Joe thought she was there, because there was a chance it was meta related and they needed to be in the know. "I'm not getting anything," Iris said with a light shake of her head, watching the news reporter that stood at the front of the crime scene. "I've been asking around and these guys are tight-lipped." She pointed with her chin towards the reporter. "She asks more questions than anything else, trying to see what I know."

Joe managed his words around a wheezing laugh, "That's what you want to do, baby," he reminded her.

"I know, but at least I'd have some more tact about it," Iris said. She reached out and shoved her father's arm. "It's not funny. Stop laughing."

"Okay, okay, I'm sorry." Joe lowered his voice to a low murmur. "Do you know if anyone else is saying anything about metas?"

Iris shook her head. "No, they really seem to believe this is something else. I'm not getting a lot from any of the men in black over there either. Barry's been circling the area, he should get back to us with some information, soon." She jumped as there was a blast of air that pushed her hair back from her face and looked over at Barry—dressed in his suit—as he stopped by Lyla Michaels.

Lyla looked around and motioned for Joe and Iris to come over as well. "So, what is it?" Joe asked.

"I saw the crash last night," Barry started, folding his arms. "And—"

"—you saw the crash?" Lyla demanded, her head immediately whipping over towards Barry. Her eyes shifted back and forth, mouth growing tight with tension. "What else did you see?" Her questions came out rapid-fire.

"Enough to give Ridley Scott nightmares," Barry replied. He couldn't get the image out of his head, of the aliens that had towered over him and screamed—or screeched, he wasn't quite sure how to describe the sound. Only that it's been startling him awake nearly every hour he slept since then.

Lyla nodded. She motioned to Joe to move closer. "Meet me at star labs and I'll tell you everything we know." She kept her promise. Once Team Flash were gathered in STAR Labs, she explained the presence that had crashed into Central City was indeed, aliens.

"Aliens?" Cisco asked, unable to keep a bright smile from his face. "Like alien-aliens?" He held up his hands, placing them in front of him then shifted them over. "Or the green ones?"

"Both," Barry muttered.

Deity sighed, bringing a hand up to scratch at her forehead. Then she rubbed her arms before folding them over her chest, trying to shrink in on herself. "They're the dominators," She said.

"She's correct, that's what they've been called since the 50s," Lyla explained.

Joe's eyebrows rose. "That was them?" He asked. "Redman, Oregon, the government tried to cover it up." He then noticed all eyes that were turned his way and made a face of offense. "What? I watch Syfy. I may not understand everything you're telling me, but I enjoy some science-fiction every now and then."

Lyla gave a small smile. "In 1951 they appeared in the same circumstances. A crash of a ship that suddenly entered out atmosphere without warning. We learned they were abducting humans to gather intel about us. They attacked, and hundreds of soldiers lost their lives." She paused for a moment, looking towards her feet in a moment of silence. Then she continued, stronger than before. "Then, for some inexplicable reason, they left. All contact had been lost until three months ago, when the DOD received this."

She pressed a button on the remote she'd been given by Harrison and a distorted, malicious voice started to play from the speakers. The moment the voice started to speak, Deity closed her eyes and tuned away. _"We pose no threat, human inhabitants. Understanding is or purpose, any action against us, as shown to us in the past, will cause retaliation."_ Stunned silence filled the room after the tape played.

"So when we discovered four ships coming to earth, we thought it was happening all over again," Lyla said. "And one of them landed here."

Joe snorted. "Right, like we don't have enough crazy happening here."

"it's a Tuesday," Cadence reminded him with a shrug with a shrug.

Caitlin smile a little before she asked, "Do you know that they want?"

"They've ignored all attempts to communicate," Lyla said, voice tinged with frustration. Clearly it was something they'd been dealing with for a long time. "But they want to gather more intel about us."

"We have to do something," Jesse said.

Barry opened his mouth to say something about a plan but was cut off by Lyla once more. "We are! The UN is in talks to coordinate a response." Her eyes darted around all of the faces that gaped back at her, almost daring them to defy her ruling. "Action is being taken."

"So, wait, what are we supposed to do?" Brady asked, his nose wrinkling in indignation. "You want us to just sit this one out?"

"These things are like World War Z zombies," Barry pleaded to Lyla, not noticing Deity wince at his words. "If they decide to attack, no military can stop them."

"Neither could you," Lyla shot back. "Not by yourself." She ejected the tape from the player and tapped it against her hand before turning off the monitor. "Just let us handle this for now." She looked at Barry for a long moment, making sure he got the message. Barry nodded and looked away from her, unable to keep strong under her intense gaze. "I'll be in touch."

The second Lyla left the Cortex, multiple conversations broke out at once. Deity sucked in a deep breath and turned her back to the group, trying to keep herself together. She sensed Cadence coming up behind her and said, before Cadence could ask if she was okay, "I'll help," she said quietly, though continued to stay turned away from Cadence and the others. "I guess this will make up for the lack of chores so far," Deity said, but the humor didn't quite make it to her voice.

"If you don't want to, you don't have. This isn't your fight," Cadence said reassuringly.

"No. I want to...just..." The girl was at a loss for words suddenly, having finally turned to face Cadence. A step closer in leading to better communication for sure, but Deity kept her eyes down to the floor, refusing to meet Cadence's eyes suddenly.

"It's okay, Debby. You don't have to explain it. I already know the answer." Deity looked up at that and a smile formed on Cadence's face as she stared back into the teenager's brown eyes. "You're a good person," Cadence said with complete and utter certainty. Deity softly smiled back, embarrassed as she brushed some loss hair strands behind her ear.

"We're not going to sit back and do nothing, are we?" Brady demanded, his voice breaking through the churning conversation around the Cortex.

"No," Barry said, simply.

"You heard her," Iris pointed out. "You can't do this alone."

Cadence slowly smirked. "Who ever said we were going to be doing it alone?" She turned to Barry, who smiled back at her and the two bumped fists.

* * *

"Whoa! This place is so huge!" Brady shouted, his voice echoing around while the rest of Team Flash set up the equipment in the hanger that Barry had directed them to.

"Take it easy, bud," Cadence said patting him on the back as she smiled at her son. His excitement was cute, but the way his voice reverberated off the walls was the last thing she wanted to deal with. She thought she got over the mindless screeching when he learned how to talk.

"Please," Deity added as she patted her ears, trying to get her hearing back to normal.

"Sorry," Brady said sheepishly as he averted his gaze from Deity. He ran a hand through his hair and continued to examine the hangar then turned to Barry with a questioning look. How much more stuff did he have that he wasn't telling anyone? If he got a car from his parents' inheritance, he'd dibs it first.

"Cadence!"

"Oh, jeez," Deity groaned as she wrapped her hands around her ears again.

Cadence looked over as her name was called and grinned when she spotted Thea Queen walking her way, the lapels of her red peacoat fluttering behind her. "Hey, Thea!" Cadence trotted over and threw her arms around the younger girl, rocking back and forth. "It's good to see you. Good to see Oliver hasn't gotten you killed."

"By now, that's the least of my worries," Thea joked back. Then she turned to Brady and grinned. "Look at you, Brady. Getting bigger every time I see you," Thea said as she looked the boy up and down.

"It's nice to see you too, Thea," Brady said with a smile and blush at her praise.

Then Thea spotted Deity and her eyes lit up mischievously. "And who's this? Your girlfriend?" She teased.

Brady's eyes shot wide open then lowered. "No, she's not my girlfriend," he muttered. Cadence smirked and immediately wiped it off when Brady turned to looked at her. Thea, on the other hand couldn't hide hers and looked to Cadence, who shook her head and waved her hand across her throat. The corner of Barry's lips turned up, but he stayed silent.

"Alright," Thea drawled, still smirking. "So. If you're not Brady's first girlfriend, then who are you?"

"Debby Danvers," Deity said, folding her arms while she flashed a friendly smile.

"Thea." Thea held her hand out to her. Deity watched her for a long moment before reaching out and shaking her hand. "Thea Queen." She lowered her hand and tilted her head back to look around. "So, what is this place?"

Barry led the group outside, answering as he went. "It's this old hall hangar thing that STAR Labs owns." He paused. "Or I guess _I_ own it." It was hard to explain, technically STAR Labs had been left in his name by Harrison and Tess but considering they were still alive…and he still believed Cadence, who was their birth child, may as well be the one to take it over despite her insisting she had no idea what to do with it. Then he noticed Felicity Soak and John Diggle standing outside and hurried toward them.

"Well, you should do something with it," Thea suggested.

"Could I use it as a club house?" Brady asked eagerly.

"Now that's a good idea," Deity agreed as the group grinned to one another before stopping next to Cisco.

"What would you do with it?" Cadence asked him.

Brady shrugged. "Use it for paintball? At least put a fire pole in."

"All right, so let me get this right," John Diggle said as he folded his arms, scanning the sky. Since he'd been plucked from Star City his annoyance at Barry's having made him nauseous once more had lessened once their mission had been explained. Now he waited patiently with the others. "Our time-traveling buddies in a flying time ship are supposed to just pop up right here, right?"

"Yeah," Felicity Smoak said slowly. "This is the time and place I gave them, so if they got my message, they should be here…" She trailed off, scanning the sky. Then a smile pulled at her pink lips when she noticed a space ship break through the skyline and aim right for them. "Right now!"

"You know why I've never done drugs?" Diggle stated, watching as the spaceship arched towards the ground. "It's 'cause I was always afraid I'd see weird stuff."

"And how's that working out for you?" Cadence asked with a smirk. Diggle smiled back, shaking his head. "There's so much weird crap we've seen so far that this should be the least of your worries. Honestly, I'm more concerned about whether or not I'd wake up spontaneously combusting than anything else."

"So am I," Barry murmured. He cleared his throat and said, "Okay, take everybody inside, all right? Tell Oliver I'll be right back," Barry said to Cadence and Felicity.

"Where are you going?" Felicity asked while Cadence nodded.

"Well, since we're fighting aliens, I figured we should get one of our own, right? Or another one rather," Barry said with a grin before looking over to Deity who turned away. "You sure you don't want to come?" Barry gently asked her.

"I'm good." With that, Deity turned on her heel and walked back towards the hangar, slowing as she passed the space ship.

"And who's that?" Felicity asked, watching her go. She leaned over to watch the teen girl, eyebrows raised and eyes alight with curiosity.

"We'll explain later," Cadence said waving off the question.

Barry's eyes shifted back and forth as he watched Deity before turning to her to ask, "You going to stay as well?"

Cadence tilted her head back towards Deity. "Yeah. I want to keep an eye on her. Make sure she's okay." Besides what difference did it make if she went to Earth-38 to get Kara? Chances were she'd either be crushed by a super strength hug simultaneously for a greeting and as a thanks for watching her daughter, or get potentially sucker punched for not saying anything about her being there.

Either way, her bones could take a little longer before the need for her healing powers to kick in.

"Well, in the meantime, you and Felicity can—" he paused, seeing the annoyed expression cross Cadence's face. "What?" He asked, suddenly getting the feeling he was missing something. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing, just you're putting a lot of faith into two people who hate each other," she said.

Barry blinked in surprise. Felicity and Cadence hating each other? When did that happen? He figured it had something to do with Flashpoint, but had to ask just in case. "Since when…?"

Cadence looked at him indignantly. "Since the only thing that can get between two girls got between them. A boy." Barry continued to look at her and she said, "Conner, got between us. Remember? At the farm house when we were stopping Vandal Savage?"

Right, Barry remembered that. That was something that'd happened before Flashpoint, but the time traveling must've mad the minor disagreement that much worse. Barry sighed. Was there anything that Flashpoint was going to get _right?_

"Alright, I'll see you soon then," Barry said as he kissed Cadence on the cheek before turning back to Cisco. She watched the two leave through a breach Cisco opened and went to go back into the hangar.

Deity was sitting on a crate alone while the others did various things. The remaining members of Team Flash were working on finishing off the equipment and Team Legends were catching up with Team Arrow. Deity sighed, letting her head drop onto her hands as she waited for her mother to show up. She still wasn't ready for to be reunited with her mother. She couldn't tell Kara what she'd done, how she'd broken their one rule. When she started to picture War World again she started to shake her head, desperate not to relive those horrible days.

She looked up noticing that no one was watching her. Her tachyon device was back at S.T.A.R. Labs, Cisco had insisted that he upgrade them upon getting his hands on them. But they were still working as far as she knew. She could back, grab them and run off again. She just wanted more time to work things out, was that so bad? Telling herself Kara would understand, Deity swung around on the crate. She hopped off and was about to super speed out when a hand clamped down around her shoulder.

"Not so fast." Deity cringed and turned back around to find Cadence behind her. She could see no one else was looking there way, not even Brady who seemed to be chatting with HR.

"I was just-"

"Yeah, yeah, whatever," Cadence snapped before pointing to the crate. "Sit," she ordered. Deity lowered her head and sat back down, huffing before she looked back up at Cadence. "Alright, serious chat time. What's going on? You told me you were stabbed in back by these Hybrids and thrown into this War World. Then you got away and went back and nearly killed one of the Hybrids. But Kara already knows that, so what else has you so scared of her knowing?" Cadence asked, watching the girl carefully. She was hesitant to speak, looking everywhere but Cadence's eyes or towards anyone else. Cadence waited patiently, not wanting to push the girl too hard and eventually she looked up, ready to speak.

"I…I…" Another long pause as she rubbed her nose with the back of her hand, tears beginning to well up. "I killed people," she said quietly. For a moment Cadence was taken aback. She thought she'd misheard at first but after a minute she realized it was real.

Thinking back on her own experiences, Cadence quickly knew how harrowing it could be. Especially at that age.

Cadence's head suddenly shifted to the side, as if an invisible hand had grabbed it and turned it aside. At the same time, a flash of Breathtaker and Mindboggler entered her head. Searing pain shot across her brain, making her cringe, making her muscle tense up. As soon as it came, it passed, allowing her to release her grasp once more with a gentle gasp. Again. It'd happened again.

What was happening?

Cadence glanced at Deity, and was surprised to see she still was looking at Cadence, as if she hadn't moved at all.

She kept her cool. Deity hadn't noticed…if it happened at all. Luckily, Cadence managed to keep her cool, at least in front of Deity, and took a silent inhale through her nose before thinking over what she could say. There was only so much she could say without going into too many specifics. She's never told her friends how many people she killed and would never do it, the number would probably make them look at her differently. As people said, ignorance was bliss and this was certainly one of those times.

"Okay," Cadence breathed out, lowering her chin. "That a big thing," she said honestly.

"Yeah," Deity agreed quietly before feeling Cadence's hands on her shoulders. She looked up into the woman's caring green eyes and sudden was overcome with a feeling she hadn't felt since she last looked into Kara's eyes. The feeling of hope, that somehow everything would work out and that all she had to do was believe. Strange how the feeling made her miss Kara even more than she already did.

"But I know your mom, Debby. She won't blame you, just like Barry and Cisco and Caitlin don't blame me for what I had to do to survive. Now, I don't know all the facts, but I do know you're a good person. I know it's hard to tell where you are right now, but I promise, you're going to get through this. You just need some help," Cadence said with a smile which Deity softly returned.

"Good thing I have you then," Deity said softly.

"Yeah," Cadence agreed. "But Kara needs you, too. So. you're staying right here and saying hello when she shows," Cadence said sternly as Deity's face and head dropped.

"Fine," Deity said quietly.

"Hey. I know if Brady pulled what you're pulling right now I'd be going out of my mind and on a rampage. I can only imagine Kara's going through the same thing," Cadence added a little more angrily.

Deity could understand why, it was a stupid thing to do, she knew that. But she just couldn't do it, not when running away was so easy. However, she knew that if she did try Cadence would stop her. So she sat quietly with Cadence standing and waited.

Cadence's gaze swept over the newcomers. Brady had already gone to greet Professor Stein, now speaking to him rapidly about…something, Cadence couldn't quite hear. Sara, whom she barely remembered from a few meetings when they were young, Jax, and Ray were there as well. Cadence felt her muscles tense, felt the hair on the back of her neck stand up, recognized the tell-tale sign she was being watched.

That only left…

"Hey Princess."

Cadence cringed at the low, gravelly voice, damaged from years of smoking and turned around to find Mick smiling at her. Or leering, she wasn't quite sure. Nor did she put it past him. Deity inched closer to the two, looking around all the newcomers, as if unsure of what to do.

"Mick," Cadence replied shortly.

Mick smirked and held open his arms, waiting for her to walk into his embrace. "What? No kiss 'hello'? Figured you owed me something from helping save you last time."

Cadence slowly smiled.

"Okay, so we've got Team Flash here, Team Arrow is here, Team Legends, and Debby," Felicity said, taking count of everyone in the hangar, oblivious to the tension mounting between the wo fire bearers. She paused and looked over Sara, Jax, Ray, and Professor Stein. "Aren't we…I'm sorry, aren't there more of you?"

"Nate and Amaya are watching the Wave Runner," Sara explained. She held up her hand and added, "The Newbies," as if it explained everything.

"I think that's everyone, right?" Felicity asked, coming to a stop between HR and Caitlin.

They looked to each other and nodded. "I think so," HR concurred.

"Actually, Mick, there's something I wanted to give you," Cadence said. Mick's eyes lit up and he took a step closer to her, practically salivating as he looked her up and down.

"Cade?" Deity asked.

A swirling vortex opened in the hangar of which Barry, Cisco, and Kara—dressed in her Supergirl uniform—leapt through. At that moment, Cadence snapped up her foot and caught Mick between the legs. Uttering a groan, he bent down to clasp his groin, giving Cadence the chance to sucker-punch him in the side of the head where he fell over with a resounding thud.

"Whoa!" Brady cried, eyes growing wide.

"For real?" Barry and Cisco chorused.

"Is he alright?" Kara asked.

"I'm sure Mick deserved it," Sara said dismissively.

Cadence turned to the others with a sweet smile and said pleasantly, "I was just saying 'hello'." Then she noticed Kara and started to say something then stopped, noticing her eyes on were on her. With her enhanced speed, Kara streaked across the hangar towards her daughter.

"Don't ever do something like that again, you hear me?" Kara said to Deity, enveloping he in a tight hug, resting her head against hers daughter's.

Deity clung to her mother, resting her cheek against her. "I'm sorry…I-I-"

"It doesn't matter," Kara cut in, squeezing her daughter as tightly as she could. "All that matters is that your safe and your you and that I'll always be there for you no matter what. You know that right?"

"Mom," Deity whispered as she hurried her face in Kara's shoulder, tears starting to flow as Kara kissed her forehead.

Cadence who had teleported out of the harm's way, landed next to Barry and Cisco. "How'd it go?" She asked Barry.

"Getting her here was easy," he said. "She was ready to go. It was the traveling back that was kind of hard."

" _You_ try opening multiple breaches only within minutes of each other," Cisco shot back. He ran a hand through his hair, wiping sweat from his forehead. "A guy gets tired, you know."

"We filled her in on everything that was going on here while we traveled through," Barry continued, ignoring Cisco's jab the best he could though Cadence could see the pain flash in his eyes. "But…she really wants to know what's going on with Debby."

"Hopefully now that she's here, Debby will tell her," Cadence said. "But, honestly, I won't hold my breath about it." She paused for a moment. "I want to tell you, but I'd need to get Debby's 'okay' first." She hoped with the way she looked at him that he understood.

With a blink of his eyes she knew he did. "No, yeah, I understand."

"Are we going to do this briefing or what?" Cisco demanded. "We can't all do everything fast, you know."

"Cisco, knock it off," Cadence said sharply. "Now's not the time." Whether Barry was her boyfriend or not, Cisco's attitude was really starting to get on her nerves. He'd apologized a hundred times about Flashpoint nd explained why he did what he did. She couldn't understand why Cisco was so adamant on holding a grudge for so long. There were much more important things to worry about.

"But we have the time for a family reunion, right?" Cisco asked, lifting an eyebrow.

Now wasn't the time for the conversation. As it was, she could tell Kara's reunion wasn't exactly what she hoped. Her smile was waning, excitement ebbing away as she tried to talk to her daughter, who wasn't talking to her. The hangar was spacious enough so that even their low voices could be heard.

"But why'd you come here? I don't understand," Kara said quietly though her voice still carried around the room like the low hum of a machine.

"Not now," Deity mumbled in reply now avoiding Kara's eyes just as she had with Cadence.

"But—"

"Just drop it," Deity almost snapped before taking a breath. "Please."

"Debby—" Kara tried again only for someone else to interrupt her.

"—Barry, I thought you were bringing us an alien!" Oliver Queen's dominant voice broke in. Barry cringed and turned to his friend and mentor, who stood with his arms crossed, eyeing Barry with a serious stare that held an air of impatience. It was time to get down to business.

"Yeah, uh, we did," Barry said. "Everyone, this is our friend Kara and Debby Danvers. Or as they're known on their Earth, Supergirl and Deity." Kara turned away from Deity and flashed a smile, bashfully clasping her hands together in front of her, rejuvenated from seeing her daughter again. Deity lifted a hand in a wave.

"What makes her so super?" Jax asked, voice laden with as much suspicion as the gaze that roved over her. Everyone other than Supergirl and Deity had been people that had been part of each other's lives for years in some capacity. With the Dominators and now these newcomers…it proved there was more than met the eye for vigilantes and heroes alike.

Barry held up a hand and Kara and Deity floated into the air. With narrowed eyes, they used their heat vision to carve the Kryptonian symbol of their house crest—and S—and the 'D' on the front of Deity's suit into the floor. The flames flickered and smoldered away as the seconds passed.

"I'm convinced," Diggle said, voice low with an air of awe.

Brady snorted. "It's not like she's the only one who can fly."

"Or shoot heat vision from their eyes," Cadence agreed.

"Can you do it at the same time?" Thea asked.

Cadence and Brady both shared identical pouts, making the others laugh. Kara then walked up to the groups of teams, clearing her throat. "Okay, I got a crash course along the way, I think I got this." She pointed at Oliver. "Oliver."

"Green Arrow," he explained.

Kara nodded and rattled off the names of all the others she hadn't met before with them giving their superhero names in response. "Diggle. Thea. Okay, and…Sara. Jax and Professor Stein. Ray. Mick...?" She looked around for him and Cadence pointed to the floor, where he had uncurled from a ball and let out and groaned a response, hands still clutching the front of his stained jeans. Kara nodded and stepped over him, hurrying to the others and said with a flourish. "And, Iris, Caitlin, Felicity, Cisco and Harry!"

"HR," Team Flash chorused.

Kara's eyebrows came together in confusion then shook it off, pointing at Caitlin. "And you have cold powers but you can't…use them?"

Caitlin shook her head, pressing her lips together. Cadence felt her heart hurt, watching her best friend, seconds before their eyes met. How much longer could they pretend that their friendship was going to be tested if and when Caitlin turned back into Killer Frost. A much as Cadence could boast about putting feelings aside to kill someone, when it all came down to it, she was unsure if she could do it to a friend she loved so much.

"It's a long story," Caitlin finally said, sounding as if she hadn't slept in days.

"Wait a second." Iris moved forward and grasped Barry's arm tightly. Her brown eyes searched his, wide with wonder asked she asked, "So, Barry, _Oliver's_ the Green Arrow?" She asked.

"Yeah." Barry started to grin, feeling pride for knowing his friend's identity.

"Oh my God, he just got so much hotter," Iris murmured, her eyes shifting over to Star City's vigilante, who smiled and chuckled at the praise. She turned and whacked Barry hard on the arm. "Why didn't you tell me? I can't believe you knew Oliver Queen and I didn't, but to know he's the Green Arrow, too? What else haven't you told me?"

"Oh my God," Barry whispered, tilting his head back to look at the ceiling. Beside him, Cadence snickered and Barry glared at her.

She quickly defended herself. "What? I didn't say anything. And you know I'd _never_ date Oliver." She nudged his arm. "I chose you, didn't I?"

"For better or worse," Brady added and smiled innocently when Barry then glared at him.

"Barry, we should get started!" Oliver's voice brought their attention to back to the task at hand.

Barry cleared his throat and nodded. Standing in front of all his friends from the last couple of years, Barry explained what he and Cadence had seen when they went to inspect the spaceship that had crashed into Central City and the creatures that had come out of it. Kara quickly chimed in with her own explanation.

"They're called Dominators," she said, nostrils flaring at the mere mention of the aliens. "They're really strong. I've heard a lot of stories about them when I was a kid. They came to my planet when before I was born and experimented on a lot of people, killed a lot more…"

Cadence heard Brady let out a low gasping sound then lowered his gaze, lest anyone heard him. Cadence looked down at him and he looked back at her. It took a second for it to flash through her head. She had a feeling—which was corroborated by his nod—they were thinking the same thing.

Oliver, on the other hand, came up with a plan the second he heard Kara's story. "We should use Kara and Deity as stand-ins for training," Oliver suggested.

"Since when is Robin Hood calling the shots?" Mick drawled, earning Oliver's ire.

Jax quickly stepped in before a fight could break out before the two muscled heroes. "What I think Mick is trying to say is it would be nice to know who's in charge here," Jax suggested.

"Maybe we should take a vote?" Ray suggested, earnestly throwing his hand into the air. "Choose a leader of someone who we all trust."

"Well, I trust Oliver," Cisco said, pointedly looking away from Barry. "He's got my vote."

Stung, Barry lowered his head. He knew Cisco was mad at him and had been since he vibed him, direct from coming back from Flashpoint. He'd wanted to confront Cisco about it, but never found the right time. Seemed like there was something going on every week. Not to mention Julian continuously watching him while at work. He made a mental note to visit Julian in this hospital once everything with the Dominators ended.

Oliver noticed Barry's hurt expression and took a moment before saying, "Well, Barry's the one that brought all of us here. I think it should be him." Barry looked to him in confusion and Oliver nodded back, subtly pushing him to take on the leadership role.

 _"You're really growing into being a leader." Harrison's voice captured Barry's attention, making the speedster whip around to face him. Harrison leaned against the doorway to the room, legs crossed at the ankle, and hands in the pockets of his slacks. "Having to make tough decisions for what's best is always something that'll be hard to grow used to, but you're taking it with style and learning really fast. No pun intended."_

Blinking in surprise, Barry lifted a hand to the back of his head and rubbed it nervously. "Okay. Well, uh…" He looked around at all of the faces looking back at him. Waiting for direction. "As Team Leader, I guess the first thing we should do is um, we should, uh—"

"Do a test run," Oliver murmured, loud enough for Barry to hear.

"Yeah, do a test run," Barry agreed.

"Against Supergirl and Deity," Oliver murmured again.

"Against Supergirl. And Deity. Yeah, do a test run against Supergirl and Deity."

"Are we just supposed to pretend we don't hear him?" Sara asked, voice dripping with sarcasm as she motioned between Oliver and Barry.

"Okay, so everyone suit up! And look alive! Okay? We're going to fight aliens by fighting aliens, so…?" He waited for them to move before grasping Cadence, Kara, and Deity's attention, bringing them over to Oliver. "Wait, uh, really quick. I was excited about you guys meeting. Oliver was the first person to train me."

"Until I got my hands on him anyway," Cadence teased.

"Really?" Kara asked, her positivity unflappable. Deity on the other hand, eyed Oliver closely. "Well, you did a really good job training him." If Kara expected to get a smile in response, she didn't find it.

Instead, Oliver took a second before saying, "That's because I didn't hold back." He nodded towards Barry with an almost sadistic gleam in his eye. "I shot him. You can't hold back either."

"He did shoot me," Barry confirmed. And he would never forget it. His back still ached when it rained and even after a thorough head to toe examination, Caitlin said there wasn't any residual scar tissue, and suggested the pain was psychosomatic. There was nothing psychosomatic about being shot by an arrow.

Kara and Deity both winced in surprise. Kara chewed her lower lip and said, eyes wide, "Ouch. Okay, um…" She and Deity exchanged glances. "Are you sure about that?" A nervous laugh escaped her lips. "I just met these people."

"These people need to understand this isn't going to be easy," Oliver explained, his eyes boring into hers. "Don't hold back. Especially against me."

"Y-yes, sir," Kara said.

Deity frowned. "No. I'm not doing it." Oliver's glare shifted over to the teenager, clearly not liking her tone. "I'll help you fight the Dominators but I'm not fighting these people," Deity said gesturing off to the room.

Oliver gave her the same look he gave Kara and said, "It wasn't a question."

"You're not the boss of me," Deity bit back harshly as she stepped towards Oliver, her eyes flashing with anger. Barry and Kara exchanged worried looks while Cadence watched passively. "You can't force me to fight them. Besides what good's it going to do?"

"If you want to help then you'll do what your told," Oliver said matching Deity's glare.

"I'm not a child," Deity growled.

"Then stop acting like one," Oliver snapped back.

Deity clenched her jaw before continuing stubbornly. "I'm not fighting anyone but the dominators." She couldn't risk training with these people, not in the way Oliver wanted to. What if she got another flash back to War World? What if she hurt someone. She wasn't in the right place of mind to be doing something like this. She could tear half these people limb from limb before they even knew what was going on. She wouldn't do it, she wouldn't fight the people she was supposed to be helping.

"Fine," Oliver conceded. "But you stay out of our way," he warned as he leaned over the girl. With that the two went their separate ways, while Barry, Cadence and Kara watched.

"Great start…" Barry murmured.

"Well, think of it this way," Cadence said, patting him on the shoulder. "He didn't shoot her."

"Wow." Kara whistled. She took a step closer to Barry, giving him a curious look. "Does he not like me?"

"No, he's like that with everyone. He'll warm up to you." Barry looked at Brady in confusion, who had started laughing hysterically. "What's so funny?"

"My mom…Oliver," he managed to say between his laughter. Finally, he pointed at Barry and said, "You're dating Oliver!" Before laughing hysterically once more.

"I'm not _that_ bad," Cadence defended herself. "I mean, sure, we've both _killed_ people,"—she said it as calmly as if she were to mention it was sunny outside—"But you're acting like my looks could kill someone."

Barry lifted an eyebrow. "Have you _seen_ some of the look s you give?" He looked around the hangar, feeling trepidation slowly fill his stomach. Everyone he knew, hero and vigilante alike was together, was one team. And he was the leader of that team.

He just hoped he was ready for it.

* * *

 **A/N:** Well, that really was a long one. But I hope you guys enjoyed it. You'll see the rest in part two of the Invasion crossover! I know a lot of this was pep talks with each other but that means that the next one is filled with action and fights. And the pep talks were needed because it's revealed some things that needed to be revealed. There's going to be a lot of characters in these two chapters so POVs will switch to give some indication in what's going on with them in their own shows.

Please remember to review; any feedback helps me become a better writer and motivates me to write more. I respond to every review, even anonymous ones.

 **Cheers,**

 **-Riley**

 **Review Replies**

 **Ethan:** Well, now you know that he didn't propose. I think it would've been a bit too soon for that. Besides, I have some more things to do before then.

 **DarkHelm145:** I pride myself on making sure emotions are able to be felt by those who read, so if I don't feel something when I write it, it's not strong enough. Emotional scenes are the ones I do my most editing on.

 **highlander348:** There's a lot that can be said about why Caitlin is Killer Frost and I just hope my interpretation is as good as any that others can come up with.

 **WinterRain36:** KillerFlareFlashVibe (my name for the four of them together), do have some great friendship scenes, but I really do like their fight scenes as well. Plenty of stuff that can go on there.

 **Guest 1:** Thank you so much. Glad it worked out well.

 **Guest 2:** I'll definitely be doing more of Killer Frost. vs. Flare. It was fun to write.

 **spinquin142:** Savitar won't take too long ot be figured out in the story. It was done way too long in the show and I'm going to try my hardest to avoid it.


	12. Guilt (2)

**12**

 _Guilt_

* * *

Barry ran his hands over his face as he watched the group of his teammates and friends converse with each other in the few minutes they had before suiting up. Doubt rocked his guts more than he thought it could. Not just due to the threat of the Dominators, but of everything. Savitar and Alchemy. Flashpoint. His personal life, everything.

Now he was to lead an entire rag-tag team of misfits straight out of a John Hughes movie to fight against them and save the world from…whatever their plan was? The lack of information of what the Dominators wanted was throwing him off. Typically, their enemies bragged about what they wanted, their past lives proved their present endeavors. A common want of revenge against Harrison and STAR Labs. Take your pick.

But this plan, no, this plan had the possibility to be costly. It was like Oliver had said years before, they weren't taking things seriously; they had cute nicknames for everyone and made fun of those who's powers ended up being a bit wimpy. Such as Shade, whom they had imprisoned in the Pipeline. He whined and complained every time they brought him food, and worked hard to make him more comfortable. Otherwise they didn't get much out of him. Barry knew they had to let him go but…the re was too much risk behind it now, with the identities of his friends being known to him, knowing he wanted revenge against The Flash for a reason he couldn't fathom. The last thing he needed was to turn his back and receive a fist punching through him.

Slowly, Barry started to stretch his arms, continuing to watch everyone get suited and booted, ready to go. He let out a long sigh. Ray had told him about Snart. How he had sacrificed himself for his team and for the mission they had been on. Barry listened quietly, nodding throughout the story. Snart had died a hero, a legend, for what he had done. The realization had hit him then, that there was a chance they would lose people that night. It was what ultimately made him decide to leave Jesse behind. She'd started to protest, itching to get into a fight and help, but Barry quickly wore her down reminding her that he needed someone to watch Central City in the case that something happened to him.

Jesse grew pensive at that, nodding quietly before slumping back into her seat. He was sure she was watching and waiting for her time to help back at STAR Labs if she weren't fielding a constant barrage of questions from HR about her Earth and what 'her' Harrison was like. Intuitively, Barry knew the reason Jesse was throwing herself into everything was due to how much she missed her father and could commiserate. Nearly everything he did now his parents were the first that came to mind.

What would they think?

What would they do in the situation?

What words of advice would his father give before he went into battle?

What words of comfort would his mother give if he failed?

As much as failure wasn't an option, Barry knew he had to be prepared for it. Because, if things did end up going south, there was truly no one to blame but himself.

Barry turned his gaze upwards. He wasn't quite sure if he believed in there being a higher being out there, but he pleaded to someone as he said, "If anyone's looking out for me…please let me know if this gets easier."

* * *

Across the floor of the hangar, Cisco sat behind a computer, starting up the machines that would keep track of all of equipment needed to track of the vitals of all the metas and vigilantes that were going to be fighting. On another computer that he consistently turned his attention to and from, he watched the satellite scan the areas around Earth as well as Central and Star Cities. Nothing.

Beside him, he could see Felicity watching him out of the corner of his eye, tilting her head to study him. Cisco's lips pursed as he murmured, "You don't need to Vibe to know you're watching me," Cisco murmured.

"Just like you don't need to vibe to notice that things are a little tense," Felicity replied, bringing up her fingers to delicately shift her glasses up her nose.

Cisco snorted, keeping his eyes on the computer screen. His grasp tightened against his computer mouse, making the plastic housing make cracking sounds in warning against het pressure exuded on its body. "Is it against the law to be mad at Barry?" He shook his head, lowering his voice to a darker level. "Guess what, he screws up just like the rest of us."

"Yeah, and when he does, he feels bad like the rest of us, too."

"Felicity, he took it up on himself to change the timeline," Cisco said, pressing his lips together in a thing line, drawing his eyebrows down his forehead. "And because of it, a lot of things around here changed. With Savitar and Alchemy and Caitlin…"

"That can't be the only thing that's bothering you about it—"

"There's no amount of feeling bad that's going to make up for what he did," Cisco interrupted.

Felicity continued to watch him for a long moment before quietly venturing. "What did he do? He went and created Flashpoint and he came back, trying to fix things." She sat up straight, eyes widening when she realized what the problem was. "You're not upset because Barry _created_ Flashpoint, you're upset because of something he did over there. What'd he do, Cisco? What happened?"

"Maybe he doesn't want to tell you what happened, Felicity," Cadence remarked as she walked over, pulling her fingerless gloves up over her hands. She wiggled her fingers at the end before clenching her hand into a fist, making sure they fit tightly. "God forbid, for once you want to stay _out_ of someone's business."

Cisco leaned back in his seat, suddenly feeling the air around him increase in temperature. He glanced at Cadence and Felicity before reaching up to pull his collar aside, suddenly feeling very stuffy. "Is it hot in here or is it just you?" He held up his hand and backed away from Cadence and Felicity, who all but glared at each other. "I'm not going to be in the middle of this."

"You're not in the middle of anything, Cisco," Felicity said, her voice growing low with irritation. "Because we can be professional and still work together when it comes to saving the world again. Right?"

The corner of Cadence's lips turned up, but she didn't respond to the taunt. Instead, she turned to Cisco and said, "There's a meeting before we start to practice. They want to tell us something."

Cisco's eyebrows came together in confusion, but he nodded in agreement, standing up to follow them. He moved out of the way so that Felicity could move through him first—he certainly didn't want to be in the way of two fighting women and followed the group that gathered in the center of the hangar. Cisco fell in-step with Cadence and lowered his voice to say, "Thanks. I really didn't want to talk about that right now."

"Oh, I didn't do it for you, Cisco, I did it to piss Felicity off," Cadence admitted. "Call me petty all you want, but sometimes there are people you just don't get along with no matter how much of the world is at stake." She adjusted her goggles around her neck and added, "I would've done it even if we were on the same team."

Cisco let out a huge sigh of exasperation. He had been telling the truth when he blurted it out, that he, Caitlin, and Barry weren't sure if Cadence was fit to be on the team. It was back when they started; when fighting metas was a fun game they played and kept part of their secret lives. Before everything became so serious that there was a risk of death every time they stepped out the door of their apartments. He didn't know Cadence from any other meta they'd come across other than the fact that she had more energy and personality than any person he'd ever met; her admission she was a cheerleader in school was the best explanation.

Still, they hadn't known her and what she was capable of and in the end, their hesitation was proven right when it was revealed she was being brainwashed and controlled by the Assassination Bureau. But he had been hurt and scared for Caitlin the moment, scared something bad was going to happen to her, that they'd try to kill her if the time came as she was working through her Killer Frost persona. There was nothing in Cadence's words that reassured him nothing was going to happen to her.

In as many as a few conversations he'd managed to piss off one of his best friends and couldn't stand the sight of the other. It wasn't the ideal situation to go into when they needed to save the world but if they could push those things aside and work on fighting the Dominators then things would be hunky dory.

 _As hunky dory as Independence Day,_ Cisco thought. He came to a stop with everyone else, folding his arms over his chest as Oliver stood alongside Barry, bow in hand. Kara hovered aside, dressed in her suit. Cisco smelled Caitlin moving up to his side before he saw her, the light scent of coconut filling the air. Frosted Coconut if he were being specific. Sometimes she went a little too far with the whole 'ice' theme, even before they knew she was a meta.

Cisco glanced up at her and Caitlin gave a gentle smile back at him. He didn't know how she knew, but she knew there was something worrying him that only her comfort could fix. She'd always been able to do that, her own superpower, to know when Cisco needed time to be alone and when all that would help him was a comforting, warm smile. Killer Frost may have been Caitlin's icy alter-ego, but Caitlin Snow was the warmest person he knew.

Cisco smiled back at her before facing forward once more, sweat suddenly coming to his hands as it did of late when he was around her. How much longer would it be until she lost control of her powers and was taken away form him? Them? That had been the part that angered him the most, that caused his outburst in the Cortex. He knew there was a chance, a real possible chance, they'd need to take her down if Killer Frost ever became a thing again.

With a quiet sob, sadness washing over him, Cisco shifted his gaze to Barry, who stood in his suit, cowl down around his neck, face etched in an expression of determination. Cisco was mad at Barry. But he also was very impressed by Barry and looked up to him. He made tough decisions every day and took the blame when things fell apart.

Cisco wasn't a hero, he was still learning how to control his own powers at the best of times.

Barry was a hero.s

And as mad as Cisco was at him, he was the hero they needed right now.

"This is going to be the toughest fight we'll have to face," Barry said once all eyes were on him. He slowly looked around to each of the heroes in front of him. "We may even lose some people going against these Dominators. But we're not going to let them come to Earth without a fight. We've come from different cities and dimensions to take down these aliens and we'll have to give it everything we've got. I know not a lot of you look up to me to lead this thing, but I have faith in all of you that we can do this. Together." He took one last pass over everyone's face then said with utmost confidence, "Suit up!"

* * *

 _Thwoom!_

Ray went sprawling to the ground the second Kara grabbed a hold of him and flicked him away like a dirty tissue. He came to a rest next to Sara and Mick, who lay splayed on the ground, arms and legs outstretched like a starfish. His eyes blinked blankly towards the ceiling while Thea slowly got to her feet.

"She's badass," Thea said, her voice tinged with exhaustion.

"Yeah," Sara agreed, shaking her hair from her face. "It's kinda hot." A smirk forming on her face as she looked up at the blonde floating above them all. "You sure you don't want in?" Sara asked as she glanced over to where Deity was sat. She'd been watching the whole training session, quiet as a mouse throughout the whole thing, legs crossed at the knee with her hand on her lap, her gaze flicking down whenever someone looked her way.

"I'm good thanks," the teenager mumbled before the team reassembled to fight Kara once more.

Floating above them all, Kara couldn't help the smile that came to her face. Bullets, fire blasts from Mick's gun, and energy blasts from Ray's arsenal bounced off her with ease.

Bullets, fire blasts from Mick's gun, and energy blasts from Ray's arsenal bounced off her and Deity with ease. Oliver stood below them, his lips pressed together in a thing line, fingers twitching over the boy that rested in his palm. With every attack that was sent their way, they were knocked to the ground before getting back to their feet and charging again.

Barry stood aside, arms folded over his chest as he continued to watch their attack. He winced when Brady used his yo-yo as a tether to snap Kara's arms to her side, something he'd done against Ragdoll when they were fighting in STAR Labs. This time, however, was a better reaction, with the metal Cisco added to the tether it pinned her without much chance of escape. However, Kara wasn't human, and quickly countered it with a puff of super breath that sent him flying, releasing her from the yo-yo's tether.

He sucked in a deep breath between his teeth. "This isn't working," he murmured to Cadence, who stood by his side. "Kara's really helping but…this isn't what the Dominators were like."

"Well, if she were to use that super-screaming thing...maybe split some ear drums," Cadence said with a half-smile. She placed her hands on her hips. "No, it's not," she said, agreeing with him. "The Dominators didn't have these powers, bar the strength. It's not doing much other than…" She hesitated but Barry nodded for her to continue. "Distracting them as we try to find where the Dominators will attack next."

"Yeah," he agreed. Then he looked closer at her. "Why aren't you fighting them?"

"If I wanted to see who was stronger out of me and Kara, I'd do it over an arm wrestle competition." Cadence's joke fell flat, it didn't reach her eyes or bring warmth to the slightly forced laughter that came from her.

Barry thought he knew what was going on. "You don't want to fight a friend?"

Cadence lifted her eyebrows. "I would if I could." Barry started to question her then noticed the subtle clenching of her jaw. He looked closer and saw her hands were shaking with effort. Then he looked her in the eye and she nodded, giving a humorless chuckle. "I may have gotten a lot stronger since the last time they saw me, but Breathtaker…I'm not sure what we're going to do about him."

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"One sci-fi issue at a time, Barry. Besides, this is a lot more important. Can't really worry about the Assassination Bureau if the entire world is going to be blown up. Even I don't think Breathtaker can handle the Dominators." Cadence thought for a moment then quietly admitted, "I got used to dealing with it by myself when you weren't around, you know. I guess I'm still stuck in that mindset. Especially now with Savitar and Alchemy."

Barry nodded. He could understand that. It hurt to know she didn't trust him enough to at least let him know she was struggling, but he understood. She wanted to protect him, felt she could handle it all on her own, felt she was at fault for what was going on. Just as Barry felt for Savitar, Alchemy, and Flashpoint.

And maybe the Dominators were now his fault, too.

Once again Barry scanned the training field they'd set up, watching as his friends tried and failed repeatedly to get the upper hand on Kara. His eyes then went to the young brunette off to the side who seemed somehow much older than the last time he met her. It wasn't in the way she looked or how she'd grown, but in her eyes. He'd seen that same thing in Cadence's eyes sometimes. Mostly when talking about her past with the Assassin's Bureau. She tried to hide it, knowingly or not, but Barry always saw it.

"You think that's why she's not joining in?" Barry asked, nodding towards Deity when Cadence gave him a confused frown.

"What do you mean?"

"Do you think she's not training because she's scared of hurting them?" Barry explained.

"Would be a little strange considering the training session we had last time," Cadence said before tilting her head in serious thought. Barry guessed she was thinking over all the information she'd gotten from Deity since her arrival, trying to piece everything together the way she did when tracking a target. Her eyes staring upwards at the mental jigsaw in her head. "But it would make sense considering what she's been saying." Barry opened his mouth to ask, then remembered that Cadence had already said she wouldn't tell him until Deity said it was okay.

Instead he just said, "Either way we're going to need both her and Kara's help on this one. So hopefully she's been practicing on her own."

"Do you think one of my Kryptonite bullet or the kryptonite sensors in your suit will help much?" Cadence asked suddenly. "Against the dominators?" Barry wasn't sure how to respond. In fact, he was more curious about how Cadence had moved on in the conversation without him knowing. "I know they're not the same species of alien but…you never know."

"Do you plan on shooting them when they're not looking?"

"I've done a lot of bad things in my life, but even I have more morals than that. Only a coward would shoot someone in the back."

Barry continued to watch his friends fight off Kara as the hours passed, the sun going down, casting shadows around the hangar. Once Cadence fought off Breathtaker's hold, she went into the battle as well. He watched at every angle of every fight, zipping back and forth to get a better vantage point, mentally keeping track of what was working and what wasn't. There were only so many scenarios and outcomes that would come from this and, in his mind, all of them ended in failure. His mind wasn't conversing with his heart, which desperately wanted nothing more than for the city and its residents to be safe.

From what he'd seen of the Dominators when they first arrived, they wouldn't stand still long enough to be attacked like Kara was doing. No, they'd run forward, using their momentum like a steam roller to knock whomever was in their way out. And that had only been a few seconds of Barry seeing them, the few seconds that had him frozen with fear. This was going to be a big fight.

Barry continued to watch, mind going a mile a minute as he worked to figure out what their plan would be once the Dominators came back. They _were_ going to come back. _But what are they coming back for?_ Barry thought. _What is it they want?_ The moment the doors to their ships opened and they streamed out liked sewer rats, they were gone. Were they looking for anything? Had they found what they were looking for? Was revenge really all they needed and what was their revenge plan?

Even with Barry's worries, he allowed himself the rare smile when Oliver practically begged Kara for a break after another round of thrashing. With one hand on his knees and the other holding his ribs, Oliver fought to catch his breath. Kara gently floated back to the ground as the others moved off the floor to get some rest.

"You feeling alright?" Kara asked as she approached Deity, gently rubbing her arm. Deity nodded, eyes still looking downward. Seeing she wasn't going to be getting a response that way, Kara decided to go with a different approach. "Did you enjoy the show?" she asked, allowing herself a little smug smile as she gestured back to the training area where some of her teammates were still lying on the floor.

Deity looked up at that, a small smile in return that made Kara's grow exponentially. "See, I knew you still knew how to do that," Kara said as she pointed at her daughter's smile with a winning tone to her voice. Deity giggled and visibly seemed to relax a little, thankful her mother wasn't bringing up the elephant in the room.

Meanwhile across the hanger, Brady was pushing his hood back from his head to tend to a wound on the side of his forehead. Caitlin went over to him with a First-Aid kit and immediately started to rummage through it for antiseptic and a bandied.

"So, what kind of talents do you have with your bedside manner?" Mick growled, sidling up to Caitlin's side. Caitlin lifted her head and glared at him so fiercely that Mick held up his hands and took a step back. "Just asking."

"Honestly, Mr. Rory, you need to work on your social skills," Professor Stein said once he and Jax were separated. He patted Brady on the shoulder, practically leaning against him, "Would you mind if stepped ahead to get some treatment. Older men like me…no matter how used to this life you become, your body is going to ache."

"You're not old, Professor Stein," Brady said, taking a step back. He tilted his head to the side and added, "Kind of gray, but not old."

Professor Stein smiled as Jax and Caitlin laughed.

"Don't worry, Professor Stein," Caitlin said, taking his hand. "I'll take care of you."

Professor Stein patted her hand. "Thank you, my dear. With you, I always know I'm in good hands."

Barry smiled as he watched everyone take some time to themselves as the rested. Even Kara and Deity seemed to be enjoying themselves, smiling a little as they conversed with each other. Barry was sure they were being sure not to talk about Deity's reasons for leaving her Earth. It looked like they were actually joking about the training session and how Kara was whooping everyone's collective butts. He just hoped it wouldn't upset anyone, there was already enough tension between certain people in the hanger already, no need to make things any more awkward than they already were.

Barry was broken out of his thoughts when he felt a rough hand on his shoulder pull him around and found Cisco staring at him, dark eyes flashing with anger. Barry took in a breath to steel himself. _What did I do now?_ Then he saw the small, white item in Cisco's hand that resembled an iPod and his blood went cold. He knew exactly what it was. Jax and Professor Stein had pulled him and Oliver aside earlier to listen to a message that Barry had sent them…from 40 years in the future. Warning them of what was to come, warning them to not trust Barry.

And now it was in Cisco's hands.

"Do you know what this is?" Cisco demanded.

Momentarily, Barry thought about lying. But then something his father used to tell him came to mind. _"You know the value of a man's word if he looks you in the eye and tells you the truth. No matter how difficult it is."_ He'd heard it every time, when he was young, Barry tried to keep himself from getting in trouble with something he did. He took those words to heart and kept them in mind every time he was confronted with something. So, with a heavy heart, Barry nodded.

"This is really you," Cisco said, almost as if he didn't believe it. A confused smile came to his face and she shook the box. "Like, future you."

"Cisco, come on," Barry murmured, lowering his voice to not draw attention to themselves. "I—"

"You told them, right?" Cisco interrupted.

Put on the spot, Barry continued to refuse the initial thought to lie. "Yeah, I-I'm going to. When all of this is finished."

Cisco blinked in confusion, his head jerking back slightly. "When it's finished," Cisco repeated. Anger slowly mounted in his words, volume growing louder as the seconds passed. "After you're going to lead them into an alien war?" He licked his lips, shaking his head. "Even after Flashpoint. Even after you've messed up and ruined lives you've ruined."

"Cisco—"

"—I vibed it, okay? Flashpoint. I vibed all of it. I saw everything that happened there. You…you were living your perfect life with your mom and dad. They were alive and happy and wanting to dote on their little boy. You had…you had a love life that was thriving, you didn't have to worry about the stress of being The Flash. You didn't have to worry about _anything."_

Barry continued to breathe evenly. His heart thudded against his chest so fast it felt like blades of grass tickling his skin. Little flutters that were almost completely imperceptible. He felt warmth spread through his body, itch his skin. Wanted nothing more than to defend himself but knew the time for that had passed.

"You didn't look for us until things started to turn to shit. For _you._ We weren't a team and you didn't look for us. You only cared about yourself. Even when the Rival and the Reverse-Flash were problems you tried to handle it yourself instead of talking about it like a team. Like you were the leader of everyone."

"Come on, man—"

"—I get it. It's called 'Team Flash' you have to be the leader in some aspect. We all have our own roles. You and Cade work the field, Cait and I work behind the scenes, and we train everyone else that comes around. But over there, you lived your _entire life_ with your mom being alive and you never looked for us. That's not a team, that's not friendship, that's not a family. And _that's_ why I'm fucking pissed at you, Barry. Because you wouldn't know a friendship or family when you see it. And now you decided to take something else we all needed to know and decided not to tell us. Them. You _still_ don't think you should tell them?"

"Tell us what?" Sara asked once silence finally broke between the two of them.

Cisco had been ranting so long that he hadn't noticed everyone turning to watch them. They were best friends, they couldn't argue at a time like this. And yet, Cisco had to get everything out there or else he'd continue to fester. Barry didn't blame him at all.

Cisco was right.

He was being selfish. So, with a heavy heart, Barry turned around and said while running a hand through his hair, "Uh, Jax and Professor Stein found a message from me in the future," he explained, voice cracking as he spoke. "Saying that…right now…I can't be trusted."

Sara's eyes narrowed in suspicion while Oliver's widened with Barry's revelation. Barry couldn't look either of them in the eye. Instead, he looked just over their heads. "And why would future you say that?" She slowly ground out.

"I think…because I went back in time and changed the timeline. Just like Cisco said. And now things here are different than before I left including some of your lives."

"Some of our lives?" Thea asked.

Ray tilted his head, looking partially fascinated and partially horrified. Even from the way he ran his hands over each other, Barry could tell he was mentally scrolling back through the life he knew before his consistent time travel to what it was like now. "Like who?"

"Cadence, Caitlin, Jesse, Digg…"

"Me?" Diggle's eyebrows rose. He clearly didn't expect anything in his life to have changed. And now to have it thrown out in the open like that? "What happened?" He looked over as Oliver cleared his throat, placing his hands on his hips.

Oliver took a breath before saying, "You had a daughter, Dig." Diggle started to question what he'd just been told, his lips moving to make the words, but found that they wouldn't come out. Oliver gently broke the news with, "Baby John was Baby Sara."

At that, Diggle blinked rapidly before bringing a hand up to rub at his mouth. He turned his back to everyone then turned back to Barry, his eyes blazing with a controlled fire. "So, you just erased a daughter from my life?"

"Yeah," Barry whispered.

Sara turned her gaze upwards before saying in a tight voice, "You can't just go back and change things like that, Barry!"

"You do it all the time," Cadence pointed out, immediately jumping to Barry's defense. "It's part of your job to change things about the past that have become different." She made a sharp gesture with her hand in exasperation. "He's already feeling bad about it, why make him feel worse?"

Sara ignored her, her eyes on Barry. "Do you know how hard it is for me not to alter events, to bring my sister back? But I _don't_. Because I know the implications."

"We spent the last eight months travelling through time trying to correct things that had gone wrong and…you thought it was okay to just go back and do it?" Ray asked.

Barry nodded with each question that was sent his way. There were enough questions that were going to come his way, about his time in Flashpoint, what their lives were like, what had changed. He was prepared for all of the questions but didn't get the chance to as Felicity's panicked voice broke in from the computers.

"Guys?" Felicity stood up, clutching her phone in hand. Her eyes were wide behind her glasses. "Guys, it's Lyla. The president's been abducted, she needs us now!"

Barry looked at her then looked back at everyone else. He decided quickly, not wanting to hear any of the negativity that was bound to come his way. If they didn't want him around, he'd say it first and prove that he understood. "Alright, you guys go. I'm going to sit this one out," he said with as much determination and conviction as he could. "Obviously, you have Supergirl, she's just as fast as I am. Get the president, we can talk about this later." The others turned and started to walk away. Barry walked up to Kara and asked in a low voice, "You still trust me, right?"

"I'll always trust you," Kara said immediately, her arms folded. She gestured with her head towards the others. "But…it might take more to convince them."

"If you need me, I'll be there," Barry replied.

"Barry?" Deity asked, her eyes boring into his. Barry could see desperation swimming in her eyes. Wanting an answer he wasn't sure he could give. "With people's lives changing because of Flashpoint…were our lives changed, too?"

He wished he could say 'yes'. That the pain she was feeling was because of him. So he could take that burden off her, but honestly had no idea. "I don't know if it reaches," Barry said slowly. "Harry and Jesse came back and saw what was different on our Earth but…from what I know, it doesn't affect other Earths, I'm sorry."

Deity nodded, lowering her gaze before jumping when Oliver's voice boomed out," Barry, you're going. _Everyone_ is going including Barry! I'm not going without him."

"Then you be here, Oliver," Diggle said to him with such a finality that Oliver's eyebrows rose in surprise and slight offense.

"My money's on Robin Hood," Mick grumbled to Jax, who rolled his eyes.

"Okay." Kara held up her hands and stepped between the fighting groups. "Uh, you know what, Oliver, it's okay," Kara said. She motioned to Deity, who'd become sullen and silent. She'd been that way since their training began. It certainly wasn't like her daughter and while Kara was desperate to know what it was that was keeping her from being herself, she knew it wasn't the time to demand answers. "We'll go—"

"—I'll stay here," Deity said quickly, taking a step away from her mother. Kara eyed her for a moment, clear confusion flashing across her face as she stared back at her daughter's stone like mask. "I'll…be a line of defense if anything goes wrong." Still staring at Deity, Kara couldn't help but her the excuse in her voice. Almost like she was trying to get out of going to something as trivial as school.

This wasn't like her daughter, her daughter had always wanted to get involved and help people. Why was she now backing out, trying to avoid it? Kara began to wonder if maybe it was her, if Deity was backing out because she was going. She could offer to stay but then Deity would just go instead and truthfully, considering the stories she'd heard, she'd rather have her daughter here than out fighting dominators without her. Even so, she desperately wanted to know what was going on in her fragile head. She took a step towards Deity, readying herself to argue.

"Deity-"

"You haven't got time for this," Deity cut in with a cold stare to her mother. "Go." Kara tried to say something but her voice caught in her throat as her lips opened to speak. She knew Deity was right, they had to go. And at least if she was here with Barry and Oliver she knew she'd be safe until she returned.

Kara nodded and quickly corrected herself, trying to act as if the conversation hadn't fazed her. "I'll go with them and get the president. You stay here with Barry."

Cadence looked to her son and tilted her head to the side, Brady nodded and stepped back as well, knowing it was better for him to stay behind with the others. Then she looked at Barry who silently nodded at her, encouraging her to go. "You sure?" She asked.

"Do you trust me?" He asked in response.

"With my life," she said immediately.

Barry smiled. "Then I'm sure. You're my partner, Cade."

Cadence matched his smile with a sweet one of her own. "Not your sidekick," she agreed.

"We work the best together, but sometimes we need to work on our own. You've proven many times that you can handle things on your own." He managed a laugh. "I worry for anyone who decides to go up against you."

Cadence laughed and pulled her goggles up over her eyes. "I'll be back as soon as I can." She thought for a moment. "Keep an eye on Caitlin for me."

"What about me?" Brady demanded, indignantly pressing his hands to his hips.

"You haven't need anyone to watch you since you got your powers, Brade, I wouldn't dare worry about you. You can handle whatever comes your way." Brady smiled, straightening himself with pride. With that, Cadence nodded to those that were staying behind; Barry, Oliver, Deity, and Brady, and left with the others.

Barry waited until they were out of sight before collapsing into the seat behind him. He leaned forward, resting his face in his hands. Felicity, Caitlin, and Cisco went back to the computers with Caitlin placing a hand to his shoulder in silent comfort. He didn't need her comfort, didn't deserve it. Not when he'd given her powers she couldn't' control and was terrified of.

Deity, Brady, and Oliver sat in other chairs around him, all waiting quietly, pensively sitting in their own thoughts. Barry continued to take in as many deep breaths as he could let out without hyperventilating. If his father was there, he'd be proud he told the truth.

 _"The truth is hard to hear, Slugger. But I'd rather you face those consequences than make it worse with a lie."_

So Barry told even more of the truth, speaking so quietly that, at first, Oliver wasn't sure he was being spoke to. Then he sat up in rapt attention, looking down at his partner, his protégé in rapt silence.

"I didn't think about anything," Barry murmured. "I didn't think about the future, I was so focused on the past, I didn't think about it until now. I didn't know what would happen. I changed so much. There's an article from the future at STAR Labs, written about my vanishing in a fight. It used to be written by Iris but now it's written by someone else." Barry noticed Oliver's and Deity's confused glance.

"We have a room in STAR Labs called the Time Vault that holds an AI that knows things from the future," Brady explained.

"Oh," said Deity as she stared at him for a moment. "Me and Kara have a secret alien fortress underneath the Atlantic Ocean with an AI that looks like Kara's dead mom." Now it was Barry's turn to stare at her.

"Oh... That's weird..." Barry said slowly as the Meta and Hybrid alien stared at each other, both confused by their respective stories.

"Anything meta or...alien, related is weird," Oliver pointed out with a sigh. This used to be so much simpler before he met Barry.

"Anything meta related is weird," Oliver pointed out.

Barry gave a sad smile. "I checked the Time Vault when I came back from Flashpoint and noticed things were different. Something's changed with our future. I know it." As the weight of the words landed on him, Barry felt himself started to break. He pressed the heels of his palms to his eyes. "God, what did I do?"

"Barry, a newspaper article from the future?" Oliver's voice dripped with sarcasm and disbelief. "I can believe a lot of things, but I'll believe that when I see it." Then his voice hardened as he said, "You've got to stop beating yourself up over these things."

"How can you say that? I'm responsible for all of this!"

"Maybe, maybe not. Barry, you made a choice." Oliver waited for the words to resonate with Barry before he continued, speaking each word with as much conviction. "You wanted to see your parents alive again. Do you know anyone that, if they were in your shoes, that wouldn't make that same choice? Do the exact same thing? I would."

"I would," Brady piped up. "If something happened to my mom and dad. Or you."

Barry smiled.

"If something happened to Kara," Deity said. "I would, too."

"Barry, when the Gambit went down it was me and my father in a life raft. Enough food and water for one person, maybe. My father took the gun, shot the crew member, told me to survive, then shot himself. He shot himself in the head. He sacrificed himself so that I could live. Nothing I could do, it was a choice. Slade Wilson drove a sword right through my mother's heart in front of my sister and I. I was there, I was helpless on the ground, I was powerless to stop it. No choice. You do not think I would give anything to go back and make things different?"

Barry lifted his head and looked his friend in the eye. There was a passion in his eyes that proved to Barry he really meant what he was saying. Really felt it. He was reliving the pain of both of his parents passing away. If there was anyone that would understand it, it was Oliver. "You never told me that," Barry whispered.

"Barry, the world isn't different because you change the timeline," Oliver continued, acknowledging Barry's surprise statement with a brief, second long blink. "Change happens, tragedy happens, people make choices and those choices affect everyone else. You're not a God, Barry."

"Cade said the same thing."

"Cade's smart. And I would know, because she's constantly being giving me advice and help about Connor that I never thought I'd needed until I needed it. And she's right about this. You're not a God. You have to stay saying 'what if' and 'why me'."

"Oliver, you don't understand—"

Barry was cut off by a sudden explosion that rocked the floor of the hangar, nearly sending him to the ground. Then there was another explosion that rocked the hangar. Oliver lifted his foot and kicked at Barry's chair, grabbing onto Brady's at the same time to use the momentum to push himself and Barry apart. A chunk of the ceiling crashed to the ground between them.

Barry's eyes widened as he looked at the whole in the ceiling, trying to see what was attacking them. His heart raced. The Dominators?

Cisco's frantic rang out across the floor, "Guys, you have to see this."

"You're not going to believe it!" Caitlin added. The four hurried over to the computers and leaned down to see, mouths dropping open when they saw the destruction around the hangar and Central City.

The moment Barry saw who was causing it, his heart sank even further, drowning below the grief and guilt that slowly flooded his body as the days passed. "Oh, things just got so much worse," Barry murmured, watching as his friends created havoc upon Central City.

* * *

Of those that left Barry back at the hangar, their footsteps crunched over the gravel as they walked towards the coordinates Felicity had given them. Mick looked around the dilapidated area with disdain. "Are we in the right place?" he asked. He waved a hand towards the building that stood before them. "There's nothing to steal from here unless someone wants some coal for Christmas."

"Wouldn't that be ironic," Thea teased.

"This is the last place the president's tracer gave a signal," Kara said, swooping down from the sky and landing along with the rest of the group. "Must be nearby." Her eyes narrowed as she used her x-ray vision to scan the building in front of her. A human shaped mass stood out to her in a second. She looked to Cadence for clarification, whose eyes shone orange as she used her thermal vision to scan the building. Cadence nodded, her eyes turning back to its normal color behind her goggles and Kara popped her lips as she said, "Yep, he's in there."

"Let's go," Cadence said.

"Wait." Mick held up a hand, making the group stop. Twisting his hand, he leveled his finger towards Kara and asked, "How does she know he's in there?"

"I saw him," Kara said as if it were obvious, pointing in the direction to prove herself. Then she noticed the confused looks and clarified with a casual, "Oh, I have x-ray vision."

"Oh!" A smarmy smile came to Mick's face and he wiggled his fingers in excitement, eyes growing wide with a wild fire. "You can see everyone's bits with those little peepers, huh?"

Kara's head jerked back in surprise. "No! I mean, I—"

"—Ignore him," Sara said.

"The rest of us do," Cadence added. Mick turned to say something to her and as quick as a flash, she pulled her thigh strapped gun out of its holster and had it pointed directly between his eyes. "Don't think I won't," she warned.

"Whoa," Kara said, eyes widening in surprise. "That's new."

"Keep away from me, and everything will be fine," Cadence said with an authoritative edge to her voice. She waited for Mick to nod, studying him closely before lowered her gun, placing it back into her thigh holster. She had no patience to deal with Mick at the moment, not when Dominators were threating their livelihood and the livelihood of the president.

"Whatever you say, Princess," Mick said, folding his arms. One thing that could be said about Mick was that he certainly didn't care what anyone else thought of him. "It's only a matter of time until I burn down your defenses."

"How did you get the name Heat Wave, anyway?" Kara asked, curiously.

"I burned my family alive and like to set things on fire," Heat Wave said.

"Prince Charming, right?" Cadence said sarcastically.

"Oh!" Kara blinked in discomfort. She chewed her lower lip, unsure how to keep the conversation going. Honestly, she couldn't figure out how Mick was able to be considered a legend, a hero, when he was so…rough around the edges. "Well, that's a colorful backstory."

"My shrink thinks so," Mick said with a careless shrug. "And by the way, I'm not going to call you Supergirl. It's stupid."

"Well, you can call me Kara."

"That won't work either."

"So what are you going to call if you need my help?"

"Skirt."

A snort went through the entire group at Mick's casual admission. Thea was the first one to regain from her laughter to look him in the eye and ask, "Seriously?"

"Seriously," Mick replied, not finding any humor in the situation. He turned his back to the group, lifting his Heat Gun and started to charge it with each step he took. "And I won't need your help. If I need anyone's it's—"

"—Walking on thin ice, Mick," Cadence snapped before leading the group inside. Her eyes narrowed behind her goggles as they went in. She shifted her gaze just slightly, allowing the blueprint mapping mechanism to kick in. Within seconds she got a 3d render of the building around them. No weak spots, nothing that would prove the area around them was dangerous.

But it was too quiet. _Way too quiet,_ Cadence mused. She'd been trained to use silence as a cover to sneak up on her victim. Trained to know when the silence was being used against her. She stood still, allowing her other senses to take over, determining if the fight or flight response was needed. No, there would've been foot soldiers or someone waiting for them, should have been. Something was wrong.

"Look, it's the president!" Jax cried, pointing to a figure that ran towards them, tripping over the broken pieces of wood that were scattered over the floor. And yet he kept his balance, running towards the heroes as fast as his legs would carry him.

"Oh God," the president cried, holding up the hands that were tied together by rope. His eyes were wide with fright behind his glasses, looking like glass marbles in the moonlight. "Please, help me!"

Kara hurried towards him with long, quick strides.

"This doesn't feel right," Thea murmured, eyes scanning the building through her red domino mask.

At those words, Cadence immediately stopped walking, listening hard. She heard it then. Almost imperceptible, the sound of something dragging across the ground. Not a body or a tarp, but the sound of a heavy-footed person. With a questioning glance, Ray turned her way. Cadence held up her hand, motioning for him to be quiet.

"Something's coming," She reported. Her eyes shifted to her thermal vision and she gasped, seeing something coming towards them from a high rafter. How had it managed to sneak up on them like that?

There was a sound that sounded like a mixture of a water sliding down a drain and a cat purring, making all eyes turn towards the same high rafter Cadence had been watching where a Dominator stood alongside a red, egg-shaped jewel. It stared down at them, sharp teeth dripping drool as it opened its mouth to screech loudly.

"Release, the president!" Kara demanded.

 _"We knew you would come,"_ the dominator said. Its voice didn't come from its mouth, but rather wafted through the air around them, dancing on an invisible wind that pirouetted around the heroes.

"Did you hear that?" Ray asked, turning his head this way and that to determine where the voice came from. "Because I heard it in my head."

"Yeah, we heard it," Sara said.

"You don't need to hurt him to get whatever you want from us," Cadence said firmly, walking closer to the Dominator. She kept her hand at her thigh, wiggling her fingers along the butt of her pistol. "Let him go and nothing will happen to you."

 _"He's not who we want,"_ The Dominator said, lifting his arm. What appeared to be a watch on his wrist suddenly shone as bright as an emerald. The light continued to increase in luminosity until it twisted and turned in a vapor. That vapor came down from the dominator's wrist and landed on the president.

The president didn't have a chance to widen his eyes with fear before his body disintegrated in front of the heroes. There one second, gone the next with the wispy vapors of the energy dissipating as fast as the president's body. There was nothing left of him.

"It's a trap!" Diggle cried.

Too late. The Dominator reached out his hand and slammed it onto the red-egg, releasing a wave of red energy into the room that rained over the heroes, sending them all to their knees as they pressed their hands to their ears, groaning in pain.

Cadence sucked in a sharp breath, pressing her teeth together so hard she was sure they'd crack. She curled her hands into fists, doing what she could to release the pain that continued to mount in her head. The pain increased, running from one side of her brain to the next, twisting and turning as it filled every inch, nook, and cranny of her mind. Then as it filled her head it continued to grow outward, pressing harder and harder, pressing into her skull.

 _Fight it, Cade, fight it,_ she growled to herself. _You've gone through worse than this, you've fought of Breathtaker before._ She sucked in a deep breath and continued to concentrate as hard as she could. Her head suddenly wrenched back as if someone grabbed onto her hair and pulled hard. Felt as if a hand reached down into her skull and grabbed hold of her brain, immediately taking it over as it did so.

Whatever it was that the red egg emitted encroached upon the brains of the heroes. After a few seconds, their bodies jerked upright and before they knew it, they were running and flying back to Central City, to the hangar their friends were in and started to attack, hoping to draw out those that would oppose them.

It took only a few moments before Oliver, Barry, Brady, and Deity raced outside to face the attack head on. "Guys," Barry said as he looked at all his friends that moved towards them like a hungry pack of wolves. They all turned towards him as soon as he spoke. "Can we talk about this?"

"What happened to them?" Brady asked. His fingers twitched over the handle of his slingshot, just waiting for him to snap it into place and extend it into a bow staff.

"They're being controlled," Deity growled, seeing the red glow on each of their foreheads. She'd seen it before, back when she was on War World. One of the Dominators had attempted to escape using a small red egg like device on one of the guards. She'd begged for help but the creature ran. She never found out if it got away or not, but she never saw that guard again.

"You think it's Breathtaker?" Brady asked, tightening his grasp on his sling-shot. He took a deep breath to steady himself. Facing down criminals, metas, even aliens was different than having to take down any of his friends, his family.

"No, it's the Dominators. They have this thing that allows them to control people's minds."

Brady sighed. "Can it ever be anything other than mind control?"

"Guys," Barry tried again, slowly holding up his hands. "Let's talk this out."

Thea drew her bow and shot an arrow at Barry that he caught before it could pierce him. Despite the situation, Barry was almost smug as he looked over at Oliver, having deflected an arrow. Oliver, on the other hand, immediately sensed the danger they were in. "I guess they don't want to talk," he said.

To further prove his statement, Mick sent out a wave of fire to them while Sara started to throw shuriken towards the group. Barry and Deity grabbed Oliver and Bray and quickly moved them to safety behind a nearby STAR Labs van that immediately blew up from the force of heat against the vehicle. The walls of the vehicle twisted and ripped apart from the energy of the explosion, rocketing sky high and to all sides. Oliver flung himself to the ground and brought his hands up to cover his head as a chunk of metal flew by.

Barry quickly used his superspeed to bend out of the way, watching as a chunk of metal nearly struck him upside the side of his head. He straightened himself just in time to see he had moved a little too slow. Didn't process how vulnerable he had made himself when he saw what was coming towards him. Kara, Ray, Cadence, and Jax combined an attack of heat vision, a fire blast, and an energy blast from his exosuit created from photon and ion energy and threw it towards Barry and Oliver. Once again, Barry superspeeded Oliver out of the way while Diet and Brady moved in another direction. Ducking behind a concrete wall, Barry took a deep breath, trying to figure out what to do.

His mind was blank, and Oliver wasn't going to let him get away with it.

"Okay, Barry, you really did it this time," Oliver growled.

"What?" Barry practically yelped. "Seriously?"

"Yeah, seriously!" They ducked aside as a wave of heat vision started to melt through the wall between them. "What is that?" Oliver practically yelped, his frustration betraying his views on the situation.

"That would be heat vision," Barry replied. How many times had he seen it in action? A thousand. How many times had it been directed towards him? More than he would've liked, honestly.

A sudden blurry movement of yellow light made Barry jump on the spot and Oliver turned ready to swing his bow until he saw it was Deity and Brady had moved to join them. "Please, tell me you have a plan," Brady said as he looked to Barry.

"Eh...yeah..." Barry stammered nervously.

"You've got nothing, huh? Great," Brady groaned as he leaned his head back against the concrete wall. He felt the wall shake behind him and his head swiftly turned when he saw Deity shoot forwards, hand heading to her shoulder. There was now a scorching hole were Deity had once been sitting and the material on the back of Deity's suit had been ruined as well. She'd been hit by Kara's heat vision. "You alright?" Brady asked as he moved to inspect Deity's injury only to find nothing but undamaged skin.

"I'm fine," Deity said as she waved him off, though she still held onto her shoulder.

"We'll just have to take them down, carefully," Oliver pressed as he looked between what allies he had left.

"Wait, you want us to fight them? There are friends, our families," Deity said with a strained voice as she glared at Oliver.

"I know, my sister's out there too. But we don't have much of a choice now do we," Oliver said in a low voice, in no mood for another argument with the teenager. But then he hesitated in continuing, seeing something flash through the girl's eyes. Uncertainty.

"I can't," Deity said quietly.

"Yes. You can," Oliver growled.

"No, I can't!" Deity snapped before refining herself. "I can't risk killing them."

"Is this normally a problem for you?" Oliver asked. There was still bite in his voice, but substantially less than before.

"No, I... It's just..." Deity's eyes darted to Barry and then she looked over her shoulder at Brady. She couldn't say it. Saying it to Cadence had been hard enough but she couldn't stand to see Barry or Brady look at her differently. "I'm scared," she finally admitted as she looked back to Olvier.

"Scared of killing? Because of your powers?" Oliver asked and Deity nodded. Then he fixed her with a serious yet warming look, a look that told her before he said anything that he had the answer she needed. "Then don't fight." Deity stared at him for a second, not sure what he was getting at. "You're invulnerable, so take the hits. Take everything they have. Distract them, cover us do whatever you can to help without fighting back. You can do that right."

Deity nodded.

"Right." Oliver turned back to Barry who nodded before running away from the concrete wall at top speed to draw those that could fly after him.. Jax, Ray, Kara, and Cadence followed his movements as Barry continued to run back and forth along nearby streets and around the warehouse before he ran to the roof. Once they were close enough, Barry ran in a tight circle and threw a bolt of lightning that struck Jax and Ray out of the air before Kara and Cadence retaliated with a double blast of heat vision, sending him tumbling.

He got back to his feet in time to duck out of the way of a thermal hit that Jax and Professor Stein sent towards him. He darted back and forth from their attacks to Ray's, who phion energy shot through a nearby tree so cleanly it left a cartoon-esque hole in it, making Barry gulp loudly. If it could move through a tree like that…he didn't want to know what it'd feel like to heal that mess. Kara continued to float above him, her eyes sending out an continuous stream of heat vision that followed him wherever he went. Barry continued to run back and forth before he felt the ground wobble beneath him.

"What the what?" He breathed, moving his foot and seeing the ground ripple once more. Barry shifted to the side and windmilled his arms, seeing a red glow come from beneath the slab of rock he stood on. If he wasn't the impossible, Barry wouldn't have believed Kara was able to use her heat vision enough to reach the magma below the crust of the Earth.

Barry lifted his head once more to see Cadence propelling herself towards him with a blast of fire. She flipped once through the air and Barry started to move to the side, expecting her to do one of her go-to moves; using her teleportation to bring her closer to her opponent with haste to catch them off-guard. This time _she_ caught him off-guard by using an extra propulsion of fire from her arms to twist herself around in a buzzsaw fashion where she struck him below the ear.

With a loud crack of his breaking jaw, Barry was flung to the ground. He brought up his hands to push himself upright when he felt a heavy weight land on his back of Cadence landing atop of him. She grabbed the back of his suit with both hands and flipped him around before lifting him up by the collar of his suit with one hand. With the other, she conjured a flame at her finger tip, a straight, strong soldier that elongated into a tip. She brought her hand forward, sweat immediately popping up on Barry's face as the flame grew closer. His mouth dropped open in a scream as she slowly, agonizingly slow across the planes from his face, from cheek, across his nose, to his cheek.

The smell of burning flesh, sweet and smoky filled Barry's nostrils as the pain forced him to scream his guts out. She followed it up with a crushing, equally flaming punch to the side of his head. She followed it up with one beneath his jaw, hard enough to snap his head back and send him flying through the air, generating a crater of his likeness beneath him the moment he struck the ground.

On the ground, Oliver had his hands full with Sara, Thea, Diggle, and Mick. Sara, Diggle, and Thea were the toughest opponents of all of them, having trained each of them specifically. They knew the moves he'd use against them as easily as he knew the moves to take them down. But with three of them on one, Oliver soon found himself at a disadvantage. Whether or not they had the Dominator's strength as well, Oliver wasn't sure, but found himself coughing painfully each time he was struck in the stomach from a crushing blow of Mick's fists and feet.

Blood spurted out of Oliver's mouth after a particularly savage kick to the stomach. He spat it aside and brought up his bow to block the punch Diggle sent his way. With a twist of his wrist, Oliver entangled Diggle's hand in the string of his bow, giving Oliver the chance to leap upwards. Twisting his body around, Oliver landed on Diggle's back and, still holding onto his bow, leaned backwards, using his weight to make Diggle fall. They landed on the ground and Oliver rolled over so that he pinned Diggle beneath him and punched him straight in the face.

A streak of fire burned across Oliver's back when Sara cracked her long staff against him. Oliver flipped away and ducked under his bow staff to protect his face, giving him the chance to knock Sara's arms upwards and punch her in the stomach and flip her over his arm. It was when he came to Thea he hesitated. He'd faced Thea before, when her bloodlust had been something that plagued her, but that had been when she was an entirely different person. This Thea was his campaign manager, someone who gave up the life of a vigilante and came back to save the city.

She was his sister again, could he really fight his sister?

Thea scowled and laced an arrow—an exploding arrow—and shot it directly behind Oliver. It crashed to the ground and detonated, knocking Oliver off his feet, directly towards her. With an arching sweep of her foot, Thea's feet caught Oliver in the side of the face and he crashed to the ground.

Clearly, she had no problems fighting him.

In STAR Labs, Cisco, Caitlin, and Felicity, who had traveled there via a breach Cisco opened, watched their friends fighting on screen with differing levels of horror. Even Cisco, who would've enjoyed a fight like that on a good day, could only watch in silence. Behind them, Joe, Iris, Harrison, HR, Wally, Tess, and Jesse frantically rushed into the Cortex, having been summoned by the metahuman apps on their phones.

"What the heck is going on? Joe demanded.

"Some of the guys went to take on the Dominators while the others stayed back and now everyone's going crazy and going Kill Bill on each other," Cisco explained all in one breath.

"The Dominators have some of them mind controlled," Caitlin explained.

"They can't hold each other off so long," Iris murmured, eyes sweeping over the fight going on in front of her. She winced, seeing Oliver receive a roundhouse kick to the side of the head.

"I have to get out there," Jesse said firmly. She didn't give anyone time to talk her out of it. "They can't beat them by themselves, not especially with Supergirl there."

Cisco nodded and stood up. "We'll have to go, too," he said, surprising himself. The excitement and exhilaration of the thought of fighting equally scared and embolded him. "There's too many of them to take on their own." He turned to Caitlin, who shook her head, taking a step back.

"I can't," Caitlin murmured. "Not when…not if…" her mother's words entered her head. _"If you keep using your powers…well, I'm not sure what could happen but it's progressing faster than I've ever seen anything."_

"Caitlin, we're going to save our friends," Cisco said. Caitlin gave him a meaningful look. "I know we're kind of split apart right now, but we'd want them to help us, no matter how mad we are. You have to help them." He paused. "We'll do it together," Cisco promised. He reached out and grabbed onto her hand. "I'm not letting go, alright?"

Caitlin smiled. "Alright." She looked to Jesse, who nodded back and grasped their shoulders before running them to the battle field. Cisco and Caitlin both swayed on the spot as they waited for the dizziness to pass while Jesse ran off. "So not going to get used to that."

"So not," Cisco agreed, pinching the bridge of his nose.

Jesse smiled to herself as she ran around Oliver, knocking out those that started to get too close to him. She came to a stop when they were all down and looked over to Barry, who lay curled up on the ground, obviously having been thrashed by those that attacked him.

"Jesse?" He asked.

"Call me Jesse Quick," she replied with a bright smile.

Suddenly, Kara arched down behind her, arms outstretched and punched her in the back, sending her flying. Barry raced over and caught her before she hit the ground. Her head lolled to the side and she moaned quietly. Barry let out a sigh of relief, seeing she was still alive. He cradled Jesse in his arms as she started to stir, her healing already kicking in.

Barry looked up and saw Kara coming back around to attack them again and braced himself to start running once more. Deity swooped in front of Barry and took a deep breath, blowing out a strong super breath that knocked Kara backwards out of the way, flipping head over heels as she went. Unfortunately, she didn't have long to catch her breath as next thing she knew Ray and Jax were shooting her out of the sky, chasing her as she flew off around the air strip.

Cadence then took Kara's place and pulled back her fist to send fire towards Barry, but stopped a she was repeatedly struck in the forehead with multiple pieces of ammo that Brady send out from this slingshot.

"Do we have an ETA on that mind control or what?" Oliver demanded into his communication piece as he ran aside, dodging a blow from Mick.

"There's a signal coming from the salt mines," Felicity replied.

"Can you jam it?"

"…No."

Oliver growled and started to send out as many arrows towards the others as he could. Almost mechanically he'd bring his arm behind his head, grab an arrow, string it, and shoot it towards those that converged on him before doing it again.

Brady did the same, stretching the band of his slingshot back as far as he could, fingers pressing into the piece of ammo he held in the pocket. He glanced over at Oliver as he continued to shoot off arrow after arrow. "How many do you have left?"

"Probably not enough," Oliver growled in response.

"You haven't learned to bring more arrows yet?"

"Brady, I don't need your commentary right now!"

Barry thought quickly, eyes shifting back and forth over everything that was happening around him. Then he decided as Deity landed next to him. "You'll have to hold them off as long as you can," he said, turning and dumping Jesse into Deity's arms.

"Wait, what?" Deity said as she eyes jumped back and forth between Barry and Jesse, having just lost Ray and Jax.

"What are you doing?" Oliver demanded, noticing his movement. "Where are you going?"

"If they can't shut it down, maybe she can," Barry said, nodding to Kara, who had come back from being struck by Deity. "Hey Supergirl!" He shouted. Her head whipped to face him like a rattler's, eyes narrowing. "Let's finally see who's faster." Barry started to run with Kara right on his heels.

Without Oliver, on the other hand, had a more difficult time. The moment he noticed all eyes turn to him, he was screwed. Deity gently hoisted Jesse over her shoulder and looked towards Oliver, unsure of what to do. Oliver looked at her and nodded before holding up his bow and ran into the fight once more.

Deity backed away as Mick turned his attention to her and started to charge up his gun. Just as the first lick of flame started to appear, a breach opened behind her and Caitlin jumped out, throwing an ice spear towards Mick that embedded into his shoulder. Then Jax and Professor Stein took his place to attack. Caitlin turned and sent a sheen of ice up his fire trails, slowing him down. Cisco jumped through the breach behind them and punched at the air. A vibrational blast shattered the ice that covered him and beat his body senseless.

The fire went out and knocked him to the ground.

"Get Jesse to safety," Cisco called. "We can handle her."

Deity looked back at them, nodded and turned to get Jesse out of danger while Cisco and Caitlin continued to fight. She took flight and made it a few meters before stopping as Ray flew out in front of her. Raising both his arms, he fired, knocking Deity out of the sky, losing her grip on Jesse as both girls hit the ground. Luckily for Jesse, she landed on top of Deity and the force seemed to be enough to wake her from her unconscious state.

"Huh... What's happening?" Jesse groaned as she lifted her head, hand running along her brow.

"Nothing good," Deity said from beneath Jesse who quickly began to apologize for landing on her. However, Deity was more concerned with the man in the high-tech suit floated down, readying to blast them again. Grabbing onto Jesse once more, Deity dove to the side in a blurry motion as the blasts from Ray's suit hit the spot where they'd been.

Coming to a stop, now standing up, Jesse gasped as she brushed her hair out her face. "Whoa! You're almost as fast as me," she said in astonishment.

"Yeah, not really the time to get into that argument," Deity said as Ray swung around for another attack. "How smart are you?" Deity asked quickly, turning to Jesse.

"I graduated high school three years early and have five majors," Jesse said with a look that said she still didn't understand what was going on.

"So, you can take that apart if I hold him down?" Deity asked as she pointed to the man flying towards them.

"Yes! I can do that!" Jesse said eagerly with a gleeful smile on her face, excited to finally be allowed in on the action. Or rather asked for help. True it was coming from someone she barely knew but she was willing to take it.

"Great, run off and wait for my signal," Deity ordered before Jesse nodded, going serious as she ran off out of sight while Deity stood her ground. She stared down Ray as he flew at her, arms stretched out in front of her as he fired two bolts of energy. The first caused her to stubble and the second made her fall back right as Ray rammed into her, shoving her into the ground as the ground beneath her gave way, leaving a trail behind as Ray continued to shove her until finally he lost momentum.

Then with Deity pinned beneath him, he raised his fist to delivery another heavy blow. He threw his fist down towards Deity but she caught it with hand, holding it in place as Ray tried to pull his fist free. Deity then rolled over, using her strength and weight to force Ray beneath her as she pinned him down, holding his arms in place. "Jesse! Quick!"

Yellow lightning quickly arrived and flashed around her and Ray as piece by piece suddenly vanished from Ray's suit like an expert was taking it apart. After a mere five seconds the entirety of Ray's suit was gone, leaving just a man behind that Jesse then knocked out with swift punch to the head.

Deity let go of the limp arms in her hands and sighed as she looked up to Jesse who was far more excited that Deity was. "That was awesome!" Jesse squealed as Deity let out a tried laugh in response. It'd been far too long since she felt like that, the way Jesse was feeling right now. She missed that feeling.

Brady noticed Cadence heading towards Oliver and swallowed hard. He faltered for a second, arm dropping to his side. Then he brought it up once more and produced a flash ball of ammo and sent it flying. Cadence turned her head to shield her eyes from the brilliant shock of light and glared when she could see clearly again.

"If it's a fight you want, it's a fight you've got," Brady said to her, steeling his voice.

Cadence flung her hands out to the side, fire encircling her arms. The shadows that planed her face made her glowing eyes appear demonic as she walked towards her. Her pace increased until she was running directly towards Brady and he ran back to her, twisting his bow staff in hand, ready to attack her with it. When he was close enough, Brady slammed the end of his bow staff to the ground to steady himself. He lifted himself up just as Cadence tried to knock his feet from below him.

Arm muscles straining, Brady held his body off the ground in a freeze. Cadence lifted her foot higher and kicked him in the back. A grunt erupted from Brady's lips. The momentum of her kick spun him around on the bow staff, crashing him into his mother. Cadence reacted quickly and placed her hands on the staff, immediately warming the metal. It stung under his hands and Brady quickly let go, falling to the ground. Twisting he bow staff in her hands, Cadence drove it towards Brady. Brady rolled to the side to evade and rolled back onto his shoulders, bringing his knees towards his face, then elongated his body once more. With a snap, he brought himself back to his feet in a kip-up and ducked when Cadence swung his staff towards his head.

He phased through her then reached back, grabbing onto the bow staff and pulled hard. The sudden shift in weight made Cadence slam face-first to the ground. Growling, she whipped around and glared at Brady, who looked back at her, ready for her to attack once more.

Oliver struggled in his fight against Sara. Their mutual background in training made it hard for either of them to get the upper hand in their fight. Every proactive move he would make, Sara could counter it and move to knock him over. Then Oliver would do the same to Sara. Over and over they tried to come out on top. All the while Sara worked hard to kill him, chest heaving with her effort, Oliver used just enough energy and power to fend her off. Every time he would strike her upside the head, making her hiss and turn her head away, he'd falter slightly.

Was that the blow she wouldn't come back from? Was that the one that would cause irreversible damage?

And still, he fought, hoping to give Barry as much time as he could. Around him, his friends and family fought as hard as they could, screams and grunts of effort growing louder and louder. Sara swept her staff below Oliver's legs, bringing them out from beneath him. Oliver crashed to his back and Sara slammed the end of her staff into his chest, holding him still while Diggle and Thea slowly walked towards him, menacingly holding up their arrow and pistol, pointing directly at his heart.

Suddenly, Sara's weight dropped towards him as if her hands slipped. She gasped, pushing herself up into a standing position, removing the staff from Oliver's chest. "Ollie?" She asked. She looked around. "What? What happened?"

Oliver felt a smile stretch over his face as the others stopped and looked around in confusion. He took a deep breath, relief washing over him in a moment. "Guys," Oliver said quietly, pressing his fingertip to his ear. "They're back."

* * *

Barry ran through Central City towards the salt mines with Kara streaking after him, sending out blasts of her heat vision to stop him as she went. Barry ran his fastest and Kara wasn't fast enough, staying a few feet behind as she trailed behind him. Finally, Barry reached the salt mines and stopped, waiting for Kara.

She finally arrived, eyes glassy as she glared at him. The red swirl on her forehead continued to increase an dim like a strobe light, growing brighter at its maximum as the seconds passed. Barry watched the glow that resembled a pulsing brain, expecting it to sprout veins and stretch even further in her body. Barry's lips twitched as he lowered his gaze, staring Kara down. They stared at each other for a long moment, the mounting challenge between them growing.

"Catch me if you can," he murmured before he blasted down a long hallway with a crack of lightning. Kara's lips pressed together in determination. With an evil glint in her eye, she elongated her body, sticking her feet behind her, and put on a burst of speed, chasing after him. Pumping his arms and legs, Barry heard what sounded like a sonic boom and looked over his shoulder.

Kara streaked behind him, coming closer as the seconds passed. But not close enough. With a low laugh, Barr turned forward once more and put on an extra burst of speed. He didn't need to go at maximum, not yet. He just needed to make sure she'd follow. They twisted and turned through the salt mines, with Barry edging himself out of Kara's way each time she came close, grunting as she brought out an arm, trying to swipe at him.

Barry leapt into the air and Kara continued to fly forward. Seeing him no longer in front of him, she turned around and Barry shook his head.

"Too slow," he taunted.

Kara didn't say anything in response. A scowl came to her lips and she abruptly changed direction to race after him once more. Barry ran. Faster, faster, faster, taunting her as he went. If it wasn't her invincibility—and that she could probably kill him—he would've been having a blast. Finally, when Barry knew she was angry enough, he ran and stopped in front of the red egg he located seconds after arriving at the mines. Kara hovered in front of him, her eyes locked on his before stretching out her arms to shoot directly towards Barry, bloodlust in her eyes.

At the last second, Barry started to phase and closed his eyes when Kara equally passed through him and the egg, destroying it in seconds. Immediately, Kara tumbled to the ground as if the wind had been let from her sales. She struggled to her feet, swinging her hair back from her face before looking around in confusion.

"Barry?" She asked him.

Barry grinned, shoulders slumping in belief. "You wouldn't believe me if I told you."

"What happened?"

"You didn't kill me, so my day's looking up."

Kara brought her hands up to cover her mouth. Then she dropped them as her lips open and closely soundlessly. Barry's smile widened. She was back to herself. "I'm so sorry," Kara quickly apologized.

"You're not the first superhero to be mind-controlled," Barry replied, placing his hand on her shoulder. "And you won't be the last."

* * *

Caitlin smiled as she looked over Jesse who lay quietly on the examining table. "You're going to be fine," she said. "But you'll have a headache for a little while. That's one thing you can't heal so fast, I'm afraid."

"Then what's the point of having healing powers," Jesse asked quietly before joining in on Caitlin's laughter. She twisted on the bed to get more comfortable, wincing as her head moved in an odd angle. "Ow. How does Barry do it?"

"He's had a lot of practice." Caitlin's eyes shifted to the EKG then to the tablet she held in her hands. Jesse's vitals were holding steady. "I'll let you get some rest. Just call me if you need anything." She patted Jesse's foot. "You did a great job, Jesse. Don't ever be disappointed at your lack of field work. You'll have your time soon enough."

Jesse smiled and closed her eyes. "Thanks, Caitlin."

"You're welcome." Caitlin moved the tablet back to its holder to charge and left the medical bay so Jesse could have some quiet time. As she stepped out of the room, she looked down at her fingertips. She was able to fight, able to use her powers without turning into Killer Frost. Without feeling that need to rip anyone apart. Maybe her mother had been wrong.

"You know," Professor Stein said, walking up to her. "Having powers isn't a death sentence, my dear."

Caitlin gave him a gentle smile. She should've known he'd understand her deep-seeded thoughts and worries. With a low sigh, she brushed her hair behind her ear. "I attacked my friends."

"From what I understand of this night, so we have we," Professor Stein said with a small smile. There was a twinkle in his eye that made Caitlin smile back. "We could've hurt Barry or Oliver, but you stepped up along with the others to help us."

"I said, horrible, horrible things to them."

"But that wasn't you. And coming from someone who shares their own body with someone else, I would know for sure."

Caitlin laughed. It faded as quickly as it begun and she looked at those gathered in the Cortex. Her friends. The ones she loved. "I'm just so scared she'll come back and I can't stop her," Caitlin admitted. "That eventually she's the only one that'll…that maybe I won't…"

"We'll all be there for you, Caitlin." Professor Stein looped his arm around her shoulders and hugged her to his side. "That's all you need to know." Caitlin smiled and rested her head against Professor Stein's shoulders. She'd been without a fatherly touch, hug, comfort for so long she didn't realize how much she missed it.

Caitlin disengaged herself from Professor Stein and went over to Barry, who quickly waved her off. "You know I need to get a full body check on you, Mr. Allen," she reminded him.

"You can do it once I'm sure everything's been tied up," Barry replied. "Then, I promise, you can do as many tests as you want. I promise I'll tell you if anything's wrong." With that, he zipped back outside of STAR Labs where Felicity, Mick, Oliver, Thea, Jax, Diggle, Cadence, and Brady were gathered.

"So, what was it like to be mind-controlled and stuff?" Felicity asked Mick, who looked at her out of the corner of his eye.

"I didn't know he had a mind to control," Jax teased.

"Barry," Ray called to the speedster once Barry arrived outside, pulling his cowl down from his forehead. "Message or no message, we're with you."

"Thanks," Barry replied gratefully.

"So, where's Supergirl?" Thea asked.

"She and Deity are scanning the city to make sure there aren't any more orbs that whammied all of you," Barry said, twirling his finger in the air. He ran a hand over his face, removing the rain water that dropped around them. Then he glanced at Cadence who was as dry as a bone as she stood in the rain, the water droplets drying around her long before it even reached her. "Show off," he said.

Cadence smiled and winked to him. "It really comes in handy sometimes." She held her hand over Barry's head to prove her point as the rain water immediately stopped dripping through his hair. He grabbed her hand and kissed the back of it, making her laugh.

"So now what?" Brady asked, twirling his bow staff in hand.

"Call Lyla, and tell her the dominators aren't here peacefully," Oliver said. He leapt backwards when, in a blast of in a blast of yellow light, Sara was gone, zapped up into the sky. Oliver tilted his head back, following her path, trying in vain to see through the heavy cloud coverage.

"Sara!" Oliver called, desperately.

Within seconds Ray, Thea, and Diggle were the next to go. All taken in blasts of yellow light, completely with a thunderclap accompanying the blast seconds later. Cadence reached towards Thea when the yellow light started to take her, the second her hand touched the light, she was knocked off her feet where she landed on the ground in a heap.

"Mom!" Brady cried.

"Everybody inside!" Barry shouted frantically and as the others all started to run, Mick grabbing Cadence as he went. Barry turned to look at Oliver. Oliver looked back at him and in a move that made Barry take pause, subtly shook his head. Then a light shone down on top of Oliver.

Barry took off running, everything around him coming to a stand still as the light beamed onto Oliver. He ran as fast as he could, eyes stayed locked on Barry's. Then just as Barry was about to reach him, Oliver was gone. Barry tripped and fell over onto his knees before collapsing onto his front. He twisted around and looked up towards the sky but found nothing but storm clouds, water dripping into his face.

His friends were gone.

The night was still.

* * *

 **A/N:** One part of Invasion left. It was originally going to end with this one, but there some interpersonal things I needed to bring up in this one, namely what was up with Cisco that made the chapter too long and I don't want to have anyone read too much. I've been told it makes people skim rather than read in-depth so I'm being careful with chapter lengths. Anyway, I hope Cisco's anger with Barry made sense now that it's out in the open.

And what did you think of the fights, huh? Pretty good, right? Sorry, but that was my favorite part to write. Some of them, namely Brady's and Cadence's, will be extended in the next chapter. Don't forget to check out my oneshot _Henry Allen was Here,_ my sister's one-shot _He Testified_ and the update to her Flash OC story, _Out Of Focus_ they're all great!

Please remember to review; any feedback helps me become a better writer and motivates me to write more. I respond to every review, even anonymous ones.

 **Cheers,**

 **-Riley**

 **Review Replies**

 **Yummers:** It's coming, I promise. Glad you liked it.

 **Ethan:** It said on the show that Jesse has 5 degrees. On Earth-2 it's not so weird for them. Not charging up Wally's powers, just reacting to another Speedster being nearby. Like how it's possible to take on a speedster's speed like Jay and Barry do later in the season. As far as I know, Brady doesn't have Cade's ability of enhanced strength, so apart from the fact that Cade is very light, he probably can't fly with her yet.

 **DarkHelm145:** I hope you liked Oliver in this chapter as well. There's more original stuff with him in the next one that pertains to some things in Arrow in the next chapter I'm sure you'll enjoy.

 **Guest:** Yeah, that new character is a OC from my co-writing partner when it comes to crossovers. All of the backstory is on his profile: PowerHero432. I'm sorry it was so confusing.

 **spinquin142:** There's more to the crossover when it comes to the Arrow/Legends part, but the Flash part needed to be the same considering Barry's story arc so far. I hope you continue to enjoy.

 **babyj:** I hope the focus of Cisco in this chapter made it worth it.


	13. Triumph (3)

**13**

 _Triumph_

* * *

"Mick, I already told you, hovering around isn't going to help anything," Caitlin said through gritted teeth. She tore her gaze away from Cadence, whom she had her hands pressed against to glare at the fire toting criminal. "All you're doing is getting in my way."

"Sorry, frosty," Mick said, sounding anything but. He lifted his feet to rest on the end of the bed Cadence lay upon. Crossing them at the ankle, a smile stretched across his face. "But when I get idle, that's when things start to go wrong. And besides, you need me here." Caitlin's voice dripped with sarcasm as she asked him what he meant. "Well, if something happens and Princess here wakes up completely out of her mind, then you'd need someone who knows a thing or two about fire to handle it."

"Trust me." Caitlin lifted a hand away from the side of Cadence's face, where a vapor wafted around her hands. "I can handle it."

"Are you sure? I think I heard something about you being afraid of your powers." Caitlin fixed him with a sharp glare and he held up his hands, one of which held onto his heat gun. "I know we've had our differences before, but believe me, I want nothing more than to help." His eyes flickered towards Cadence's prone body, almost lovingly.

Caitlin lifted a skeptical eyebrow but didn't say anything else. She was tired of having to deal wit Mick. Tired of having to deal with everything. Having powers was supposed to make life easier and, instead, it made things harder. For all of them. Since Barry became the Flash, too many secrets were being kept at the worst time. And she was the biggest hypocrite about it, snapping at Barry for things he tried to work out on his own when she tried to do the same when it was her instead.

And now? What did it matter if they weren't being the team they knew they could be? A formidable force that no meta could stop?

Shaking the thoughts from her head, Caitlin focused her attention on her powers. Allowing the bitter wind to wash over Cadence. Her temperature needed to stay down. She wasn't sure what it was, but the second she'd been knocked out, her body immediately started to convulse while her skin erupted into bullets of sweat. They'd seen it a few times before, had managed to work through it each time. _You've found something your powers are good for,_ Caitlin thought, holding her stream steady. _Don't lose control now._

Footsteps caught Caitlin's attention as Cisco walked into the medical bay. He lifted his chin when their eyes met, Caitlin smiled back, glad he'd made it from Star City okay. They hadn't heard anything since he left. Things had been too quiet. And as far as she was concerned, no news was good news. Nothing on the Dominators had been said on the news other than a few reports from callers into news stations describing the space ship they'd seen.

 _And to link, a long time ago all this happening would've been only something we could imagine,_ Cailin thought. She waited for Cisco to come close enough before asking, "Anything yet?" as she straightened herself. A twinge of pain set in her lower back, she'd been working for hours.

Cisco shrugged. "I vibed one of Oliver's arrows, and got a look at where they could be. I think they're on one of the Dominator's ships but…we couldn't figure out anything else other than that. We'd need some of their alien tech to get an idea of how to take _down_ their tech, which, of course, I'd like to see for myself. So the team an I, Team Arrow, I mean, Felicity, Curtis, and Renee, very…very interesting guys, those guys, and brought the back to get some more work done."

Caitlin blinked rapidly, trying to discern all the information Cisco had unpacked onto her. "Well, what about the—"

"—the spaceship that Barry and Cade saw when the Dominators first came frolicking to town? Yeah, we tried that. The government must've taken it for their own purposes. Whatever those are, can't really trust the government, right? They tap our phones and everything, though I have to admit they'd hear some pretty weird conversations that I have with my friends."

Mick groaned under his breath and rolled his eyes.

Caitlin, on the other hand, continued to listen patiently until finding a natural break in Cisco's rhythm. "Did you—"

"Yes, I debrief our fearless leader on everything," Cisco said sarcastically. "And he can do whatever he wants with that information. He already does. It's no skin off my nose."

"Cisco…" Caitlin folded her arms. "Are you ever going to let Barry off the hook?" She shrugged, glancing away from her best friend. "He made a mistake, we all know he did. We would've done the same—"

"—Caitlin, he's selfish, okay," Cisco interrupted. "Every time something goes wrong for him, he's willing to go back and fix it, so he lives in peace. But he won't do it for anyone else? You're the one who is waking up from nightmares every night wondering if you've finally managed to lose control and kill people. So why doesn't he just go back in time and make it so that you don't have powers."

Now Caitlin transfixed Cisco with a hard look. "You know it doesn't work like that," she said firmly. "The only way I wouldn't have my powers would be if I wasn't in Central City when we turned on the Particle Accelerator. I wouldn't be friends with you, or Barry, or have had any of the experiences we've ever had. Is that what you want?"

Cisco pressed his lips together.

"Or maybe it's that you want everyone around you to be pushed away," Caitlin continued. "Because you're doing a great job of that already. Maybe you're the one who's selfish. You have a life that you're proud of, you're excited to be a part of, and you're afraid that the moment it all goes away you'll go back to what you're afraid of being again. A loser." The two stared at each other for long seconds of silence, Caitlin was the first one to break it. "I need a break. Her temperature seems to be stabilized, let me know if anything changes." She then nodded to Mick. "And make sure he stays away from her."

With that, Caitlin left the medical bay, heading towards her office. She passed by Barry, Brady, and Deity, who were coming in the opposite direction, retiring from the field. Barry was in the process of taking off his gloves when he noticed her and the stern expression on her face. "Is everything okay?" He asked her. "Did something happen?"

"Is my mom awake yet?" Brady added anxiously.

Caitlin gave him a sad smile. "Not yet," she said then added, "But I'm sure she will be soon. You'll be the first person I look for when she does."

Brady sighed heavily. "Okay. Thanks, Aunt Caitlin," he said. "I'll go work on the inventory then."

"Thank you."

"You're welcome." Brady walked off, head hanging towards the medical bay with Deity following along behind him, casting a curious glance to Barry and Caitlin as she went.

Barry turned back to Caitlin, eyebrows furrowed in concern. "I think he's taking this really hard," he said.

"Well, he _did_ just have to fight against her," Caitlin reminded him.

"I meant having been mad at her before, about Conner," Barry corrected. "You didn't hear everything he told her, but it was bad. I think he's beating himself up about it."

"Didn't you do the same when your mom died?"

"Yeah…I kept thinking she'd wake up and everything would be over. We'd go home. When it started to become more real, that she was really gone, I started to wonder what I could've done to help her. Why did I have to run away?" He chuckled. "Of course, it wasn't until almost 20 years later that I find that I ran _myself_ away but…" Caitlin laughed along with him, a sobering laugh that made Barry glance at her before looking closely. "Is everything okay?"

"I just needed to take a break," Caitlin said. "I didn't want anything to happen…" she gestured with her hands and Barry nodded in understanding. "Cisco told me that you guys got some leads on where Oliver and the others are?"

"Yeah." Barry nodded. He took in a deep breath, running his hands over his face and through his hair. It was then Caitlin noticed how tired he looked. Dark circles sat under his eyes, of which she also noticed quickly jerked back and forth, as if a muscle spasm to keep himself awake. She didn't remember him sleeping at all since everything with the Dominators started. "Professor Stein and Jax got into contact with those on the Waverider and they're going after the ship they're on."

"So, they really _are_ on a Dominator's ship?"

"They got beamed up like Scotty, Caitlin. I don't think they're having a good time floating around in space."

Caitlin gave a half smile at his joke. "That was so lame."

"I'm glad my lousy sense of humor is good for something."

With that, Caitlin laughed and stepped forward, wrapping her arms around Barry tightly. He opened his arms and hugged her back, squeezing her just as hard. Things were difficult, but at least they had a moment to relax. Barry rubbed her back then rested his hands on her shoulders. "You deserve a break, Caitlin."

"So do you."

"I know, I will when all of this is over." Caitlin stared to protest but Barry tilted his head. "Go."

Amused, Caitlin lifted her eyebrows. "Are you pulling rank on me?" Technically, as Harrison and Tess named Barry the one that would take on STAR Labs when they were gone, effectively making him the sole owner of the property, he was her boss. They'd never spoke much about it before, what it meant for their team dynamic. It was bound to come up at some point.

Barry smiled. "Yes, I'm pulling rank on you. Go get some rest, Caitlin. I'll get you if there's anything you need to know."

"Alright." Caitlin stared to go then stopped. She looked at Barry seriously. Eyes searched his. "Don't push yourself too hard, Barry."

"I won't." Barry watched her walk away, being sure she did as she was told, before letting out a heavy sigh. Much like Brady did before, his shoulders slumped, the weight of the world slamming heavily on his shoulders. First the Dominators came to the city, then he lost trust in everyone, then he had to fight his friends, gained everyone's trust back, and they were taken away to some spaceship floating in space above their heads?

When would things get easier?

Barry straightened himself when he walked into the Cortex, doing his best to appear unaffected as he walked into the Cortex. Harrison and Tess were nowhere to be found—he remembered only seconds later they were in their offices, fielding phone calls with their connections to those in law enforcement and the government to know the plan moving forward, and he was glad HR wasn't there as well. There was only so much mindless talking he could take before snapping.

Glancing over, Barry twisted his mouth to the side as he watched Brady systematically move through the inventory in the medical bay, checking things off on a clipboard while Deity sat aside, the two talking about something that made them laugh. Mick sat snoring loudly in a chair by Cadence's bedside while Cisco continued to glare at him with every abnormally loud snore that drowned out the sound of the heart monitor beeping quietly.

Hearing a quiet sigh, Barry turned around to see Kara sitting at the computer desks, watching—but not focusing—on some late night comedy show that was playing.

"Hey," Barry said, walking over to Kara, who sat dejectedly with her chin in her hands. She sat up and tried to appear as perky as ever as he approached, watching Barry as he grabbed a nearby chair and sat down. "How's everything going? Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," Kara said. But even she couldn't muster up enthusiasm. Barry gave her a look and Kara sighed, folding her arms. "I just…I don't get it," she said. "I know that my mind should be on all of this, the Dominators and Cade and everything but…I just don't get why she ran away."

"Because she felt like she had to," Barry said with a sense of definition he hadn't anticipated coming from him. It didn't take him long to realize he was telling the truth, however. As he felt it. He still didn't know everything, and wouldn't push her either. The situation was something he found to have in common with the young teen now that he thought about it.

"But _why?_ And why won't she talk to me? And why can Cadence get her to do something the moment she asks and I have to practically bribe Debby to do something when at home? Do you know how long it took for me to get her to go grocery shopping with me?" A hollow laugh followed.

Barry bobbed his head back and forth. Unsure of how to respond, or even if he should. It wasn't his business, but… "Because you give her a choice," he said bluntly, grudgingly.

Kara frowned. "If I don't, she doesn't listen…"

"Because you give her a choice," Barry repeated. He was silent for a long moment, blinking back the tears that threatened to come. "When my mom died, and my dad was taken away, I moved in with Joe and Iris," he explained. "I hated it." Kara looked confused. She'd heard nothing but good things about the family that had taken him in, that had become a family of his own. "Don't get me wrong," Barry said quickly. "I didn't hate _them,_ I hated that I had to be there. I hated that my mom was gone, that my dad was gone, that I was constantly being asked questions about that night. The night that is so engrained in my head that if there was anything I had missed or didn't say outright, I would've told them in a heartbeat. Anything to save my dad. But I knew that night inside and out, yet I was still being asked about it. I hated that the police and therapists thought they were helping me. And to top it off, I had a man who was trying to tell me what to do. When to go to sleep, when to eat, when to do my homework." He ran a hand through his hair. "I don't blame Joe for any of this. Actually, if he hadn't done it, I probably would've ended up on the streets."

"What do you mean?" Kara murmured.

Barry pressed his lips together. "I ran away all the time." Kara's eyes widened in surprise and he nodded. "I wasn't very smart about it; I was always running towards Iron Heights. I thought if I could get there with my dad, maybe they'd let me stay. But Joe would quickly catch me and take me back home. I wouldn't do any of the chores he asked me to do, I wouldn't do my homework…" he chuckled. "Until right before school."

Kara tried her hardest not to roll her eyes, but Barry noticed it. "Hey, you're about as good as I am and even I don't think you've never not done your homework." Then she smiled sheepishly, which made him laughed. "I was never the kind of person that just didn't do my homework, so I'd wait until I got to school and did it fast. I wouldn't listen to what Joe had to say. Because, in my head, I knew he wasn't my dad and I didn't understand why he was trying to act like it. I told him so a while go and once recently. I'm not proud of either time I've said it.

"But Joe sat me down and reminded me that I didn't have anyone else other than him and Iris and if I continued to push them away, I didn't have anyone. Then what would happen? I'm not saying that Debby doesn't think of you as her mom, because you are in every sense of it, but you weren't there when she was born, you weren't there when she first learned to walk or crawl or fly or whatever it is Kryptonians learn to do first. It's in the back of her mind and it's always going to be there. Especially since she's a hybrid and not completely Kryptonian. No matter what there's a part of her that feels doesn't fit, just like no matter how much Joe and Iris are my family, I'm not a West.

"My dad and Joe…they got into a fight about it before he died but they managed to understand each other. It took them time to reach that understanding just like it's going to take time for you and Debby to reach an understanding. She knows she's different and now something's happened to her that's made her afraid of accidently killing somebody."

Barry was suddenly struck with the realization. He'd heard Deity say it to Oliver before, but when you had multiple people you loved attacking you, it was hard to keep things straight. Hearing it now, he realized how much it made sense. He'd been afraid of the same thing when he got his powers. What would happen if he was too strong and killed someone? He made the vow not to and had still only done it once. It was something he and Cadence argued about from time to time, she said there was no way to accurately protect the city without having to kill of a major threat every now and then, Barry was a staunch believer that things could be solved with rehabilitation and incarceration. Even being face to face with the Reverse-Flash time and time again hadn't made the decision any easier. He had every opportunity to kill him and still couldn't bring himself to do it.

He had to be better.

"You and Debby just need to get to where things work for you both. You giving her free-reign isn't going to do it. She's scared, probably since she first crash landed on your Earth, but even more so now. Something happened and right now what would really help her is to not be alone. I know you're hurting and really want to know what happened, but you have to let her come to you with it. Because she's afraid you'll think of her differently."

"I never…" Kara trailed off. True, she had never left Deity alone, she was always there for her daughter. It was only now that Barry was pointing it out however, that she realised that had all been her. She'd been shoehorning herself into Deity's life more ways than one, when maybe all she'd wanted was some time alone. But she'd been loose with her, too. Maybe Deity's insistence of doing things on her own and pushing back against everyone was a sort of cry for help. "Thanks, Barry," Kara said to him. "And…I'm sorry about what happened to your dad."

Barry nodded. He couldn't speak. It was still too painful to talk about.

"That's why you created Flashpoint?" Kara asked. "Because you missed him?" Barry nodded again. Kara's eyes lowered. "I miss my parents and Krypton every day…if I had the ability to change things, to keep them alive…I might do the same." "Trust me, the consequences aren't worth it."

"Well, that's how you're strong, Barry. You can handle it."

The two smiled at each other before both turned their eyes back to the comedy show. They weren't in the mood for laughter, but something had to take their minds off the fact they didn't have any leads to what the Dominators were up to or where their friends were.

Barry could only watch for the first half hour before he closed his eyes and turned away. He turned his head, resting his cheek on his upraised fist as his eyes turned back to the medical bay. Times like these, he'd have someone from his team be there to talk him down, to give him some sympathy or empathy. It was a time where Cadence would give him some tough love and seamlessly add in compassion that he really missed. What hurt him the most was that he couldn't be there for her in the current situation, unsure of what to do to help.

He hated feeling so powerless.

The last time, he'd run back and created Flashpoint. This time, he had no choice but to work through it. He couldn't mess things up again.

"Everything's going to be okay, Barry," Kara said gently. He could hear the smidge of uncertainty in her voice. "Cadence is going to be fine."

"It's not that," Barry croaked. He blinked a few times before turning to her. He looked at her for a second before twisting his head once more, hesitating. But his feet propelled him back to the apartment and back, where he dropped into his chair once more. He dragged his feet on the ground to keep the chair from rolling across the floor at top speeds.

He took a breath and held his closed fist out. Instinctively, Kara held out her hand and watched as a ring dropped into her palm. She stared at it for a moment then realization crossed her face. A giddy smile stretched her lips. "Barry!" She practically squealed. "You're going to propose?"

"I've been thinking about it," Barry admitted, motioning for her to keep her voice down. He reached up and rubbed the back of his neck. "That was my mom's ring. But with what's happened lately…"

"We haven't lost yet, Barry. Don't let that get you down." Kara turned the ring back and forth in her fingers then asked, "Am I the first to know?"

"No, I told Brady first."

Kara thought for a moment, her nose wrinkling. "Ah. Okay, that makes those strange little comments make more sense."

"Yeah, he's excited."

"What about his dad?"

"I have to talk to him about it, too. I know he won't mind, but he still deserves to know before I do it. And there's Joe and…" Barry licked his lips. "I would've liked to tell my dad but…I guess that wasn't meant to be." Kara smiled sadly, handing the ring back over. Barry superspeeded it into a pocket on his suit when Deity poked her head out of the medical bay.

"Uh, Cisco says he's going to try vibing Cadence," she reported. "I don't really know what that means, but it sounds like you would."

Barry immediately leaned over and pressed an intercom button on the closest computer and called Caitlin out of her office before hurrying into the medical bay. He looked over at Caitlin when she arrived, breathless, then back to Cisco. He jumped when Mick continued to snore loudly behind them. He and Caitlin exchanged glances and rolled their eyes.

"Are you guys ready?" Cisco asked. It was then Barry noticed he had his hand wrapped around Cadence's, fingers hovering over the ring that sat on her pinkie finger. He got nods in reply and took a deep breath. "Here we go."

Cisco clamped his fingers down onto her ring and in a second, he was transported into an area of complete darkness. He waited for his eyes to adjust, but it was the sound of a struggle that got his attention first. Grunts of pain, the sickening squelch of flesh beating flesh. The cries of someone in pain seconds before an equally loud grunt of effort. There was a sudden flash of light and Cisco turned towards it.

There was silence before another flash. Cisco's eyes narrowed as he walked towards it. It took only a few steps before it was suddenly in his face. Breathtaker stood before Cadence, who frantically and impulsively threw fire towards him. Breathtaker merely held up his hand and deflected each attack. Cisco yelped as a fireball hurtled his way and he ducked aside, feeling the heat singe him at his shoulder.

"Aw man, that was my favorite shirt," he whined.

 _Cadence let out a sound of intense frustration, grabbing her head as if squeezing it hard enough would give her the answers she needed. "What do you want from me?" She demanded._

 _"I need your help, my child." The answer was so simple, rolling out of his mouth like dry leaves. Breathtaker clearly wasn't annoyed by having the same repeated conversation._

 _"I already told you," Cadence's voice continued to increase in strength, in ferver. "I'm not helping you anymore. I'm not going to blindly follow you anymore."_

 _Breathtaker shook his head. "You're all my children and you're lost because you follow blind leaders." He gestured his hand around the darkness. "These false gods you follow so blindly, so lovingly. Systems of the weak. They've ruined my world. No more. Only you can help me."_

 _"What do you want?" Cadence's shoulders slumped in exhaustion, though her voice continued to hold firm. She wasn't backing down._

 _"I want you to feel the full reach of your powers," Breathtaker clenched his hand into a fist, eyes continuing to glow hauntingly form beneath his hood. "You've only had a taste of your true strength, unlike others who seek to control you. I want to set you free." He gestured towards the darkness once more. "This was meant to be the center of the universe before I was betrayed. This…the metahumans. You believe that the metas you work with were the first created. That the Particle Accelerator is the first interest of those to the unknown. There have been unexplainables, metahumans, around for much longer than you'd ever imagine. I used to lead them. We used to live in a world where they were heralded as much as your so-called presidents and prime ministers of now. I want to return the world to that former glory."_

 _"You want to kill all the humans," Cadence snarled._

 _"There must be casualty in war. Surely, you know that by now. You were one of the best followers. Your combined talents with Mindboggler, Incognito, and Stratos are what can show the world it's former glory."_

 _Cadence started to pace back and forth, too agitated to stand still. Moving like a lion or a tiger stalking it's prey._

 _"Everything you made us do…it was to bring metahumans together?"_

 _"No, my child. It was to be sure I had the right protectors on my side. Those that no longer had souls, those that would do anything I asked. It took me a vast amount of time to figure out those who had what I needed. But when I found them…those special talents…I knew they could be used to achieve my dream. I brought you everything you know."_

 _"I'm not your puppet," Cadence hissed._

 _"No, my child. But you are one of the keys to cleanse the Earth. And I will not rest until it is achieved."_

 _Cadence lifted her hands, the room illuminating in so much light that Cisco had to raise his hands to shield his eyes. Even with his eyes closed, the light was so bright he could see Stratos's and Cadence's shadowy figures moving as they became locked in battle. Cauldrons of fire erupted beside her as she raised her arms. With screams of effort, Cadence controlled the fire, twisting and snaking out of their perches. As they stretched, they formed the shape of dragons that shot directly towards Breathtaker. Breathtaker merely lifted his hand, casting the fire to the side._

 _A low, dry chuckle filled the area, bouncing around Cisco, filling his head no matter how hard he pressed his hands against his ears. With miniscule movements; twisting it left and right as if he were swiping for a match on Tinder, Breathtaker exhibited his powers. Without touching her. Invisible enemies gave her a brutal beatdown._

 _A solid punch to the stomach immediately had blood flowing from her mouth. Bubbling over her lips to fall down her chin. She fell to her knees, one arm wrapped around her stomach, spitting a mouthful of blood to the ground. Then she was struck on the side of the face, pitching her over to her side. Systematic attacks came next, not giving her any chance to defend herself. A slam against the edge of the darkness that surrounded them, a headbutt to the forehead, a crushing blow to the knees that immediately caused her to collapse, unable to hold her weight on a broken leg. A kick to the stomach. A stomp to the ribs. Devastating assaults that broke the bones in her face and hands as she tried to fend herself off._

 _Her healing wasn't kicking in, his powers overriding hers._

 _Still, she continued to fight back, her movements were sluggish but continued to hold onto her fire. She was strong and determined with a fire in her heart that she wouldn't let life, let alone Breathtaker, put out. No matter how much of a disadvantage she was at, she wouldn't stop fighting until he was dead. Her arms snapped to her sides, head lolling forward as if ropes suddenly bound around her._

 _Breathtaker lifted her off the ground and moved her directly in front of him. Cadence's head tilted back, hair moving out of her face. Despite blood continuing to puddle down from her mouth, pitiful wheezes escaping her lips, an eye completely swollen shut, bruising along her jaw, Cadence continued to glare defiantly at Breathtaker._

 _"It's only a matter of time," he warned._

 _And he dropped her, leaving Cadence in a free fall through the darkness._

 _"Gah!"_

 _She came to a hard stop, head and neck cracking against the ground, her body falling in a heap seconds after. Her body bounced once in the ground before lying still. The darkness pulsed around her, throbbing in and out along with her slowing heartbeat._

 _A last sigh escaped her lips as her eyes fell shut._

Cisco gasped and stumbled backwards, dropping Cadence's hand. He stumbled into the wall behind him bringing his hand up to his chest as he fought for breath.

"What'd you see?" Brady demanded.

"What happened?' Barry asked.

Cisco continued to gasp for air, trying his hardest to breathe. He screamed at his brain to calm down, but his hands continued to shake, chest heaving up and down. Had he been the one that was attacked? "Cisco, what's wrong?" Caitlin asked.

Instead of responding, Cisco pointed to Cadence. All eyes turned to her as her eyelashes fluttered. In seconds, bruising formed on her face, blood dripping form her lips and down the side of her head. Kara and Deity gasped.

"Mom!" Brady grabbed onto her hand and leaned over her. As the seconds passed, the wounds continued to worsen, darkening on her pale skin. "Mom?" His voice quivered as he called to her again.

They continued to watch as her wounds continued to darken. Then, as quickly as they appeared, they faded away. Brady smiled and leaned forward, resting his head against her stomach. Caitlin glanced at the monitors attached to her friend and shook her head in amazement.

"What?" Kara asked. "What's happening?"

"She's healing," Caitlin explained. "But…she wasn't hurt before. Something hurt her."

Barry looked to Cisco, who finally caught his breath, continuing to press against the wall behind him. He swallowed hard and looked back at him before looking away. Barry moved to Cadence and gently pushed her hair from her forehead. "Cade?" He murmured. "Hey, can you hear me?"

Cadence gently nodded, her squinting open. "My head hurts," she croaked.

"I'm sure it would," Barry smiled in relief. "Welcome back, Miss. Nash."

There was a loud thumping sound, completely with a snort when Mick's feet fell off the bed, jolting him awake. He smacked his lips and looked around, blinking slowly when all eyes turned his way.

"What'd I miss?" He asked.

* * *

It wasn't until the next morning when Barry had gotten the call, immediately shooting him awake from a restless slumber filled with the Reverse-Flash, Zoom, his parents, and the Dominators, that sent him racing off to STAR Labs. It was hard to believe, but true. Oliver, Ray, Thea, Diggle, and Sara had managed to get off the Dominator's ship they had been held captive on. The moment he saw them, Barry went over to Oliver and surprised him with a tight hug.

Though stunned at first, Oliver couldn't help himself but reach up and pat Barry on the back, a move of solidarity, to let him know he didn't blame him for anything that had happened. Barry stepped back and looked Oliver in the eye, silently questioning him, and Oliver gave a single nod back that reassured him. Everything was going to be okay.

"So, what happened?" He asked.

And they told their whole story. The Dominators had taken them as they were the only humans in the group and wanted to probe their minds for any information that was pertinent to them. They explained how they were placed in pods that kept them in a deep slumber and the only way they managed to break out of it, was due to Oliver, who was the first to notice that something was wrong. That there were too many changes in their lives that hadn't managed to stick, things he broke through thus starting off the uprising against the Dominators that got them.

After being introduced to Nate Heywood, and the rest of the Legends team, Barry gathered everyone to meet at the hangar once more.

"I can't believe you managed to escape an alien spaceship," Cisco practically squealed to Oliver as those that had been kidnapped by the Dominators as they all walked inside the hangar. "You'll totally have to tell me the story later, once we defeat all of this alien butt."

Oliver looked at him and shook his head. He continued his forward stride to Barry, who was flanked on either side by Kara, Felicity, and Professor Stein. "What's our status?" He practically barked.

"Nothing," Barry said, slapping his hands to his sides. The word he hated the most in the world as it typically proceeded a lie and followed a question of what could be wrong. "Now that the Dominators have paid their little visit to mess with your heads."

"While…" Ray pointed above their heads. "We were up there we realized they took us because we were human and everyone else is a meta or an alien of some sort. They wanted to probe our minds to determine what makes us different. Trying to pit us against each other."

"Why can't these guys just send us an IM asking us to fill out a questionnaire?" Felicity asked, voice tight with frustration.

Brady gave her a look. "Because no one uses IM anymore, we all use Snapchat. Duh."

"Metas pose the biggest threat to their invasion," Kara said, pushing her cape behind her. "It would make sense that they want to learn as much about their enemies as they can."

"Perhaps they were searching your minds for any potential metahuman vulnerabilities," Professor Stein suggested.

Oliver shook his head, already tired of the conversation, of the inaction against those that threatened their planet. "Then, maybe it's time we return the favor," he said.

"What do you want to do? Kidnap one of them?"

"Ever since we fought off that ship, they've kind of been in short supply."

"Well, if there's anyone who can find a Dominator it's my mom," Brady suggested with a shrug. His eyes shifted back and forth from Oliver to Barry and back again. "She can find anyone really fast. Why not aliens, too?"

"Right now, I think it's a good idea that she rests," Kara said gently.

Brady smirked. "You don't know my mom very well, do you?" His smile faded when Barry gave him a look, almost imperceptibly shaking his head. Brady nodded back, pressing his lips together. Now wasn't the time to brag.

"Actually," Nate said slowly, scratching at the tiny bit of beard that covered his chin. "I think I know where to find one." Confused glances came his way and he folded his arms, addressing everyone standing in front of him. "On our way back into the atmosphere—"

"—Which, incidentally isn't as cool as Train would make you believe," Cisco interrupted.

Nate smiled. "I looked over some footage of the army of their first encounters with the Dominators and I think I pegged the fight to this one moment in time. Redmond, Oregon. 1951."

"That's what Joe was talking about earlier," Barry said.

"Yeah, he said he remembered watching it on the SyFy channel," Brady said.

Brady's head tilted to the side as his nose wrinkled. "So…you're saying we should travel to 1951 and abduct a Dominator in order to torture it to get intel on its inventions?"

"They kidnapped us," Sara pointed out. "Seems fair." An eye for an eye.

"Time travel," Cisco murmured dreamily. "I'm definitely in."

"Okay, hold on, Professor Stein and Caitlin have been talking about a way to take down the Dominators, they could probably use your help."

"Pass," Cisco said flatly.

Felicity nodded in agreement. "Yeah, I'm with him. Not that I don't want to help here, but I also don't want to lose my geek cred. I mean, time travel!"

"Oh, and we wouldn't want that," Cadence drawled as she sauntered over, cleaning off the lenses of her goggles as she walked over. Deity walked along with her, looking at her periodically as if afraid she'd start to keel over. She'd been sticking close ever since Cadence climbed out of bed, claiming she was just watching her in case she collapsed suddenly. It was also a pretty good excuse for avoiding her mother too.

Coming to a stop and letting her goggles drop around her neck, Cadence asked, "What's the plan?"

"You shouldn't be up," Oliver said, having been debriefed on what happened while he was gone. "You should be getting some sleep."

"I'll sleep when I'm dead," Cadence replied shortly. "I'm not missing any of this. You guys need my help. We're a team. And," she tilted her head to the side. "I don't think you'd want a pissed off meta fighting against you."

Oliver smiled a little. "Got enough of that before, you're right." He nodded towards his oldest friends, who nodded back.

Barry continued to give her a worried look, of which Cadence shot back with a sharp one of her own. "I'm fine," she stressed. "We can deal with that later, right now we need to handle the Dominators. And figure out the best course of action against them. Offense or defense?"

"I'm taking Amaya and Mick and Cisco and Felicity with me back to 1951 to catch a Dominator," Nate replied.

Deity nodded in agreement. "What's the game plan?"

"I'm taking Amaya and Mick and Cisco and Felicity with me back to 1951 to catch a Dominator," Nate replied.

Deity bobbed her head back and forth as she mulled over what had just been said to her and Cadence. "So time travel," she said. "That's kinda cool."

"Speaking of cool, which would be much better under completely different circumstances, the new president called," Barry said, trying and failing to keep the excitement out of his voice. "Wants to arrange a meeting."

"Then we'll need to bring serious backup," Oliver murmured, eyes shifting as he thought of a game plan. "Ray and Sara will come with us."

"What about me?" Kara asked, almost eagerly bouncing on her toes. Itching for a fight. "I can do backup."

"I need to talk to you for a second," Oliver said. Kara and Barry exchanged a glance while Barry held out his arm, indicating Oliver shouldn't be left waiting. Kara gently floated along behind the gruff older man as he walked them a few paces away from the group. The intense frown never leaving his face. "I would like to minimize you, and your daughter's, involvement in this," he said quietly.

Kara immediately frowned. "Why?" She demanded. "Because we're aliens? We also happen to be your biggest weapon."

"Kara, this is not personal."

"Except, that's exactly how this feels. Especially after the way you were speaking to Debby before," Kara argued defensively, still itching to pick at Oliver's bones for raising his voice at Deity when all she'd been trying to do was help.

Oliver's nostrils flared in irritation. "Kara, when I started living this life it was just me. I was going up against human threats. I can handle that. Then it was metahumans, I can handle that. Now, I know there's multiple Earths and I was held aboard this alien spacecraft—"

"—I'm sure that was unnerving—" Kara started.

"—I don't get unnerved," Oliver swiftly interrupted. Kara pursed her lips, folding her arms. "But when I go up against something new, I push back. Right or wrong, it is who I am and it is what I do. So, I am asking for a little bit of space because I have to draw the line somewhere. I have to claw back a sense of normalcy. Please, stay here."

He took Kara's silence as her answer and turned to walk away, leaving Kara almost pouting behind him. She could help it, it was the whole point of her being on this Earth, to stop the Dominators. But to be, to be…grounded like that? Now she knew how Brady and Jesse felt. To know you could help but not wanted around?

She could help, it was the whole point of going to their Earth, to stop the Dominators. But to be, to be…grounded like that? Now she knew how Brady and Jesse felt. To know you could help but not wanted around?

It sucked.

Kara was itching to fight, and nothing would stop her when she needed to fight. Letting out a frustrated sigh, Kara turned around finding Deity watching the two. Her eyes flickered to Oliver, anger flashing through them, before locking on with Kara's. Kara watched quietly as a soft look came to Deity's eyes and she turned away.

Hope filled Kara.

It was a start.

* * *

Caitlin walked into STAR Labs holding two cups of coffee. She handed one to Professor Stein, who stood by one of the transparent dry erase boards set up in the cortex. Gently nudging his arm, she got his attention, tearing his eyes away from the board and all the work he'd scribbled across it.

"Thank you, my dear," Professor Stein said, taking the Styrofoam cup from her. "This is exactly what I needed."

"Exactly what the doctor ordered," Caitlin agreed. She took a sip of her own coffee, lifting her brown eyes to the equations and figures written out in front of her. "No luck yet."

With a shake of his head, Professor Stein said. "It's highly unlikely we can fashion a weapon with sufficient force ot overcome the Dominators."

"I agree," Caitlin said. "I was thinking the same thing."

"So, what if instead, we tried to attack them with something small. I'm sure you're familiar of the story of the lion with the thorn in its paw."

"My dad used to read that to me all the time," Jesse said wistfully, walking up behind Caitlin, placing her hands on her hips. "He told me it all the time when I was a kid." She turned to Caitlin. "The lion with the thorn in its paw is a parable about a big ferocious creature that is felled by something small." She grinned eagerly. "So, what do you need help with?"

"Jesse is Harrison daughter," Caitlin explained, gently nudging her forward. "Not _our_ Harrison, but Earth-2's, Harrison. So she's, technically, Cadence's sister, but not really. Anyway, she's a speedster and she also holds five degrees."

"Five degrees?" Professor Stein nearly keeled over in surprised. A light twinkle came to his eyes as he held out his hand for Jesse to shake. She did so with gusto. "My, you're quite a remarkable young woman, aren't you?"

"I wouldn't say so," Jesse said modestly. "I'm still getting used to everything around here. Like…Ubers. I thought it was people saying they thought things were really awesome. I had no idea slang on my Earth was so far behind than it is here."

"Believe me, young lady, you are not the only one that is trying to catch on with the fancy lingo," Professor Stein reassured her. "I don't believe Jax will stop laughing at Cisco's trying to teach me the use of the word 'lit' anytime soon."

Caitlin smiled in amusement. Professor Stein gave her a stern look and she made a show of sliding a hand over her face, making sure to drop the corners of her mouth down into an exaggerated frown. That made Professor Stein slowly start to smile.

"You know, if Ronnie were here, he'd had a lot of fun teaching you those things as well," Caitlin said.

"Yes, well, with the massive amounts of pizza that he made me consume, I believe he owed me a favor. And that favor would be to keep all of this slang and newfound technological hijinks away from me. I'm perfectly capable of using an old-fashioned Encyclopedia when I want to look something up, thank you very much."

"So, what are we doing? Something that needs work on nano-technology?" Jesse leaned aside and glanced at the board. She stepped around Professor Stein, rubbing her hands together. "I thought of getting my PHD in it, but didn't know if I liked it enough to devote even more of my time to the study, you know? So, I guess I'll figure it out, here."

"And we could use your help," Caitlin agreed with a warm smile. "It's very welcome."

"Okay!" Jesse beamed. "Then let's get to work!"

* * *

 **Redmond, Oregon. 1951.**

Cisco's heart jolted as the Waverider touched to the ground. The moment the engines stopped whining, he unbuckled himself and looked around. "Oh my god, we're in the 50s," he said. "It's so sick." There was a sudden hurling sound and Cisco jumped aside, nearly scrambling up his seat when Felicity leaned forward and started to throw up. "Girl, I was everything _is_ sick, not to get sick!"

"Sever time jumps can cause nausea, temporary deafness, linguistic orientation…" Nate explained as if he were reporting the weather outside. Of which, was as bright and sunny as it was back in Central City in 2016.

"You," Mick declared, pointing at Cisco, his gruff voice making him jump again. Then he pointed to the pile of vomit that sat on the floor between Felicity's feet. "Clean that up. And stay here, we're going to hunt some aliens."

"Okay, no," Cisco said. He lifted a finger, watching as Nate and Mick got up and started to get ready for the confrontation. "I didn't travel through time to stay on the ship."

"You're staying on the ship," Mick growled seriously.

"No way, we can help you," Felicity insisted, taking a step forward.

Amaya Jiwe lifted an eyebrow, waiting for Nate and Mick to reach her side. "You want to go up against a bunch of super strong aliens with nothing to defend yourself?"

At those words, Felicity's eyes widened behind her glasses. She thought for a moment, tapping her fingertips against her lips before taking a large step back, the heels of her dress shoes clacking against the metallic floor as she did so. "On the other hand, what use will I be if something breaks down around here, right?"

"So, I guess we'll take that as, 'have fun storming the castle'," Nate said with a smirk.

Cisco's eyebrows rose in offense. "For real? Cisco asked, taking a step towards Nate. Not that he felt he could take down Nate at all, or even intimidate him. The man's biceps were even bigger than his head, but no one was going to out pop-culture reference him. "You're going to use Princess Bride against me?"

"Uh, yeah."

"Okay, well, you can do that. But I'm not going to be left behind, alright?" He moved to Nate's side, trying to appear bigger than the quivering mess he was on the inside, a combination of nerves and excitement. "I've got mad vibe powers, you may need me."

Nate looked at him for a long moment before rolling his eyes, muttering something under his breath. "Fine, but listen to everything I say."

"You got it."

Ten minutes later, Nate and Amaya were dressed in their suits while Mick grabbed his heat gun and Cisco took his vibe glasses. It may not be another Earth, but being in a different time may affected he vibrational frequencies, he reminded himself. If something was going to happen with his powers, he'd need the tech to go along with it. Cisco followed the three members of he legends team out into the wilderness they parked their, now invisible, space ship.

Mick glanced at Nate, lifting an eyebrow on the Captain America-esque suit that covered his powerful body. "Getting ready for the 4th of July a little early, this year?" He groused.

"Ray made it for me," Nate replied simply.

"You look like a Star-Spangled Idiot."

Amaya sighed, used to an equally annoyed by their consistent bickering and put downs. "We need to find the army." The second the words left her mouth, a low explosion reached their ears. Cisco exchanged glances with the three before they started running, following the sound of the explosions and gunfire.

They rounded a turn in the bend and came face to face with a large space ship hovering over the canyon in the mountains. Gun blasts, from the humans and spaceship alike sent clouds of dirt hovering in the air. Screams from the army and screeches from the Dominators mixed together as the battle raged in front of them.

Cisco's eyes widened. He muttered a prayer in Spanish under his breath, watching the carnage unfold in front of him. With green energy blasts raining down from the spaceship above them, the resulting implosion lifted them off their feet and hurtled them through the air like rag dolls. Dominators ran over and threw those that stood in their way, others driven back by the force of the bullets being sprayed against them.

"So, what are we waiting for?" Nate asked after a few seconds of the group watching the aliens fighting against the army, taking them down with ease. Cisco slowly felt his excitement give way to fear. "Let's grab an alien and get out of here."

"Just…waiting for one of the weaker ones in the pack," Mick said slowly. He cleared his throat and looked away when Amaya glanced at him.

"I don't think there are any weak ones," Amaya murmured.

 _Just what I wanted,_ Cisco thought with a shake of his head. _Being able to see life like one of Spielberg's movies. And it's one of the most horrifying things I've ever seen._ He tucked some of his hair behind his ear, wondering if he'd be seen as a coward if he went back to the ship. _You can't run away now,_ he chided himself. _What sort of hero is that? You can on the Waverider to…to what exactly?_

To get away from Barry.

The thought came to mind against his tries to keep it out. Mostly because, it was a conversation Felicity wouldn't let him drop, talking to him about it the entire way through their time travel. Which…coincidentally, isn't as fast as anyone would think. It felt like years as they traveled through time and space to get back to the 50s and Felicity wouldn't stop nagging him.

"You know, it's insane to be mad at your best friend at a time like this when all life on Earth is at stake."

"Excuse me?" He repeated. "My best friend? No, a best friend wouldn't sit back and bask in the glory that's his own life when there's so much going wrong around him." Cisco paused, tilting his head to the side. "I mean, all of that money was pretty sweet." Felicity gave him a hard stare. "But that's not the point! He was responsible for everything, he needed to save his family and in the middle of that, he ended up destroying our lives."

And now here Cisco was, watching everything with the excitement he'd dreamed about since he was a kid sliding away, like sand down the side of the mountain. _I used to dream about doing this all the time. Time traveling and beating up aliens. But this doesn't feel like a dream, it feels weird. And it's only going to get weirder._

Cisco gasped, shocked into staring as the Dominators dragged the twisted, lifeless bodies of uniformed men to their spaceship. They disappeared up into the monstrous vessel in beams of yellow light, just like Oliver and the others had been before. Disappearing before he could even blink.

"They're taking off," Amaya realized. "It's a RAF mission. Reconnaissance and force."

"So, we're not going to get any of them?" Cisco asked, not particularly enjoying the way his voice quivered as he asked. He stared to take a step back, to turn away, to go back to the Waverider, but was cut off by Mick abruptly lifting his heat gun to point into the smoking clearing.

"Look what we've got here," he drawled. "A straggler."

Cisco squinted to see through the dark haze, then saw it. A smaller Dominator slowly walking through the rubble, as if looking for anyone who had been left behind. It bent down to upturn a ship and Mick took the chance to eagerly move forward.

"We need him a live, Mick," Amaya reminded him.

"I'm just going to rough him up a little," Mick replied. "As a little bit of payback!" He charged up his heat gun as he slid down the mountainside, kicking up dust as he went. Nate and Amaya exchanged glances before jumping down behind him.

Cisco took a deep breath. _Okay, this is it,_ he reminded himself. _It's time to see what you're made of._ Cisco slid on his vibe glasses and punched open a breach, jumping inside. He landed on the ground behind Mick, just as he called out towards the Dominator.

The Dominator screeched and raised a hand to attack Mick, but then squealed in pain as Mick sent a direct line of fire into the Dominator's face. It brought up its arms, backing away rapidly, but didn't move fast enough to Nate, who leapt high and delivered a punch to the side of its head. It got to its feet, trying to get away and, startled, Cisco punched forward, striking it with a vibrational blast.

The Dominator dropped lifelessly to the ground.

Cisco gasped, chest heaving as he watched the Domintaor's breathing slowed. It was still alive, but hurt. They'd captured it. He'd done it. A grin slowly came to Cisco's face. _He'd_ done it. Now he knew how it felt, how Barry and Cadence felt when out in the field. How it felt to have done it as a team.

The sobering thought immediately made Cisco's smile fade.

Almost as quickly as a disembodied voice saying, "Great job," menacingly behind them. The group turned to see a young man dressed in a sharp suit walking out of the fog, like a zombie popping up from the ground. "I see that you've managed to catch us a specimen. I'm afraid we'll have to keep this one."

'Who are you?" Amaya demanded.

"Just a humble civil servant," the man said. He pushed his glasses up his nose and presented a badge from his pocket.

Mick immediately growled. "I hate men with badges."

The man smiled at Mick seconds before the men that stood behind him, bodyguards of some sort, Cisco realized, all pulled out guns and trained them on the group. "Now, I'm sure you have a lot of questions but there aren't any answers I can give you at this time. We want to ask you some questions as well."

"We're in a bit of a hurry," Amaya said, starting to turn away.

"And so are we," the man said.

He nodded, giving the signal. One by one, Cisco watched as Nate, Amaya, and Mick were all shot in the neck with tranquilizing darts. For a brief, moment, he felt exhilaration over recognizing the colorful ends to the needles that stuck out of the necks of his quasi-teammates. Then icy cold washed over him when he realized it meant he'd be the next one to be shot.

As a gun was pointed directly at him, Cisco opened a breach and leapt inside, narrowly missing getting hit by seconds. He landed on the ground, slamming his knees into the metal of the floor so hard it made a _clang_ so loud that it made Felicity, who paced the floor jump.

"Finally, you're back!" She cried. "Wait a minute. Where's everyone else? Did they get Mick? Not that I'd be _too_ upset but—"

"Felicity, not now," Cisco interrupted. "We're in trouble here. Like, major trouble. We were attack, by, like, Men In Black."

"Which would _seriously_ be so cool if it weren't so terrifying!" Felicity agreed.

"Right. And, you know what they're going to do? They're probably going to put them in some secret lab and run experiments on them. Have you seen Stranger Things? We'll have to be the ones to rescue them."

"Yeah, but we're the tech support!" Felicity cried.

Cisco hurried around the Waverider, trying to figure out what each cabinet held and what was going to help them. Finally, he found what looked like a suitcase and flipped it up onto a desk, opening it. A smile came to his face when he saw a row of massive guns sitting inside. "No," he said. " _This_ is tech support."

* * *

 **Central City, 2016.**

Barry paced back and forth in front of Oliver, Ray, Sara, and Cadence. The president was late. He didn't need a watch to know that. Oliver's low grunts as the seconds continued to pass let him know for sure. If there was one thing Barry knew about Oliver, it was that he hated to wait. Especially when it was his time that was being wasted.

Even with his own speed, Barry continued to have the habit of being a few minutes late here and there. He had all the time in the world and it still managed to get away from him. For something as big as this, the extra time was giving him too much time to think. Too much time to wonder what the Dominators would do if they were able to move ahead with their plan. Too much time to wonder what it was that Breathtaker wanted and what he could truly do. Too much time to wonder what Alchemy and Savitar were doing while he was distracted by the Dominators.

"The president will be here soon," Iris relayed, after looking at her phone. She turned to face the heroes, press badge flying as she did so. "There's been a bit of a hold up as they left but they're on their way."

"Well, you gotta figure she's got a lot on her plate," Ray pointed out. "What with the alien invasion thing."

"And her predecessor being killed," Sara agreed.

Iris lifted an eyebrow, folding her arms. "Man, you guys are a merry bunch, aren't you?" She asked.

Sara smirked in response. "Comes with the territory," She said. "Sometimes you laugh, sometimes you cry, sometimes you gripe about the long line in the nearest coffee shop chain. We all deal with lost time one way or another."

"And considering what we do, it's hard to keep straight every now and then," Ray agreed, making Iris laugh.

Iris turned around when she heard the sound of squealing tires heading their way before a fleet of black cars all came to a stop. She looked at Cadence, who tilted her head to the side, eyes glowing a shocking orange as she used her thermal vision to scan those inside the cars.

"We're good," she said after a moment, making Barry nod.

The cars came to a stop, doors flying open at once. A tall, gray haired, weather beaten man slid out of the car closest to the heroes. His tie flapped in the wind, but he made no move to push it down, a frown, almost a snarl, etched into his face. As if he hadn't seen anything to make him smile in years. He stepped out and faced the group while other men, dressed in matching black suits surrounded them.

"They don't look very friendly," Ray murmured.

Oliver's eyes narrowed as he looked at the man. "And where's the president?"

"Let me handle this," Iris replied. She walked up to the man, holding out her hand. "Iris West, reporter for the Central City Picture News. We were to be meeting with the president today—"

"—I'm sorry," the man said with a soft shrug. "The president couldn't make it."

"Who are you?" Barry asked, voice tinged with suspicion.

"If I tell you," the man said. "I'd have to kill you."

A cacophony of safeties sliding off guns filled the air as the suited men that surrounded them lifted their guns and pointed it directly at them.

"Uh, I think we have misunderstanding. You see, we're the good guys."

"The president invited us here," Sara added.

Oliver lowered his voice so that only Barry and Cadence, who stood on his other side, could hear. "Barry, I think it's time you do something. And fast."

"It's the only way I know how," Barry said. And he started to run. The second he moved, everything came to a standstill. He was running so fast, he was invisible to the naked eye, time slowing down around him. A plume of smoke erupted from the first gun and Barry reached over, grabbing the bullet that slowly snailed its way out of the muzzle. Then he ran to the others and did the same.

He skidded to a stop and the armed men all fell to the ground in a heap.

A single shot rang out, a bullet embedding itself into the face of the car beside them.

Oliver immediately stiffened. "Sniper," he reported.

"On it," Barry said before disappearing once more.

At that second, Oliver and Cadence turned back to back, taking on the men that came towards them. Oliver shot one directly in the shoulder with a well-placed arrow while Cadence leaned back, resting her weight onto Oliver and lifted her leg as high up as it would go. She wrapped her knee around the neck of the man swinging towards her with his fist and sprang off Oliver's back. With the momentum, she swung her body around and locked her legs around his neck. He groaned in pain, bringing up his hands to Cadence's legs, trying to knock her off. Swinging her arms one way, Cadence snapped them back the other and flipped around in a butterfly twist, knocking the man to the ground, where she landed in a low crouch.

Sara and Ray pushed Iris behind them and fended off the men that came towards them with their bow staff and exo-suit, flinging men back and forth as they went. Sara jabbed her staff into the chest of a man that came too close and grimaced, hearing his ribs crack. He fell to the ground, screaming, holding onto his ribs. Ray punched one man in the stomach and grabbed his arm, hefting him over the top of a car and onto the ground. When he got up, limping away, Oliver sent a arrow through his calf, knocking him over.

Barry came to a stop in front of the man that had arrived amidst the chaos and shook his head, confused. "We're trying to help you," he said. "This is how you thank us?"

"You don't understand," the man said, blinking earnestly.

"Understand what?" Iris demanded. "How you're trying to kill us?"

"The xenomorphs are here because—"

"—because they have a beef with the metas," Sara interrupted. "Tell us something we don't know."

"Like, what we've done to them," Cadence pointed out. "From what we've seen so far, we're the victims of this whole thing."

"You've done nothing," the man insisted, almost pleading. He pushed his glasses up his nose, cleared his throat. Reaching into the pocket of his lapel, he retrieved a handkerchief and dabbed at his lips. "My name is Agent Smith. These Dominators…if they see individuals with powers such as yours, then they'll think we're a threat. And frankly, so do I."

"If you're such BFFs with the dominators—"

"—Then why don't you call them off?!" Oliver demanded, interrupting Sara with so much gruffness that not even Agent Smith could ignore it.

He looked at Oliver warily before speaking to Barry once more. He kept his eyes on the speedster, as if afraid to lock eyes with Oliver or the others around him. "Back in 1951, that incident, it was a reconnaissance mission."

Cadence shook her head. None of that was making sense. If they weren't the target then…"So what brought them back here? Now?"

Barry waited patiently for Agent Smith to respond. But found himself swallowing hard when the government official locked his eyes on him. He'd seen that look before, when he was being questioned by the police of his mother's death. It wasn't a good look.

"You did, Mr. Allen," Agent Smith said grimly.

Barry's eyes widened behind his mask, irises turning into pinpoints. His heart stopped, a cold sweat beaded down the side of his face. The man knew who he was. Iris said as much, muttering the same realization out loud. He knew his identity. The government knew his identity.

"You threatened the entire universe when you used your powers to upset the normal course of time."

"He's talking about Flashpoint," Iris murmured, connecting the dots in seconds. She tucked her hair behind her ear, lips parting to ask, "How do you—"

"They told us," Agent Smith supplied, speaking to her but still looking at Barry.

Barry swallowed hard. How many more things was going to be his fault. "I made a mistake," he murmured, voice lowering to a croak. "I'm not going to let it happen again."

"For the past sixty years we had a truce with the Dominators," Agent Smith said emotionally. "We lived in peace with them. A truce." Lifting his finger, he jabbed Barry hard in the chest with his finger. " _You_ broke the truce."

"What do they want?" Oliver asked.

"I negotiated a deal with them. If Mr. Allen surrenders himself, they will leave us in peace." Barry lowered his gaze, looking away from Agent Smith. All the chaos and destruction was because of him. The fear and the pain. And now he had a way to fix things. "You really want to save the world, here's your chance."

Could he do it?

* * *

"These Dominator ships are coming in faster," Caitlin said, shaking her head, looking over the report Cisco sent her. "If we don't figure out this weapon, then…well, I don't know what'll happen. If Barry turned himself over, then we lose him, but if he doesn't…over two million people will die. And that's the non-meta casualties."

"We'll just have to keep working," Jesse said. She paced back and forth—fast enough that, to Caitlin, it didn't look like she was moving at all. "And fast. I mean, faster than I'm already going. They want to leverage us turning Barry over and we can't have that."

"No, we can't," Caitlin agreed. She let out a frustrated breath, blowing her hair back from her face. She jumped when a breach opened and Cisco leapt through. "How many times have I told you to stop doing that?"

"Sorry, but we need that weapon, like now!" Cisco said, frantically scrubbing his scalp with his fingers.

"Excuse me, Mr. Ramon, we're trying our hardest here," Professor Stein said.

"No, you don't understand! I vibed the Dominators. Nate and I did. And he told us some bad things. Really, bad things. Like, we could destroy the world, trying to make it a better place for everyone." He started to pace back and forth. "Barry screwed up by creating Flashpoint but…so did we. Back in 1951, we let the Dominator go."

"You messed with the timeline?" Caitlin asked, eyes widening in surprise.

Cisco nodded. "This whole time I've been mad at Barry…and now I'm the one who messed with time. I wanted to make things right. I wanted…I wanted to be the hero this time. And I made it worse. I'm just as selfish as he is."

"Cisco, you're not selfish," Caitlin said. She grabbed onto his hand and squeezed it gently. "You were…caught up in the emotion of what was going on. You had to have been terrified and you reacted the only way you knew how. The only way you knew was right." She peered at his face closely. "Just like Barry did."

"Why don't you twist the knife a little deeper, Caitlin?" Cisco asked, voice dripping with sarcasm. He shook his head. "I know, Caitlin. I know why Barry did what he did. I know I did what I did because…I didn't want to feel like a loser anymore. Like I'm not, not needed. I made a mistake. I get it. But we need to fix that mistake before Barry decides to turn himself in or that Breathtaker decides to do it for him."

"How's she doing?" Jesse asked, referring to Cadence.

"Surprisingly well," Cisco said. "But she has the strange ability to compartmentalize the things and talk about it later like it's nothing so…" He waved his hand. "That's not so strange."

"Yeah, it's just a little…" Jesse trailed off.

"is something wrong?" Professor Stein asked her.

Jesse's eyes lit up and, with a flourish, she turned to Professor Stein, pointing to him with her marker, her other hand gesturing towards the board. "The problem we're having with this weapon. The complexity of all of this, the nano-molecular reaction keeps breaking down because the replication is sequential not exponential."

"The reaction requires greater complexity," Professor Stein continued. He smiled widely. "By George, I think she's got it!"

"She got, what now?" Cisco asked, scratching the side of his head. The group looked at their phones as a message went out. Cisco moaned quietly when he saw that Brady had messaged them.

 _S.O.S. Barry's turning himself in._

"You guys go," Jesse said, when she saw the message. "I can get this done."

"Are you sure?" Caitlin asked as Cisco grabbed her hand and motioned for Professor Stein to take his shoulder. She glanced at the breach he opened then back to her.

"I'll be there as quick as I can."

With that, Cisco leapt the three through the breach and back to the hangar just as Barry was addressing everyone in front of him. "It's not up for discussion," he said as they landed, Caitlin holding tightly onto Professor Stein so that he didn't stumble. "I'm going to turn myself over to the Dominators. They'll leave the rest of the world alone. It's simple."

"No, it's not simple," Felicity denied.

"Barry, whatever you have to do…this isn't it," Diggle added.

"It's been an honor working with all of you," Barry continued, as if they didn't even speak. "To fight alongside of you. Now it's up to you to keep our home safe." Barry started to walk away, but Oliver's voice cut him off, made him stop in his tracks.

"Barry!" Oliver said, voice commanding him to halt. "I'm not letting you leave!"

"No offense, Oliver," Barry replied. "But you and what army?" He turned around to see his friends, all of the friends he'd made over the years, humans, metahumans, and vigilantes alike, standing behind him. All with expressions of determination that made them stand tall.

Kara looked around at the group standing along with her. "This one," she said simply.

Barry hid the smile coming to his face. His eyes levelled on Deity, who stood next to her mother, hands clasped together in front of her but with a renewed fire in her eyes. "You too?" He asked. "I thought you didn't want…" he trailed off, giving her the chance to respond so that he didn't have to alert the whole team to her personal issues.

Deity took in a deep breath. "How can I stand by and watch the Dominators kill a bunch of innocent people? My Earth or not…I now know…being strong doesn't always mean going out to attack." Her eyes drifted over to Oliver for a brief moment. "Sometimes it means to defend, to shield others from harm...especially when you invulnerable." She then looked to Kara, who gave a tentative smile back. "I was afraid before, I still am…but I'm not going to let anyone hurt you, Barry. You're my friend, that means I have too-That we all have to help you. Like you'd help any of us."

Barry smiled and nodded.

"I don't like you, red," Mick said, his voice breaking through the smiles of the others. There wasn't a hint of a smile on his face. Almost as if he hated to have to speak the next words. "And I have no idea what Skirt Jr over there is saying." He gestured to Deity who looked down at her suit, confused by the nickname since she wasn't even wearing a skirt.

"But when you got a crew, you don't take a hit for the rest."

A light chuckle escaped Barry's lips. "That was actually pretty inspiring," he admitted. "Well, I mean, up to the point that Mick compared us to a bunch of criminals."

"Well, some habits are hard to break," Cadence said, tilting her head to the side, her eyebrows twitching upwards. Barry couldn't help but chuckle. They'd worked through a lot of problems from her past, some still needing to be worked through, but always came out the other end much stronger. She was his port in the storm and vice-versa. A sweet smile came to Cadence's face. "But with the right presence in your life…it can be done."

"According to the Dominators, we may as well be criminals," Amaya said.

"And maybe they're right," Nate added. "Maybe we do more harm than good, but at least we'll have the chance to find out."

"I'm not letting you sacrifice yourself, there's no way," Cisco concluded to Barry's surprise. "I don't care if that's what it means to be a hero." He shook his head. "You're not a hero to me. You're my friend. My best friend."

Barry smiled.

"And I'm not going to let my best friend go out like that."

Sara nodded with her chin towards the monitors set up behind them, indicating the ships that had arrived in Central City. "They're starting to open up," she said.

Barry looked at Oliver, who rolled his neck, stretching his muscles. "Here we go," Oliver murmured.

"Suit up," Barry said.

* * *

Team Flash, Team Arrow, and Team Legends quickly split up to go to the respective areas that would help while in battle. Caitlin and Cisco boarded the Waverider with Sara to aid in dismantling the meta-bomb the Dominators threatened to drop. Felicity and Iris stuck around the computers to watch the live feed of what was transpiring over the world and the city to relay to the heroes. Professor Stein and Jesse were in place to take the miniature weapon they created—when activated, would cause insurmountable amount of pain on the Dominators—and place them on as many Dominators as they could.

The others were to hold off as many Dominators as possible. They crawled through Central City, screeching at whoever got in the way. Citizens of the city screamed and ran for cover as the Dominators continued to drop down around them, swiping their long claws, hoping to cause as much damage as possible.

"Remember," Oliver murmured to Barry as the two led the group of heroes across a nearby rooftop where a horde of Dominators came their way. "We have to get the devices on the Dominators fast."

Barry smirked. "It's the only way I know how," he said.

With that, he raced forward, leading the pack of his teammates. Running in a circle, Barry started to apply the miniature devices to as many Dominators as he could. He ran by Nate, who threw a Dominator overhead, towards Barry, and slapped one to its forehead, just above the eye as it passed, seconds before crashing to the ground.

Oliver and Mick stood back to back, spinning in a circle as they took down the Dominators that started to come to close. Mick, all the while, snarling like a rabid dog as he did so. As they continued to spin, Oliver shooting arrows in rapid succession while Mick held down the trigger of his heat gun, Kara and Deity flew overhead, using their heat vision to take down those that got too close to the two.

Diggle shot bullets directly into a Dominator's face, but they continued to come too close, He was struck hard across the face before being knocked to the ground. The Dominator opened its jaws wide, razor sharp teeth ready to rip Diggle to shreds. Out of nowhere, a piece of ammo embedded itself into the Dominator's chest before blowing up, knocking the Dominator backwards from the blow of the explosion.

Brady allowed himself to look visible once more and elongated his slingshot into a staff, twisting it this way and that. With so much speed that the bow became almost invisible in his movements, knocking back any Dominators that came near him. "Ah!" Behind him, a Dominator leapt through the air and knocked Brady to the ground. It screamed into the young boy's face then brought back a claw to slash at him. Brady gasped and flinched, he always did when something came close to contacting with him. He phased the blow from the Dominator through him, its claws raking against the concrete of the rooftop, sending a loud screech into the air.

Ray flew by and grabbed onto the Dominator by the arms, lifting it high into the air. "See you later, Dominator," he quipped before dropping it off the side of the roof.

Amaya punched out a Dominator before pressing the talisman around her neck. She glowed the same blue that erupted from the magical artifact. The glow twisted and turned around her, creating the shape of the animal spirit she was taking on; a gorilla. The spirit growled loudly, and Amaya ducked her head, charging forward to smash into a Dominator with the strength of the Gorilla, sending it flying.

Cadence lifted her arm to shield her face as a Dominator moved to claw at her. "Ah!" She cried out in pain, her timing proving to be a bit off. The Dominator's claws raked through her hand, loping off fingers and reducing her hand to a stump. Blood splattered to the ground as Cadence backed away, holding her wrist.

"Cade!" Kara called, coming to a halt above her. She used her heat vision to strike the Dominator away from the fire metahuman.

"I'm okay!" Cadence called back. Immediately the wound started to heal, taking only seconds for her hand to grow back. The moment her hand was completely healed, flames licked out from between her fingertips, growing brighter and longer as the seconds passed before her entire body was engulfed in flames. The last time she'd managed to do so was when fighting against Zoom.

Cadence ran forward, her footsteps melting the floor behind her as she went. She ran into the Dominator and grabbed it in her grasp, immediately melting its skin to bone, which she easily broke and flung aside. "Let's see how you like it." The Dominator, now missing an arm screeched in agony when she bent backwards in a flip, catching it beneath the jaw with her foot hard enough to send it flying. Then whipped around and burned another Dominator, its skin blackening in seconds.

Up in the sky, Kara continued to fire her heat vision were necessary, covering her teammates whenever a Dominator got to closer without them realising. She could see Barry running circles around the roof top, dashing across whenever he saw an opening to plant one of the devices.

Suddenly diving down to the roof top, Kara slammed her fist into the ground sending out a miniature shockwave that knocked down all the Dominators around her. A flash of yellow lightning later and Barry had gotten each and every one. But they still got back up, ready to fight. Luckily, she wasn't alone as Jax landed beside her, eyes a cloudy white. The two nodded to each other before then unlashing a mixture of super breath and a nuclear fire that sent the Dominators flying.

Around and around Barry ran as his friends fought the Dominators, continuing to place as man weapons as he could.

Up in the Waverider, Cisco hovered over Sara's shoulder as she directed the ship to follow the meta-bomb that continued in its free-fall towards Central City.

"Does this ship have a tractor beam or something?" He demanded. "Anything to grab the bomb?"

"Yes, it does," Sara replied. She maneuvered the ship around until it was in the direct line of sight and sent out the beam. She grinned when the bomb immediately stared to backspin, caught in the Waverider's grasp.

Caitlin smiled, hovering over Sara's other side. "You got it," She said.

"Yeah, but it's not slowing down," Sara agreed. She gritted her teeth with effort as she pulled back on the, controls, stabilizing the Waverider as best as she could.

"Like, at all," Cisco added.

"Thank you, Cisco, that's really helpful," Sara ground out. "Firestorm, if you've got the time, we could really use your help right now," Sara called.

On the battlefield, Jax, with Professor Stein controlling his mind, nodded and took to the skies, racing to reach the Waverider as fast as possible. With one less hero to help fight, Oliver soon found himself surrounded by Dominators that edged him to the side of the rooftop. He sent out another arrow before stumbling backwards, tripping off the side of the roof

As he fell, Oliver struggled to string his bow with a retracting arrow. Two pairs of hands grabbed onto his elbows, immediately stopping his decent. Oliver looked up as Kara and Deity flew him back to the rooftop, capes blowing behind them. Once they were down, Oliver sent the two a nod before going back into fight.

Deity sent an irritated glare after the man. "Just for that, we should've dropped him," she said, making Kara give her a sharp glance. It didn't last long though as Dominators quickly descended on them. Kara threw out her arm catching one and sending him flying into two of his comrades. While Deity let sunlight consumer her fists and uppercutted one that got to close before then twirling around and kicking another that lunged towards her.

She then turned back to her mother expecting all smiles, but still found that disapproving glare. "What?" she asked innocently. "He was mean to you first." Kara nudged her on the arm before taking flight once more with Deity hot on her heels.

"You're doing a good job putting down the sensors, Barry, but there's still a lot more to do," Iris said from the hangar. "Like, a _lot_ a lot. All over the country."

"There's still a lot of them out here I've got to do," Barry replied as he finished attaching the devices to the Dominators on the roof and started making his way through central city.

"Well then, since you're busy with Central City, I guess it's up to the girls to clean up the rest. Supergirl, Deity, Jesse, do your thing," Felicity said as she pinpointed the last of the Dominators invasion force throughout the country.

"We're on it," Jesse said. In a bolt of yellow lightning, she streaked out of Central City, running as fast as she could to place sensors on as many other Dominators as she could. She grinned as she ran, chugging her arms and legs, zipping back and forth across the street as she went. First her weapon was finalized and now she had a hand in saving the world up close? It was too good to be true.

"Jesse, you take central America, Deity the North and Supergirl the south," Felicity ordered as she watched the three trackers zip across the screen going from one location to the next in less than a second. All while applying more a more of the devices to the Dominators.

The Waverider continued to tilt back and forth as Sara struggled to hold onto the weight of the meta-bomb. "Jax, Professor Stein, now would be the best time to do what you do best."

Jax flew to the meta-bomb as it sat in the tractor beam and hovered over it. "As Ms. Lance said, now would be the best time to use our abilities of transmuting the meta-bomb into something harmless."

"You got it," Jax agreed. He placed his hands on the bomb and concentrated hard, focusing on their power to change the molecular structure of the meta-bomb.

"All of the sensors are going in place," Iris said.

"Just waiting for a signal to turn them on," Felicity said.

"Do it!" Oliver commanded.

Almost at once, the Dominators all started to screech, thrashing back and forth as pain erupted through their bodies. They writhed on the ground, wiggling, struggling to rip the sensors off them. In the air, Jax continued his hold on the meta-bomb, screaming loudly from the exerted pressure. Finally, the meta-bomb mutated, changing into a wave of rapidly falling water.

Caitlin gasped and grabbed onto Cisco's arm. "Cisco, open a breach!" She cried.

"Are you crazy?" Cisco's eyes nearly bugged out of his head. "At this height? At this speed? Does cabin pressure mean anything to you?"

"If that wall of water falls onto the city, people will be hurt, killed. It'd be like getting smacked with concrete!" She tightened her grasp on his arm. " _Now,_ Cisco!" Cisco did as he was told, opening a breach. Caitlin quickly threw out her hands, her ice powers circling through the breach until it reached the water that fell, turning the droplets into snow that drifted gently towards the ground.

"You don't see that every day," Brady remarked, looking up to see snowflakes falling." Hearing a screech, he turned to see a Dominator running for him, frantically waving its arms in an attacking motion. He readied himself to move but was too slow and would have been hit if Deity didn't run out in front of him and sent the Dominator flying aside with a solid glowing punch.

"You need more practise," Deity said as she turned around to face the boy who glared at her. They were so busy in their childish glares that they almost missed the next Dominator coming their way. Fortunately, Cadence teleported in beside them and quickly sent the Dominator running with an intense breath of flames like that off a dragon.

"You both do," Cadence said as she looked to the two young heroes, both with matching pouts as snowflakes began to lie on their heads. It made it a little hard for Cadence to take them serious in that moment as she smiled at the two.

Then one by one, the Dominators disappeared into the sky in bright bursts of yellow light.

"They're retreating," Nate murmured as he watched.

Barry skidded to a stop with Jesse beside him, both breathing heavily as they placed their hands to their knees. Barry grinned over at Jesse. "Great job, Jesse Quick," he said.

Jesse grinned back. "Thanks, Flash."

Barry stood up straight and turned his eyes to the sky. Watching as the Dominators boarded their ships once more to return to their homes. Oliver came to his side, resting his hand on the speedster's shoulder as Kara landed on his other side. "You did it," he said.

"No, Oliver," Kara denied, placing her hands on her hips.

Barry looked around at everyone that helped him. He let out a sigh of relief, the weight of the world finally lifting from his shoulders. Finally. " _We_ did."

* * *

 _"Many responsibilities have fallen to me, since the president's passing at the beginning of this crisis. Sobering, sad responsibilities. This is not one of them. Today, it is my distinct honor to bestow upon you, a small acknowledgement of the great debt that the world owes to you all. Although your brave efforts must be a secret, know that metahuman or not, masked or not, each and everyone one of you is a hero."_

Oliver, Diggle Ray, Jax, Professor Stein, Sara, Mick, Nate, Amaya, Kara, Deity, Barry, Cadence, and Brady stood in front of the applauding crowd with straight faces of pride, listening as the words of encouragement was bestowed upon them. As they were heralded for the valiant efforts they provided to Central City against the Dominators. As they were treated like the heroes they should've been recognized as from the beginning.

The new President gave her speech and many short ones that recognized each of the heroes individually, placing golden medals around their neck as she moved by them in a line. Iris stood aside, taking pictures as each one was presented, dutifully scribbling down notes throughout the ceremony as she grinned at her friends.

The ceremony that recognized them as great, yet secretive, assets to the city.

Once the press conference had ended, Barry invited everyone back to STAR Labs for a victory party. One that was not to be taken lightly.

"I just wish that I could tell people about this," Brady said, twisting his medal around is neck as he grinned up at Iris. "That I was able to save the city."

"And what do you think young readers of the newspaper can take from this?" Iris asked, then placed a tape recorder close to his mouth.

Brady started to respond, but a hand came out of nowhere and moved over his mouth. Brady tilted his head back and swatted Barry's hands away. "Hey! Barry! You're ruining my interview."

"One that probably shouldn't be going on the record," Barry reminded him. Then he lifted his gaze to Iris. "For real?" He asked. "You're interviewing a ten-year-old about a fight he probably shouldn't have been in, in the first place?" He ignored Brady's indignant cry.

Iris laughed, pausing the recording. "You're right," she agreed then winked at Brady. "I'll just keep this for my personal collection." Brady smiled before running off to the food table. Iris turned to Barry and gently tapped her fist against his arm. "I'm proud of you," she said. "Not just for what you've done as the Flash, but for everything. You keep making me see the good that can come to this city."

"And not the major leap in career once this article comes out, right?" Barry teased.

"Guilty as charged."

"I'm glad to help, Iris. Really." Barry took in a deep breath through his nose. "Just…now that all of this is done, all of this, Flashpoint…I'm ready to move on. And be happy. And have some fun."

"And you deserve it, Barry," Iris agreed. "More than anyone else." She opened her arms and the two came together in a hug. Barry rested his chin atop her head

When it ended, Barry turned to find Oliver standing behind him, holding onto a champagne glass. Barry took it with a smile, lifting it to his lips to take a sip. The bubbles immediately tickled his nose when he downed a sip. Oliver watched him expectantly and Barry made a noise of acknowledgement before lowering the glass.

"I still can't get drunk," he said.

Oliver shook his head, letting out a heavy sigh. "Barry, you're the only one I know how has powers that work against him." Then he bobbed his head back and forth. "Just be glad that in here, you're not going to be carded. Because you _would_ be carded."

"Yeah, yeah, I know." Barry stepped to the side when he felt something bump into him and exchanged a look with Oliver as Cadence and Kara, arms wrapped around each other, laughing quietly while simultaneously trying to shush each other. Wine glasses were held tightly in their grasp. Barry tilted his head and examined his girlfriend closely. "A-are you drunk?" He asked tentatively.

"Noooo," Cadence said, widening her eyes as she shook her head. "No, I just had…" Her face screwed up in thought. "Mmm, maybe a few shots…?" She hid her mouth behind her wine glass, like a little kid trying to hide from their parents after doing something bad and getting caught. "Maybe?"

"Just one." Kara squeezed her index and middle fingers together in a pinch. "Maybe, two…three…five."

"Five shots?" Oliver's eyebrows rose in amusement.

"Shh!" Kara whispered. "You can't let The Flash know!" She repeatedly pointed towards Cadence, the tip of her finger jabbing the other woman in the cheek, creating indents where her dimples were. "You know she's dating him, right?"

"Right, right." Cadence looped her arm around Barry's neck, after accidentally smacking him in the face first. "Barry…you can't tell the Flash that I've been drinking, okay? He wouldn't like it."

"Okay," Barry replied. He tried not to laugh, nodding along with her. Cadence lifted her fingers to her lips and started to shush him again, a gesture Barry mimicked before asking Oliver, "Has she always been a lightweight?"

"Only when she hasn't had a lot of food in her first," Oliver replied. He smiled, gently shaking his head.

"Hey! Hey, guys," Kara said, a little soberer than Cadence, but still smiling happily. "Have you guys ever saved the world before?"

"Mhm." Barry smiled.

"Last year," Oliver added.

"Doesn't get any better," Cadence agreed.

Happiness surged through Barry like a waterfall. "It sure beats screwing up the world," Barry said with a smile. At least he was able to poke fun at himself about it now. Now that everything was over. Now that he could breathe.

Kara grasped his shoulder a little too hard. Barry winced, feeling his bones creak together under what was to be a friendly grasp. "Hey, you're being too hard on yourself," she said.

Oliver chuckled. "That's what people usually tell me," he said.

"And with good reason," Cadence agreed. She pressed a finger to her chin. "Who was it that almost threw a temper tantrum when we were first working together." Barry pretended to rub his nose while pointing at Oliver, who rolled his eyes. The two metahumans snickered.

"I didn't throw a temper tantrum," Oliver lamely defended himself. "I just like to have things work out in a particular way."

"Your way," Kara pointed out.

"Exactly."

"Well, on my Earth it's just me and my cousin and our two shady friends in Gotham," Kara said. She bobbed her head back and forth. "And…and Debby if she wants to be there. And when it's us we—"

"—'re stronger than everyone in the room combined?" Barry guessed what she was going to say next. Cadence elbowed him in the side and he smiled back at her. She didn't have to say she was stronger or faster than him, he already knew it. And was proud of it.

Kara laughed. "No, not, that's my point. Everyone here, metahuman or not, super powers or not, you are Earth's mightiest heroes."

Oliver smiled warmly. Then he licked his lips and turned away for a moment. He twisted his mouth to the side. Shuffled his feet. Let out a breath. Finally parted his lips and said, "I owe you an apology. You and your daughter. Keeping you both at arm's length was a bad idea. The truth is that this Earth could probably use a Supergirl...and maybe a Deity."

"That's funny, because I was thinking my Earth could use an Oliver Queen," Kara agreed. "I know you said you don't get unnerved, but if you did…I think hardship is what makes us stronger. That's probably why these people look to your as your rock. As their leader."

"The best leader we could have," Cadence agreed.

Barry looked back and forth between the group with a cheesy grin on his face. "You guys feeling the group hug?" Barry asked.

"No," Oliver said instantly.

"Come on, Ollie," Cadence said. Barry used that moment when she wasn't paying attention to flash her wine glass away. If he were lucky, she wouldn't notice it was gone until much later. "You know you want to."

With a begrudging smile, Oliver opened his arms and allowed Barry, Kara, and Cadence to form a group hug with him. With a begrudging smile, Oliver opened his arms and allowed Barry, Kara, and Cadence to form a group hug with him. An outraged cry from behind broke up the hug a little too quickly and the four turned to see Brady standing with Deity beside him. The ten-year-old looked rather grumpy considering they'd just won and the teenager next to him didn't look to found of the all the sudden attention.

"What's up, bud?" Cadence asked, leaning on Barry as she spoke.

"Why aren't we involved in the group hug?" demanded the ten-year-old

"Oh, sorry, Brady. We-We can do another one if you want?" Barry suggested as he motioned for the two to join them. Although he could already feel Oliver searching for his bow, eager to put another set of arrows in Barry's back for dragging him into another hug.

"No, no, no. It's fine, we'll just go and grab Cisco and Caitlin and whoever else and get our own group hug," Brady said stubbornly as he grabbed Deity's wrist. "Come on, Debby."

"Wait, what?" Deity got out as the Brady pulled her along with a lot more strength than she'd originally credited him with. The drink her plastic cup spilling over as the liquid inside swayed along with her balance until she found her footing.

"That was weird," Kara said as she tilted her head to the side.

"His whole life's weird," Cadence admitted as she stared off after her son.

"No, not that. His heart, it kinda…jumped," she said as she turned to Cadence with a puzzled look.

Cadence's face suddenly lit up as she swung her body from Barry towards Kara, just able to stay on her feet as she held her body up. "There's something I have to tell you!" she hissed loudly with a drunken smile. She then leaned in towards Kara's ear and whispered. Kara squealed. More than loudly enough for the whole building to hear her. So much so that Oliver and Barry stumbled as their faces contorted from the sudden sound.

"Noo!" Kara said her widened eyes connected with Cadence's who nodded her head back and forth like a frantic bobble head. She too the joined in on the squealing as the two clung to each other, either in a hug or a desperate attempt to remain on their feet.

"I thought she couldn't get drunk either," Oliver said with a frown as he pointed to Kara.

"So did I?" Barry agreed, only now seeing how bad she really was. "Hey, Kara."

"Yeah," Kara said, turning her head while still keeping pressed against Cadence for support.

"How come you're…dunk?" Barry asked carefully, not wanting to end up on the wrong side of a drunken woman with super strength.

"I gave her that thing Caitlin gives you when you want to get drunk!" Cadence whispered loudly.

"Ah," Barry said nodding slowly while also searching for Caitlin who he was pretty sure had no idea about any of this.

"I should probably get some sleep," Kara said letting out an unstoppable yawn.

"You should stay with us!" Cadence suddenly cheered. "We can have a Nash, Allen, Danvers sleepover!" Even Oliver lifted an eyebrow at her sudden exuberant cheerfulness. It was getting much easier to understand how she was a cheerleader in high school.

"No…no. I think I'll just ask Caitlin if I can spend the night at hers," Kara said, a little sadness in her voice. Barry could see why, she obviously didn't want make Deity uncomfortable.

"I'm sure she'd be fine with that," Barry said with a supportive smile.

"In that case, I'll just go and find her," Kara said as she pushed off Cadence and began making her way across the room, leaving Cadence to lean back on Barry. He smiled down at her before then looking over to Oliver who was looking towards the main crowd in the room.

"Everything alright, Oliver?" Barry asked.

"Yeah, I just remembered I have someone I need to talk to," he said. At Barry's and Cadence's confused glances, he clarified by saying, "Brady had been asking me if I knew anything about what's going on with Conner and…I know I have some explaining to do. I lost my best friend shortly after becoming the Arrow and…I don't want to see Brady turn into what I've become because he's lost his best friend, too."

Cadence grabbed Oliver's attention as he started to turn away. "Oliver, if it helps," she said. "You don't have to worry about becoming a good dad. You already are one."

Oliver smiled his thanks before walking across the room. Barry and Cadence then followed from a distance, heading towards the table laid out with food so that Barry could get some food into his girlfriend. And hopefully sober her up a little too. Not to mention, after the events of the last couple of days, he was starving.

After finding Caitlin and clarifying that it was alright for her to spend the night, Kara went looking for Deity to say goodnight. She figured that wouldn't be too damaging to whatever progress she'd made so far in repairing their relationship. She ended up finding her by the doorway alongside Nate who was glaring at the government official she'd heard about. The one they'd ran into in the past and the one that had originally told Barry to hand himself over to Dominators.

"Dr. Heywood," the agent said with a smug smile.

"Don't 'Dr Heywood' me. What the hell are you doing here?" Nate demanded angrily while Deity folded her arms at his side. They'd been having quite a nice chat about history, which was odd considering she hated the subject, until the man in the suit had walked in with his goons.

"I like parties," the agent said with a shrug.

"Well you weren't invited to this one," Deity pointed out with a hint of annoyance to her voice. She met government types before, and just like some of those officials, this guy was rubbing her the wrong way. She couldn't decide whether it was the smug voice or the smug smile. Both made her want to punch his teeth out.

"Fine then, I'll just do the mopping-up then."

"More like Cover-up," Nate snapped. "But you can't cover this up." The agent just looked at him, chuckling as he smiled confidently back at Nate. That was when Kara had stepped in.

"Agent Smith!" she proclaimed, catching him off guard as she walked up to Nate's side. "It's so funny seeing you here. I was just having the loveliest chat with your president about you. I was telling her, on my Earth, we have a Department of Extranormal Operations, which deals specifically with aliens. She thought it was an excellent idea." With each word that came out of Kara's mouth, the smugness left the agent's face and soon her was all but glaring at the perky blonde. Kara then stepped up to him, leaning in as if to whisper but still speaking just as loud. "She also loved my pitch about reassigning you to Antarctica."

Now the agent was glaring at her. Kara just smiled sweetly back before turning away, letting her ponytail whack him in the face as she walked off.

"Maybe next time you'll be a little nicer to alien visitors," Nate said smugly as he folded his arms. The agents sent the same glare to Nate and Deity before growling as he stormed out the room.

"Don't forget to pack a jacket!" Deity called after him teasingly as Nate chuckled.

"You know, your mom is a badass in more ways than one," Nate said as he looked down to Deity who's smile faltered slightly.

"Yeah…she is," Deity admitted. Nate didn't say anything else, just patted the teenager on the back and left her to her own devices. She stood still for a moment, reaching into her pocket to pull out the new version of the tachyon device he'd given her. Thankfully it wasn't as big, now pocket sized and was a one way connection between this Earth and her own with the bounce of communication features.

Staring at her in the palm of her hand, she knew if she really wanted to, she could leave now. But where had that gotten her? Nowhere. She had to start taking steps to fixing things, otherwise she'd never stop running. So she looked up and walked over to her mother, gently taping her shoulder.

Kara turned around. "Um…I have something for you." Kara waited for an explanation, but Deity just held out her closed fist. She then held out her own hand underneath, only to then stare when Deity dropped the new tachyon device into her hand.

"What's this?" Kara asked, staring at the small device in her hand.

"It's the new version of the tachyon device," Deity began to explain. "Cisco upgraded them both since I…you know." Kara just nodded. "This one's yours. Cisco's still go the other one. Cadence made sure he only gave me one so that if I ran off again you could follow me."

"Are you? Going to run off again?" Kara asked as Deity looked up at her. Deity shook her head, letting her long brown hair sway with her, then silence took over. Kara looked at her daughter carefully, closing her fingers around the Tachyon device. "I…" she swallowed hard. "It's your decision, Debby. What you want to tell me, what you don't want to tell me. But…just know that no matter what, I'm always here for you." It was all she needed to say, and it was all Deity needed to hear.

She managed a small smile, tugging at the ends of her long-sleeved shirt. Kara already had a feeling she knew what Deity was going to say. She wasn't coming back. And instead of pushing her, Kara reached out and grasped her daughter's hand. Surprised, Deity looked up into her mother's eyes, worried she'd find hurt and resentment but found nothing but love.

"I'm sorry," Deity said as a tear pricked at her eye.

"I know," Kara said, pushing back her tears. "I'm sorry too…" A sad sniff followed she held back her tears. "But I understand. And, I know, you're with the best hands here. There's a lot these guys can teach you. And I know you'll be safe with them."

Deity twisted her mouth to the side. Pouted. Folded her arms. "Yeah, but…I've got a curfew here. And did you know they want me cook?"

Kara laughed, remembering her first attempt to teach Deity to cook. How she had been so impatient she pulled the chicken right out the oven and blasted it with energy vision. It had ended in them ordering takeout, like they did most nights. Deciding not to teach Deity how to cook had been more of a safety decision than anything else.

"It's not funny!" Deity insisted as Kara failed miserably in her attempt to stop laughing, her face screwing up as she tried to hold it in. It wasn't long before Deity joined in. "The last thing I wanted to do was burn down their home. Though there was little chance of that happening since Brady's pretty trigger happy with the fire extinguisher." The laughter continued and then faded back into the serious moment they'd been having previously.

"I'm going to miss you, mom."

"I know. I'll miss you, too. But…if you feel you need to be here, then you need to be here. And besides," Kara flicked her Tachyon device back and forth. "I can still come back whenever you need me."

Deity smiled and hugged her mom.

* * *

Barry took stock of the hangar, making sure he had everything cleaned up. Everyone else had left, Team Legends going back to their time, and Team Arrow on their way to Star City. With every bit of trash picked up from their celebration, it was like nothing had ever happened. Almost like everything was turning back to normal.

With a smile, Barry turned to find Caitlin and Cisco waiting for him. "I thought you guys were heading out," he said.

"We are," Caitlin agreed, holding her jacket in her arms. "But we wanted to talk to you about something first." She exchanged a looked with Cisco. "Something serious."

"Something…serious?" Barry repeated. He swallowed nervously, running his suddenly damp hands along the sides of his jeans. "Okay…what's going on? What's up?"

Cisco cleared his throat dramatically. He folded his arms and tried to look stern as he said. "Mr. Allen, how can you think of proposing to someone and not telling your best friends about it?" Barry blinked in surprise as Cisco continued. "I mean, did you think we wouldn't find out?"

"It's a very big secret to keep," Caitlin agreed. She shook her head, curls bouncing all over the place. "They have a way of getting out."

"Wh-what? Who told you?" Barry demanded. He didn't think it was Brady. He had a big mouth that he liked to run to be funny, but didn't have a habit of spilling secrets either. Then again, with all of those little comments that Kara picked up on…

"Kara told us," Caitlin said, taking the wind out of Barry's sails, replacing it with a dull sting of rejection. "Well, she kind of slurred it, and then tried to take it back, and then said something about having a bunker on their Earth…" she waved a hand.

"But we figured she must've been telling the truth," Cisco said. "Boy, that girl likes to talk a lot." He patted Barry on the shoulder. "So, when's the big day, who's going to be the best man? I'm just saying it better be me."

"You guys are going to be so happy together," Caitlin added and threw her arms around Barry's neck. "I'm so happy for you."

Barry laughed and allowed the hug. He reassured them they'd be the first ones to know when he did actually, finally, propose, but pointed out he needed to talk to a few more people first. They left and Barry glanced at his watch before running off to a nearby bar. Oliver sat on a stool, taking small sips from a beer.

"You're late," he said as soon as Barry sat down.

"Story of my life," Barry replied, taking the beer that was handed to him. "I thought you were low on money."

"We lost the estate, not our way of life," Oliver shot back. He chuckled to himself, shaking his head. He bobbed his head to the music that was playing out of the boombox around them. "And, besides, if I spent so much of my time worrying about money…I wouldn't be able to beat you so much."

"Excuse me, I beat _you_ last time," Barry quickly corrected his friend. Oliver rolled his eyes but nodded in agreement. It wasn't even close, if Barry remembered correctly. Oliver hadn't known the sort of speeds he could get up to, he didn't stand a chance.

And yet, Oliver wasn't someone who would give up so easily. Especially when it meant he had to admit losing at something. "It was a tie," Oliver gave him.

"Yeah, the first time. And the second time?"

"There were no witnesses then."

Barry grinned seconds before bursting out into hysterical laughter. A loud bark that drowned out the clinking of glasses and quiet conversation, drawing some eyes their way. Oliver couldn't help but laugh along with him. It was the part of Barry that Oliver liked to see. The young man who had a love of life and everything in it. Simultaneously, it was the Oliver that Barry liked to see. The one he could kick back and have a drink with. The one who was his mentor as much as he was his friend and confidant.

"Superspeed arrow duels," Barry mused when finally regaining his composure. "Our lives aren't exactly normal."

Oliver shook his head. "I'm not sure it's possible for us."

Barry nodded. "I know what you mean." He took in a deep breath and started to pass the beer bottle back and forth between his hands. Fast enough that it threatened to topple to the floor, if not for Barry's rapid movements. "We both took a look at what life was like, normal."

"It would've been happy," Oliver mused.

"But not full," Barry said.

"No, nowhere close."

Barry lifted his beer bottle and held it out to Oliver. He motioned for a toast. "To things not being normal."

"To life being full." Oliver clinked the mouth of his bottle against Barry's and the two took long swigs in solidarity.

* * *

Barry quietly ducked his head, climbing in through the darkened bedroom window of his loft. Old habits died hard, he realized. But it was also a good alternative to the heavy front door that slammed shut no matter how quietly you closed it. He gently jostled the stacked boxes by the bedside table and grabbed them before they could fall over. Letting out a quiet sigh of relief, Barry kicked off his shoes and socks, placing them in a pile on the ground before removing his shirt and jeans as well.

With a heavy sigh, suddenly feeling exhausted, Barry pulled back the covers and slid into bed. He shuffled forward, wrapping his arm around Cadence's waist as she slept soundly. Cadence grabbed his hand and pulled his arm closer around her.

Barry dropped his head to the pillow and closed his eyes, feeling completely at peace.

For the first time in a long time, he slept soundly.

He dreamt about his parents.

And how proud they were of him.

* * *

 **A/N:** Well, that was a chapter filled with action and adventure, wasn't it? I hope you all enjoyed it and the next chapter will be up soon as Alchemy, Savitar, Wally, and Julian have not been forgotten. Though I hope you liked the added focus on Cisco in this one.

Also, I do have something that is a companion alongside this story coming up soon. It'll be called _Naturally._ Keep an eye out for it.

Please remember to review; any feedback helps me become a better writer and motivates me to write more. I respond to every review, even anonymous ones.

 **Cheers,**

 **-Riley**

 **iReview Replies**

 **Ethan:** Some of my favorite scenes of writing other characters is Mick (and Snart when he's around) and Oliver and Brady. Especially since Oliver is training Brady but is also very aware of the connection it brings his son to him and his old friendship with Cadence. He can speak to him a certain way, but obviously not the same he would to anyone who gets on his nerves.

 **DarkHelm145:** Like I've said before, I wanted to give Jesse more to do and it made sense, to me, that what Wally did could work for her. Now all I need to do is get back to Wally being a speedster as well. Hope you liked this one.

 **Yummers:** Yeah, that's always fun.

 **Babyj:** I hope you liked the original parts thrown in as well. And I'm glad the chapter lengths worked out for you as well.

 **Josephguy217:** Thank you! Thank you! Glad you're still around and enjoying it!


	14. Aftermath

**14**

 _Aftermath_

* * *

Notes gently flowed out from the piano keys that were plucked in a rhythmic cadence. Floating around the open, expansive room. Sorrowful notes, happy notes into it Cadence poured her soul; fingers dancing up and down the keys, plinking like raindrops. Created melodies and tunes. Each note was played with the light drop of a finger as her head bent over the keys. Her emotions; regrets, fears, trepidations, pains, joys—all inside the music that sounded. Every now and then the music grew heavy, she stressed each key, pushed down forcefully. Made low, heavy notes, ground out with a fiery zeal.

Then she shifted the melody, shifted the cadence, shifted the tone to notes that sat in the middle of the octaves. Not too high, not too low, just in the middle. She played slowly, starting out with the notes that distinctly created the song everyone knew, the song she always enjoyed playing when she wasn't drilled with scales and arpeggios. She continued to plink away slowly, pressing her foot onto the pedal when the time came.

As Cadence moved slower into the meat of the song, Harrison joined in, sitting directly to her left. His larger hands crossed over hers when his notes needed to be played. They started off slow, the lower notes interacting with the high ones before their fingers started to move faster, playing through the song at warp speed. In Cadence's opinion, it made the song sound even better, rather than the classical piece that many opted to re-create, it took on jazzy tones and even some pop flare, the notes swirling around them.

Finally, the song came to the end and, at the same time, Harrison and Cadence dropped their hands to their laps. Cadence smiled, tucking her hair behind her ear. "Still go it."

"Yes, you certainly do," Harrison agreed.

"Thanks, but I was talking about you."

Harrison laughed at her teasing jab. "Yes, well, I always enjoy the time I get to spend playing the piano when it comes up. And I always enjoy the time I get to share that with you." Cadence smiled back. It was something they hadn't been able to do for a while, spend time with Brady and Harrison and Tess by themselves. There had been so much going on since Barry had returned from Flashpoint that small moments like that were hard to come by.

Honestly, Cadence had forgotten how much she loved playing the piano, she had almost no time for herself. With Flashpoint, the Rival, Alchemy, Frankie, work, working on her relationship with Brady and Ryder and Barry and Caitlin and Cisco and Deity and…and…and…Being able to sit down and get lost in practicing. It reminded her of when she was young, when Harrison first walked into her house for their first piano lesson. Without knowing he was her birth father at the time, just as her parents' friends, Cadence smiled warmly up at him, practically bouncing as she followed him to the piano.

In hindsight, it was obvious he enjoyed the time he was able to spend with his daughter. He was very patient, much too patient with someone who should've been playing the piano but preferred to run off to show him her latest toys and force him to watch the 'plays' she put on with Barbies, LEGO people, and stuffed animals that then got thrown back and forth in some sort of massacre. Then, with her excess energy—of which her parents had been smart to try to diffuse, by throwing her into gymnastics and cheerleading—she continued to wiggle back and forth on the hard piano bench before finally listening to put her fingers in the right placements on the keys to play.

And just like those years ago, Tess, who leaned on the other side of the piano smiled warmly, clapping appreciatively for the show she had just been a witness to. Brady, who stood beside her, leaned against the piano, his chin resting atop his hands which lay flat on the inky black casing of the piano didn't appear as impressed. Then again, Cadence remembered, he was the one who had to sit through multiple days of her practicing on a keyboard with a babysitter that she remembered saying he disliked.

"Well, it's certainly been a long time since I've heard this thing played," Tess said, gently running her hand over the back of the grand piano. "I've always missed it."

Harrison smiled, nodded appreciatively. He thought for a moment, choosing his words carefully before he spoke in his natural cadence that held mystery and intrigue. "From what we've seen over the last few years, there's never been time to sit down and do it. Since the Dominators left things have been quiet around here. And I don't ever intend to look a gift horse in the mouth." He stood and gave his wife a kiss before removing himself from behind the stool.

"What does that mean?" Brady's nose wrinkled. Almost as if someone waved a plate of rotting cheese beneath his nose. "Is that like a Trojan horse sort of thing?"

"Close, bud. It basically means no to question the value of a gift," Cadence explained, still playing a few of the keys. Brady's nose wrinkled even further. What did that have anything to do with a horse? He questioned as much, making his mother and grandparents laugh quietly. "The age of a horse is determined by looking at its teeth, so if someone gifts you a horse, don't look at its teeth to see how old it is."

He looked at her for a long moment, a stunned expression gracing his features before h said quietly, under his breath, "That's so dumb." The adults around him laughed at his blunt comment, making him smile a smile Cadence had noticed many times before and could read as easily as a stop sign. He had an idea. Brady pushed himself up into a standing position, eyes lighting up. "But speaking of horses—"

"—No," Cadence swiftly interrupted.

Brady pouted, all the strength moving out of him so that he nearly collapsed on the piano. A low moan of disappointment left his lips. "You don't even know what I was going to say."

Cadence snorted. Fat chance. His segues in conversation weren't exactly subtle. "I know _exactly_ what you were going to say, bud," she said. Brady lifted his eyebrows, waiting for her response. His expression slowly turned sullen as his mother continued with, "'Can we get a dog?' You ask me that nearly every few months."

"Yeah, and you keep saying 'no'," Brady said. He stuck out his lower lip, tracing a circle on the piano, watching as his fingerprints marred the otherwise shiny lacquer over the cabinet. Cadence winced, glancing towards Harrison, whose thin lips pulled back into a small smile. She'd clean that up.

Oh, she hated it when he pouted like that. There was plenty of truth in saying she tended to spoil him, but it hurt when he tried to wriggle into getting his way. " _I_ don't say 'no', our apartment buildings say 'no', otherwise, I'd be the first one to run out and get a dog," Cadence said. She still felt a twinge of sadness over the pet she had never received. "I always wanted one."

"You said you always wanted a horse," Tess pointed out to her.

"I wanted a dog, too. What can I say? I was a spoiled brat." Cadence stood up and apologized to her birth parents, "I'll clean up the fingerprints." She looked at Brady, who immediately took a step back from the instrument, holding his hands up in the air, eyes widening innocently. "I know how much time and care you put into this thing, dad."

"Don't worry about it," Harrison said with a wave of his hand. He lovingly rubbed his palm over the fingerprints, marring the lacquer even further, smearing them in a colorless arc across the black paint. Like a rainbow. "I'm just glad it's being played again."

"And you should know, sweetie, that he enjoys cleaning it up after months of playing," Tess said with a light roll of her eyes. "Uses cleaning solution and q-tips and everything. You think he's particular about his work, you should see when he cleans this thing." She reached out and placed her hand on Brady's shoulder. "I'm sure you're hungry, Brady. Do you want to help me set the table while I finish breakfast?"

Brady nodded and walked along with his grandmother, the bottoms of his soccer cleats making a distinct clacking noise across the hardwood floor as he went. Cadence winced with each step he took, seeing in her mind's eye the scuff marks it was making. "I'll clean up whatever scuff marks those leave, too," she said.

Harrison shook his head and placed his hand on his daughter's shoulder, gently but firmly shaking her. "Relax. We're not incapable of cleaning up after a while. He's young, he makes messes, it's what he's supposed to do." He tapped her head. "Besides, I seem to remember you doing the same thing when you were young. The only difference being that you had so much excess energy it was like a tornado blew through everything."

"Hmm." Cadence squeezed an eye shut as she thought about it. It was true, and she paid the price for it, having had to clean it all by herself once she was done, pouting with big fat tears rolling down her cheeks as she did so. She never received sympathy from her parents over it, funny enough. "How old was I then?"

"Why?"

"I might be able to play it off as excess use of my powers."

Cadence laughed at her own joke while Harrison slung his arm around her shoulders. Rather than going into the kitchen, where Tess stood aside as she watched Brady expertly whisk egg yolks in a bowl smiled and went into the dining room, waiting for food to be served to her. Harrison sat at the head of the table, leaving space next to him for Tess and space on the other side for Brady. He flipped open the newspaper that sat beside him, frowning at the front. Cadence glanced over and shook her head. Of course, more talks about what to do about metahumans. How much longer would it take before some peace was made throughout the city? The MRA had failed, a city-wide curfew had been made, STAR Labs was continuously supplying the CCPD with weapons and other measures to take down any metahuman or criminal that came their way.

Then the Dominators arrived and ruined the progress they'd all been making. They had to reveal themselves to get work done, had to go around Layla's and the government's orders to get a handle on the situation. Metahumans and Vigilantes were starting to be looked at again, even when things slowly died down months before. All that progress was a waste. _The progress Breathtaker wants to take down as well,_ Cadence thought.

Her eyebrows came together, lowering towards the swirling oak of the table in front of her. _He wants to make metahumans and humans live in peace but wants to make a war to get his point across._ She shook her head. They were going towards the same goal, but wanted to get there in different ways. The city wanted to use force; force metas to come out in the open, Team Flash wanted them to be able to live in peace while taking the correct steps needed to rehabilitate the criminals, Breathtaker wanted them to live in peace…but wanted to kill those that were to get in their way first.

And as far as they knew about Savitar and Alchemy, which admittedly was next to nothing, their creation of metas could be going towards the same goal; wanting to have metas and humans live in peace. If there was one way to make sure they all lived in peace, they needed to figure out what it was, soon. Or else there'd be even more people that would come to become innocent victims in a long-range war they were trying to end.

How many more black vehicles were they going to see charging through the city while the government tried to cover up what had happened with the Dominators? How many more posts was Iris going to have submitted to her blog with the stories of their alien sightings? How long would they have to worry about Agent Smith coming back to threaten them with the things they'd changed in the past or what could possible change in the future?

Things were getting messier than they'd ever intended and there seemed to be no clean up in sight. Cadence grasped the glass of orange juice that sat in front of her and asked Harrison, "Does Lex Luthor have anything to do with that?"

Harrison immediately folded over the page he was reading and tucked it beneath his seat. "That's classified, I'm afraid," he said, lacing his fingers together. Cadence gave him a look. "I'm aware of the reputation that Mr. Luthor has, but I can assure you that I wouldn't bring myself into a conversation with Lex Luthor if it wasn't' something that we could benefit from in some way."

"Something tells me that Clark wouldn't agree with you," Cadence pointed out.

Anyone from Metropolis knew and had an opinion on Clark Kent's and Lex Luthor's friendship and how it evolved and devolved over the years. Those that knew of Clark's special abilities and the way he had to keep his life a secret knew his reasons for their strained friendship. Those that knew Lex Luthor and his family history knew it was only a matter of time until things became too over balanced.

Lex's presence in Central City worried Cadence. Not because she knew every dirty secret the Luthor's tried to hide—it was common gossip amongst the elite in Metropolis—but because she knew how Lex operated. Did everything in his power to get his way, used everyone below him to get what he needed and threw them away when it was achieved. His announcement, his running for presidential bid and Central City being one of his stops on his campaign trail she was sure was a cover.

Clark had gotten into contact with them as soon as the news broke, mentioning his displeasure and unease with the situation. Warning them that they had to keep an eye on him as much as possible, but refused to go more into it when asked.

And just like Clark, Harrison smiled but didn't respond.

Instead, he leaned out of the way as Tess carefully dropped a plate filled with breakfast in front of him. Cadence smiled her thanks when Tess handed her a plate as well and quickly dove in. Tess and Brady joined them, and they ate in silence for a few minutes before Tess asked, "Are you excited for your soccer game today?"

Brady shrugged and nodded. "I guess so."

Cadence knew immediately he was thinking that it was the first game he was going to play without his best friend. It was easy not to think about it when they were training, sparring, running tests, stopping criminals, fighting metas and aliens. But when things slowed down, that's when your mind wandered in many areas you didn't want it to go. Cadence knew the feeling very well and ached for him.

"They're supposed to be a tough team to beat," Brady said. His chest swelled with pride and he couldn't help the slightly smug tone that came to his voice as he said, "But we were the champs last year, so I think they're afraid to face us."

"Good to see that you have such faith in your team," Tess said with a laugh and a warm smile. "That's the most important thing to have. We already saw how it almost tore you guys apart, what happened with Barry and Flashpoint I'm glad to see things are working out for you now."

"Too bad an alien invasion had to do it," Brady quipped.

It was an innocent comment, he clearly didn't know what his grandmother was implying, but Cadence caught it. She looked at her mother carefully, noticing the way she did her best not to look at her husband. Keeping the otherwise pleasant expression on her face as solid as granite. She knew that look, had had it on her own face many times before.

There was something she and Harrison was keeping from the team, and it was something big.

She made a mental note to speak to Clark.

* * *

Brady took a deep breath pulling down the sleeves of his shirt to cover his hands. November had come, and the city adjusted accordingly through that time. Turning absolutely, cold. It gave Central City some peace, some time to turn back to normalcy. Criminals didn't race to plunder and pillage as much as they had before, though metas worked as hard as they could to make life a bit more difficult.

As it was, Brady could hardly keep his mind on the soccer game that played out in front of him. His teammates on the bench continued to murmur and whisper around the alien invasion that had gone on, what they'd seen and what they heard from their parents while away from their coach's gaze, jogged up and down the field, shouting instructions to the team. But Brady couldn't focus on what was going on in the game. He listened closely to what his teammates were saying. On the metal bench, which seemed to have taken on the chill of the city, the team huddled close together to keep warm. The copious amount coats and scarves their mothers made them wear draped over each other's laps and legs that bounced to keep warm.

And yet, they had enough heat and energy to share the news that their parents and siblings had spread to them. The topic of course, was of the alien invasion that had occurred. Brady considered it after everything died down; there had been injuries and casualties but none from his classmates. There had been plenty on the private Instagram account that mentioned some of their powers had been displayed due to their fear, but had been largely forgotten by their parents in the chaos of the day.

"I heard that The Flash was the one to run around and put those things on the aliens, that made them blow up."

"It couldn't have been the Flash, he can't run that fast."

"You're so stupid. He's the fastest man alive!"

"But I saw _two_ speedsters."

"There's only one speedster here."

A smile came to Brady's lips. Jesse was certainly making her name known through Central City. She was glad to have the chance when it came around. She was training hard, listening to everything Barry told her when they were training. And it showed in her test results and what they came up again.

"Flare and Shadowhunter did a really good job in fighting against those aliens, too. Did you know that Shadowhunter is our age?"

"That's impossible. Why would they let a kid help save the city?"

"My dad says, because of the height and the size of Shadowhunter that he can't be more than our age. He says that if there is a kid fighting out there, and he's found out, it could mean a lot of trouble for metahumans in the city."

"Why just the metahumans?"

Brady didn't have to hear the answer, he knew it in his gut. If he were found out, then it'd mean that _anyone_ could be a meta. And if anyone was a meta, it meant there were more powers and abilities out there that could be used for evil. And as far as they knew, there was someone out there creating the biggest coup against Central City that anyone had ever seen.

"Nash!" His coach barked, grabbing Brady's attention. Brady sat up straight and looked at his coach curiously. "Get in! Forward!"

Brady nodded and quickly got to his feet, shedding the jacket that laid over his legs. He ignored the want to immediately dive back onto the bench and burrow himself in the blankets to hurry to the midfield line. He lowered himself to his knee and waited for the ref to blow the whistle, signaling a substitution. Once he did so, Brady ran onto the field, slapping the hand of his teammate that ran off.

He tried not to smile when he heard his friends and family cheering for him. It was always a little embarrassing to have his own personal cheering section—everyone on the team did—but it was cool all the same. Barry, Cadence, Caitlin, Cisco, and Ryder sat along with Harrison and Tess. Jesse was nowhere to be found, Brady wasn't surprised. When she wasn't with Wally she holed herself up in STAR Labs just as Deity kept herself to their apartment when she wasn't brought to STAR Labs.

Through the game, he blocked everything out as he ran back and forth, taking the ball when he had the chance and moving to defend when the other team had the ball. Back and forth he charged across the fool, slide-tackling and using fancy footwork his parents taught him to get around the defenders to make a shot on goal.

 _Swish._

Brady smiled and pumped his fist, high-fiving his teammates as he jogged back to their side of the field to start off once more. Bending over, Brady placed his hands on his knees waiting for the other team to get together. Then, hearing a police siren, Barry immediately turned his attention towards the stands. His heart crammed into his throat. Sweat rolled down his forehead as he tried to figure out what to do. Brady glanced back at the stands and saw Harrison and Tess had moved away from the crowd, looking down at their phones while Barry, Cadence, Caitlin and Cisco hurried out of the stands.

Brady caught his mother's eye and she hesitated glancing at him then back at her phone. When she looked up again, Brady gave a subtle tilt of his head towards the road. She had to go. Cadence nodded back and she and Barry speed-walked out of sight before Barry saw the familiar yellow streak that was the lightning trail Barry left behind him. Moments later, a STAR Labs van careened out of the parking lot, no doubt with Cisco at the wheel.

Taking in a deep breath, Brady pressed his hands to his hips as he stood once more. He had to pay attention. Whatever it was, they could handle it. Brady chewed his lower lip as he watched the other team get ready to set up their play. He refocused on the game, running as hard and fast as he could. Finally, the whistle that signified half-time blew and Brady went with the rest of his team to sit on the side of the field with their orange slices and water to listen to a pep-talk for the second half.

Brady listened quietly, half his mind on the game and the other half wondering what was going on in the city. It had to have been big or else the sirens would've drowned out by that point. Or else Barry and his mother would've come back. If it were easy, Barry would take only a few seconds to get there and back, to the point it was like he hadn't left. No, it was big.

His eyes scanned the city skyline, waiting to find smoke twisting and spiraling into the sky. Whether that meant it was from an explosion or from his mother he was never sure. _I wish I was out there,_ Brady thought. _I wish I knew what was going on._ That was the hardest part, not having all the information when things were going on. He'd been training since he first realized his powers went out on the field every now and then but was still mostly left behind.

Even with the time he spent with Ryder on vacation, where he used his abilities to stop a few criminals they came across, wasn't enough to have him on the field more often. Maybe it was fear, he rationalized at the time. He and his friends had been really hurt when they went against Geomancer. But he was stronger now and the lure of being able to help was too hard to pass up.

"Maybe I _have_ been spending too much time with Barry," he murmured to himself.

"What?" One of his teammates asked.

Brady shook his head, shoving an orange into his mouth. "Nothing," he replied. The meeting ended, and the team ran back onto the field, moving into their positions to start up the next half of the game. Brady moved into his position on the field, striker, and waited for the whistle that'd let him start by booting the ball forward.

Instead, the sound of a car alarm going off caught his attention. From the far side of the field. He turned to follow the source of the noise, others on field and in the stands doing the same. Then they shrugged and turned back to the field. Nothing more than an alarm going off. It stopped quickly. But Brady continued to look. Something was weird about it, he felt it in his bones. His suspicions were proven a second later when he saw a shady figure moving at high-speed, not a run but faster than a walk, looking over his shoulder as he moved to the parking lot.

Brady's eyes narrowed as he watched the guy move to the sides of cars, produce something from his pocket, and seconds later was leaning in the car, rifling through everything inside. Brady took a step back and looked around, no one else seemed to notice what was going on. Chewing his lower lip, Brady decided.

"Coach!" He called, immediately grabbing the adult's attention. "I've gotta go!"

"What?" His coach yelped, eyes widening in surprise.

"I gotta go," Brady repeated. He thought for a second then grabbed at the front of his pants, knocking his knees together. "I've gotta go, real bad."

"Can't you just hold it?"

"No. I can't!" Not when there was someone robbing their cars in broad daylight. Not when the guy needed to be stopped. Without waiting for a response, Brady started to run off the field. "Sorry! I gotta go!" He charged by his teammates and down the side of the field towards the parking lot. Behind him, he heard his coach barking towards one of his teammates to take his place before a whistle and the sounds of a cheering audience started again.

Brady slowed his steps as he came down the side of the hill, making sure not to fall. His footsteps crunched over the gravel as he slowed to a stop, slinking closer to the robber. The robber muttered to himself as he moved through the console, pushing aside receipts and pieces of paper. Finally, he produced a GPS and stuck it in his bag before hopping down from the driver's seat. He moved to close the door, flinching when Brady announced his arrival with, "You know, it's not nice to take things that aren't yours."

The robber jumped and whirled around. He glanced at Brady with a look of disgust and a wave of his hand. "Why don't you mind your own business, kid?"

"This is my business," Brady replied.

A dry laugh escaped the robber's lips. "What do you think you are? The Flash?"

"No." Brady smirked. "I'm much worse."

He held his hands out to his sides, black orbs starting to form over his hands. The robber looked at him in growing suspicion before Brady threw his hand forward. The balls shot towards the robber. He leaned out of the way and held up his hand. The object he was holding, what looked like an ordinary mirror, absorbed the attack and shot back towards Brady.

The robber looked at him with a grim smile that faded when Brady phased, allowing his attack to move back through him. When his attack struck the ground behind him, the asphalt warped, and created a small crater. The robber's eyes, wide with horror, shifted back to Brady. Brady's smirk immediately faded when he saw the robber whip out a pistol and pointed it directly towards him. He could phase as much as he wanted, but nothing was scarier than staring down the barrel of a gun.

The robber smirked at him, taking a step closer to the young boy. "Now, why don't you be a good little boy and run away?"

In response, Brady's gaze shifted as he thought of what to do. But only for a second. It was exactly the second he needed. The robber squeezed an eye shut to bring himself better aim. Before he could fire, Brady rolled to the side loose gravel scratching over his arms and legs. He came a stop on his knees and grabbed handfuls of gravel and whipped them towards the robber.

The robber brought up his hands to shield himself, slowly finding he wasn't being hit. He opened his eyes and looked around to see Leah standing nearby, holding her hands up, her grasp holding the gravel above the robber. Then, with a smile, she lowered her hands, the pieces of gravel shooting towards the robber one by one. With the added gravity on the gravel, they shot into him, embedding into his skin. The robber cried out in pain and brought up his mirror once more.

It took Brady only a few moments to realize he was a meta of some sort, able to use his mirrors to deflect whatever was coming to him. Enough so that the gravel that struck the glass was sucked inside then shot back towards them. Frowning, Leah twisted her hand, aiming the gravel towards the robber once more. He gritted his teeth and reached his hand towards the side mirror on the door.

While the robber was preoccupied with Leah, Brady used his powers of invisibility to move closer to the robber. Close enough to grab the door handle of the unlocked car and pull as hard as he could. The door swung open and struck the robber on the side of the head so hard that he stumbled to the side. He regained his footing and punched his fist against the mirror in his hand. When he pulled his hands away, he dropped the frame to the ground and heaved his hands forward.

Brady jumped backwards, the gravel making his feet slip out from beneath him. Just in time, but not fast enough. As he fell his arms flung up, causing a shard of glass to scratch up his arm. Leah flung herself to the ground. At the same time, throwing out her hands. The robber growled as the ground started to crack beneath him, his body sinking towards the ground. He struggled to bring his feet upwards but found he couldn't move them. No, Leah was causing his center of gravity to increase, forcing him lower and lower into the ground.

Desperately, the robber reached for the largest shard of glass nearest to him. Brady moved forward on his hands and swung his feet below him, around his body in an arching pattern. As he did so, his legs glowed black and he sent out another blast of energy. He missed. The robber grabbed onto the shard of glass and disappeared inside. Like before, his energy blast struck the asphalt, leaving a warped hole in its place.

In surprise, Brad and Leah climbed off the ground, brushing dirt and gravel off themselves. Brady walked over to the shard of glass the robber disappeared through and frowned, seeing it was completely shattered, glittering along the ground.

"What was that?" Leah asked. She pulled her hair behind her ear and glanced at Brady, who walked over to the area they had just fought in. He grimaced, seeing the person sized dent in the car door that stood ajar.

He ran his hand over his mouth, wiping away sweat. He shook his head. "I have no idea" Brady finally replied. "A meta, obviously but…what kind of meta?"

Leah shrugged, folding her arms. "A glass meta? They can control all kinds of glass to their whim?" It was a pretty good guess, but Brady didn't think so for sure. If he was a glass meta, he would've done something else to prove it. Create his own glass, manipulate all the glass in the area. Fix the car so that it didn't appear to be broken before he let? From what Brady could see, looking around at the other cars, all the sideview mirrors were broken.

No, that couldn't be it. "But he didn't control it, just used it to transport himself," Brady murmured. He scratched the back of his neck. "At least he's gone, I can tell Barry and my mom about it later." He glanced towards the soccer game, realizing there wasn't much time for him to get back. "Thanks for having my back."

"Of course," Leah replied as if it were obvious. As if she were saying, 'who else is going to have it?'. Then her face fell for a moment. "If we're going to keep watch of everything, then we have to look out for each other, right? Besides, if it weren't for you, I probably would've been thrown in the pipeline by now. Or…" she sighed. "Kicked out or something."

Brady nodded. "You going to be okay?"

"Yeah. I'll be fine." She regarded the cuts on her hands and knees. "Nothing that can't easily be fixed." She thought for a moment. "This meta…we can ask Alicia to figure out who it is?" At Brady's look, she said, "Her dad's the police chief, if anyone has access to some good files, it's be her."

"Isn't that, like, illegal or something?" Brady asked.

"Isn't what you're doing at STAR Labs illegal or something?" Leah shot back. Brady pressed his lips together. Technically…? She was probably right. "Get back to your game, Brady." Her eyes shone with mischief. "I don't think your coach will believe you took this long to go to the bathroom."

With a roll of his eyes, Barry ran back towards the field. He ducked down behind the bench when he heard his coach shouting for him then snuck up on his other side, as if he had just come from the bathroom. "I'm right here, coach."

"Fan-freaking-tastic!" His coach snapped in response. Then he gave Brady a critical gaze. "What happened to you?"

Brady looked down and grimaced. His normally pristine jersey that would hold grass stains by the end of the game was covered in dirt and blood. His palms and knees were ripped open from the gravel he had rolled across. He was sure there was small pieces of glass stuck in his knees as well. But instead of coming up with a convoluted response, Brady looked up, smiled sheepishly and said, "I fell."

His coach looked at him incredulously, mouth agape like a fish out of water. Brady wanted to laugh, but pressed his lips together instead. Instead of further clarification, he waved Brady off to the field to take his position. Brady ignored the stares from his opponents as they took in his bloodied uniform and moved into position. He ran as hard and fast as he ever had before, ignoring the stinging in his hands and knees as he went.

It was no wonder Barry ran so fast, so hard, and moved to be the best. It was like a drug, the feeling of trying to save, to protect, to bring in hope. His heart was in it now, more than ever. The game ended a half hour later with his team coming out on top one point ahead. Ryder met Brady at the edge of the field when the game ended. Brady wasn't upset the others didn't show up once more, he knew only something important would take them away.

As it was, he couldn't help but smile sheepishly under Ryder's gaze as he approached. "I saw what you did," Ryder commented, holding out his hand for Brady's sports bag. Brady handed it over and looked up at his father, waiting for the grounding. Instead, Ryder reached out his hand and ruffled his son's hair. "I'm proud of you." Brady smiled then looked at Ryder curiously when he tightened his grasp on his son's head. "Don't _ever_ do that in front of me again."

That time, Brady did laugh. He nodded and followed Ryder to his car on the other side of the field. The side the robber hadn't managed to get to. He climbed into the passenger seat and buckled out, letting out a long sigh as he stretched out. He picked up his phone and composed a text to send to his friends in STAR Labs. It was better they knew what happened from him before they heard about it on the news. And it'd show up on the news one way or another.

It was moronic, he supposed, having had run out there without anything that would conceal his identity. He could only hope his powers allowing him to blend in with his surroundings made it harder to be detected. _Aunt Caitlin's so going to lecture me,_ Brady thought as Ryder pulled back from the parking space and drove at top speed out of the lot, tires squealing as he went.

Fatigue struck Brady all at once. From the game, from the realization of what would've happened had he not had control of his powers, putting other people in danger, not having any questions answered…all of it wiped him out more than he was used to.

"Do I have to do my homework when I get back?" He mumbled. It was the last thing he wanted to do. The thought of even picking up a pencil made his arms feel weighted down at his sides. "I just want to sleep." As if to prove it, his eyelids fluttered, forcing him to keep his eyes wide open. "Dad?"

Ryder didn't response. Brady looked over at his father, surprised to find his father's eyes started to close, head lolling towards his chest. "Dad?" Brady's stomach dropped when he felt the car start to move to the side, shifting towards the car that was keeping speed with them. "Dad!"

At that, Ryder jumped head shooting back up. His eyes widened, he looked back at the road, holding onto the steering wheel tightly. He swallowed hard, staring at the car that beeped loudly and sped up to get out of the way. Then he glanced at Brady, who looked back at him with an expression of concern and flashed a reassuring smile.

"I'm okay, buddy," Ryder said. He cleared his throat, shifting himself in his seat, moved it closer to the steering wheel. Stared straight at the road before him. "Sorry about that, I'm just a little tired is all."

"I know the feeling." Brady smiled.

But he still felt ill at ease.

* * *

Barry threw himself over the side of the building, bringing his legs up to clear the low railing. He allowed himself to free fall for a few seconds before lowered his feet and propelled himself down the face of the building. He chugged away, pelting down the face of the building and careened across the street. There was a sudden plume of smoke that appeared in front of him. Time slowed down around Barry. He dragged his heels to slow himself down.

At that moment, Cadence appeared in front of him, swinging a fist towards his head. Barry bent back out of the way. In slow motion, he watched her fist arch overhead, throwing her off balance. Barry took the chance to shift his weight back and he took off in the opposite direction. Everything blurred around him once more and Barry continued to run as fast as he could. Cadence—literally—was hot on his heels as she ran after him.

They arched back and forth around the city with Cadence chasing after Barry, trying and failing to get a tag on him. Every time she came close, Barry would quickly change directions. It was his advantage against her, he knew every street of Central City like the back of his hand. At a moment's notice, he could change directions, ducking down a side alley, maneuvering around dumpsters and trash cans that got in his way.

 _Crash!_

"Jesus, Barry!"

Skidding to a stop, Barry turned around and burst out laughing when he saw Cadence peeling herself off the side of the dumpster she ran straight into. Blood gushed down her nose, almost masking the disgruntled look that came across her face. Almost. She brought her hand back to her nose as it stopped bleeding.

"This isn't funny."

Barry continued to laugh, bringing his arms up to wrap around his stomach. "I'm sorry, Cade, but it looks like you were squished by a fly swatter." He wiped tears away from his eyes, continuing to giggle quietly. He looked at her again, noticing the bright red spot on her forehead, and laughed once more. He stopped abruptly when he saw the flicker of flames rush through Cadence's eyes.

One laugh too many.

He turned on his heel and started to run once more, with Cadence right behind him. In seconds they made it to the Missouri border and kept running. Cadence charged forward and leapt atop of Barry's back. She wrapped her legs around his chest and leaned forward. His aerodynamics were thrown off and Barry started to tilt forward. He wind-milled his arms to keep from falling forward but didn't move fast enough. He crashed hard on his front, giving Cadence the chance to flip him over. With her hand on his chest, she punched him down as hard as he could.

"Gah!" The wind immediately flew out of him, Barry felt the broken asphalt dig into his back. Okay, no more Mr. Nice Guy. He flipped back to his feet only to receive a high kick to the underside of his jaw. Stars exploded in front of Barry's eyes and he stumbled back, giving Cadence enough time to flip over onto her hand. She balanced her weight on her palm and flicked her legs up, kicking Barry atop his head.

Cadence chucked, bending herself to a running stance. "Tag," she called before taking off, leaving a trail of smoke behind her. Barry turned his head to the side and spit, leaving a bit of blood on the ground. With one step, he started after her.

Las Vegas, San Francisco—where they ran across the Golden Gate bridge, Portland, Helena, and Bismarck whizzed by as they ran. Nothing but colorless blurs. Then they crossed over the Canadian border into Winnipeg, Manitoba. The providence was filled with a blanket of snow that melted and re-froze into rapid foot-steps as the speedster and fire meta-humans raced by. Snowflakes pelted them at high speeds, melting before it reached them, dropping to the ground like raindrops before freezing. And still they ran. Ottawa was next, New York, Atlanta, Topeka, Metropolis, then all the way back into Central City and into STAR Labs.

The moment her feet landed on a practice mat, Cadence turned and threw up a wall of fire that stopped Barry in his tracks. He felt the heat of the flames singe the hair off his arm before he was able to stop. Best way to put out a fire? Take out the oxygen. Barry immediately started to windmill his arms, this time in reverse. As he did so, he sucked the air from the room and from the fire that stretched in front of him. Unfortunately, Cadence expected him to use the tactic and adjusted accordingly. Jumping up, she flipped backwards, using a snapping of her arms for momentum. Her feet came down, striking Barry atop the head with the toes of each of her feet. Landing gracefully, she arched around and created fire between her hands. This time the flames were narrowed, condensed and with a wide sweep of her arm, threw them towards Barry.

Barry ducked out of the way and realized, in a second, the small fire blades weren't she had created. No, they were missiles. And as Barry moved, the missiles followed him, twisting and twirling with each other as they arched towards him. "That's new," he muttered under his breath. Barry stared to run, not even at top speed, as he worked to figure out the best way to get them to knock each other out.

 _More fire just means that they'd grow bigger,_ he thought as he ran. _I can't negate them with more fire._ Then Barry made his second mistake. He took his eyes off the fire missiles and didn't see them combine into a large whip that Cadence threw. It wrapped around Barry's legs, slamming them together, making him fall to his front. Barry hissed, feeling the flames burn into his skin.

"You ready to give up?" Cadence called.

Barry rolled to his back. "Not yet," he replied. He vibrated quickly, passing through the fire that looped around his legs. But he didn't stop there, no, he vibrated fast enough to create two speed mirages of himself. At the same time, the three got to their feet and encircled Cadence, who frowned, clenching her hands into fists. The three Barry's started to run, generating electricity as they did so. Cadence's hair billowed up around her, she brought up her arms to shield her face.

A smirk came to Barry's face. Just as he wanted her to do. He came to a stop and threw a lightning bolt. The other two Barry's did the same before disappearing. He slowed down enough that he wasn't creating the other two. They were no longer needed. Cadence flipped out of the way of the first two bolts of lightning while the third struck the wall behind her.

"Is that it?" She challenged. Then the cocky expression on her face changed as her hand was lifted into the air. The ring on her pinkie finger to be exact. "Ahh!" Lifted off her feet, Cadence flew across the floor and crashed into the wall behind her, hanging by her hand, which appeared to be glued to the wall.

Just as he expected. The electricity he created in the arc of lightning manipulated the magnetism of the wall to the metal her ring was made of. As he had her incapacitated, Barry sped to Cadence's side. With a lift of his eyebrows and a jovial smile, he shuffled his legs back and forth as fast as he could. An air of smugness enveloped Barry. He laid his hand flat on the wall. Cadence squealed in pain when the static shock ran through the wall, to her ring, and through her body.

"Okay! Okay!" Cadence cried. Barry removed his hand from the wall and folded his arms, smiling smugly up at her. Cadence glared back at him and said, voice dripping with defeat, "You win."

Laughing, Barry backed away and grabbed onto Cadence's waist, gently peeling her away from the wall. When she was back on solid ground, he folded his arms once more, leaning in to press his forehead against hers. He was so enjoying this. "And?" he prompted.

Cadence rolled her eyes, placing her hands on her hips. " _And_ we can have pizza for dinner."

"Yes!" Barry cheered. He gave Cadence a peck on the lips before backing away, punching the air. He spun in a quick circle of victory before stopping and smiling sheepishly at Cisco and Caitlin, who watched the two with unamused expressions on their faces.

"All that just to figure out what you want to have for dinner?" Caitlin asked. She sighed, shaking her head. "I guess there are worse ways to make a decision. And it did come with a show." She stood up and motioned towards the medical bay. "Let me check out your nose, Cade."

Reaching up a hand, Cadence gingerly touched the tip of her nose, flattening it with her finger. If she expected a pocket of blood to spill out, it didn't "My nose is fine, thanks." It had already healed when they were out in the field. Still, it never hurt to get a second opinion. Cadence brought her hands up and rested them atop her head. "Even better now that we're having pizza. I don't think Deity wants any more chances to try to cook before she blows everything up." She dropped down into an open seat at the computer and pulled her legs up.

"How's she handling things over here?" Caitlin asked. She came back from the medical bay with a first aid kit and sat next to Cadence. She opened the kit and started to look through it, hoping to find something that would at least remove the blood crusted around her nostrils. "Since Kara left, I mean?"

"As fine as could be expected," Cadence said.

"There's still too much that's haunting her," Barry said, running a hand over his face. "There's this…look she gets…when she gets in her head too much. She's trying to keep busy but…" He thought for a moment. "All she needs is time."

"Coming from you, that's funny," Cisco said with a light laugh. Barry gave him an unamused look and he held up his hands, propelling his seat away from Barry with a few steps of his feet over the floor. "Just kidding man, we're still cool. I'm just saying…time can be a dick sometimes."

Barry laughed quietly while Caitlin rolled her eyes, mouthing a quiet 'ignore him' above Cisco's head. As crass as it was, it was something Barry had always wanted to say. Time was a dick. Wasted time, too much time, too little time…time heals all wounds…And even when you had the time, it was never enough. It'd been almost twenty years since his mother died and time hadn't healed that wound for him. It would take time before that wound was healed for Deity.

Even with the Dominators gone, he knew there were things about that fight that still haunted her. Could tell from the way she reacted to them in the first place. But he wasn't to know until Cadence could say something. His curious, scientific side was dying to know, dying to figure out the pieces that fit in the puzzle to make the clear picture. The human side of him knew pushing was the worst thing that could happen. When he was pushed too far, he consistently ran away, Deity had already run to their Earth, where else could she run to?

"Yeah, well, what's more pressing is finding this glass meta," Barry pointed out. He turned to face the computers that sat in front of him. "Do we have anything new on him?" They'd been debriefed on the meta that Brady and Leah had come across after stopping their own multi-criminal high-speed chase that took them from Central City to Keystone and back. "Any camera footage?"

Cisco tapped a few keys on his keyboard, eyes moving around the different news feeds that came up. Then he leaned over and opened the bottom cabinet next to him and unwrapped a lollipop, seamlessly sticking into his mouth. "Not yet," he said, once getting one good lick of the treat. "But you'd be hard pressed to find some good footage from there, anyway?"

"What?"

Cisco gave him a look. "Do _you_ want to be the creeper that takes videos of little kids? It'd give an entirely different name to The Flash."

At that exact moment, Barry caught Cadence's eye and he managed to get a half rotation of his eyes before she threw her head back and laughed hysterically. Within that split second, he knew exactly what she thought of. When they'd traveled to Kara's Earth on accident, training to get faster than Zoom, they'd run into Kara's boss, Cat Grant, who worked to find out the names for his and Cadence's superhero alter-egos once they arrived.

 _"No, not sidekicks." Barry quickly spoke up. "More like equals, or allies. Even partners, maybe," Barry said with a smile. When he saw Cat's glare, his smile immediately faded. "Speaking was the wrong choice, I see that now," he muttered, twiddling his thumbs._

 _Cat didn't respond to him. Instead, she glanced at all the faces lined up in front of her. "Look at all of you standing there doing nothing, you look like the imagined cast of some nobody's fanfiction who has no idea what to do with half of you," she drawled. Then she looked pointedly at Barry and Cadence. "You two. Who are you?"_

 _"Barry," he said quickly, nervously. "Barry Allen." He motioned to Cadence, who finger-waved back to the media mogul. "And she's Cadence Nash."_

 _Cat blinked and abruptly turned away. She didn't care much for these newcomers. "I don't have time for this. I have to name these new heroes." She tilted her head. "For the masked one I was thinking about 'The Whoosh' or 'The Red Streak' or 'The Blur'."_

 _Barry cringed. So many nicknames he'd had and had heard since before The Flash caught on. And he didn't like any of them. The Scarlet Speedster was cool, but all those other ones…it was no wonder Cisco liked trying to name metas so much. Some pretty bad names could get in and catch on before anyone could stop them. Plus, he was quite partial to the one he already had._

 _"And as for goggles here..." Cat tapped her finger against her chin. "How about 'Flash Fire' or 'Heat Wave' maybe even 'Glow Stick'."_

 _"NO!" Cadence couldn't help her outburst. Barry thought the ones_ _he_ _had were bad. She could kill Cisco for even coming up with some of them in the first place. Glow Stick? Come on, who would take a superhero named Glow Stick seriously?_ _Well,_ _she thought._ _Brady probably would._ _It'd be up his alley with his video games and comic books. But_ _Glow Stick?_ _Really? "I mean." She smiled sheepishly, trying to regain her composure. "I was thinking Flare would be a pretty good name."_

 _Cat tilted her head in thought. She was silent for a long moment before saying, "Strong, deadly, dangerous. Both hot and cute with a hint of innocence and femininity to it...Yes. I like it." Cat said as she nodded._

 _Cadence sighed in relief._

 _"And what about the Flash for the other guy," Barry quickly spoke up once he saw Cadence convince Cat of her alter ego's name. It was just that easy, right? "Just saying, I think that's a pretty cool superhero name."_

 _"The Flash?" Cat frowned. "Sounds like someone whose only superpower is jumping out of an alley in a trench coat." From beside him, Barry could hear Cadence try to hide her snicker, turning a guffaw into a cough. "No, I want mystery, I want intrigue, I want the Blur and Flare." Cat dismissed them with a wave. "Now leave please, I have a story to write."_

 _The second they were out of Cat's office, Cadence burst out into hysterical laughter. Barry sighed irritably, knowing he wasn't going to hear the end of this one anytime soon. Why was it that he could never get anything that he could tease her about for days to come? It wasn't fair, really._

 _"What's so funny?" Deity asked._

 _"Nothing. Just alternative Earth humor," Cadence said, wiping tears from her eyes. With her mascara starting to run, she looked like a dripping oil painting. "Oh God, I can't wait to tell the others about that one."_

 _"Please don't," Barry pleased._

 _Cadence grasped his shoulder, leaning into him with a teasing smile. "It's alright, Tholly, it'll be our little secret."_

 _"Just another one to add to the list I guess," He said with a smile._

"It's not funny," he reminded her. But Cadence continued to laugh. "Well, I guess it's not so bad that we didn't have footage from it." Caitlin spoke his exact thought, "The less chance that Brady and Leah were seen by anyone."

"That doesn't mean much for who we're going after, though," Cadence pointed out. "Are we looking for a criminal who is into antique glasses to steal? A petty criminal?" She let out a frustrated sigh. "And, of course, figuring out where this person was during the Particle Accelerator explosion. If he was even there."

That was the other part Barry didn't want to think about. Whether or not the meta was from their Earth or another Earth. Earth-2 specifically. They still had ties to it, every now and then Barry got flashes into Earth-2 Barry's life. Nothing too interesting, he continued to work on his cases. But metahumans and criminals were still a thing there and there was always a chance of more of them crossing over. _Not to mention, this guy may be one of Alchemy's work._

"Do you really think Alchemy has something to do with it?" Cisco asked, as if reading Barry's thoughts. He moved his lollipop to the other side of his mouth with his tongue, clicking it against his teeth. He glanced at Barry. "Do you remember seeing anything about it over in Flashpoint?"

Barry shook his head. A black suited speedster, a yellow suited speedster, and a homicidal speedster, sure. He didn't remember anything about anyone with the power to manipulate glass. That was something he certainly would've remembered. Instead, Barry shook his head and said, "Well, looks like we'll have to start from the ground floor. See if there were any cameras that caught his face and run facial recognition."

"You got it," Caitlin agreed, firing up the program on her computer. She looked over as Cadence's phone buzzed with a text and grabbed it to hand to her friend. Her eyebrows rose as she glanced at the screen when passing it over. "Is it possible to get texts from the future?"

Cisco nodded. "I know you try to make jokes, Caitlin, but sometimes you should leave them to me."

With a raise of her eyebrows, Cadence waved her phone in Cisco's face. "She's not joking, this text says it's from the future." She looked at the screen. "Blocked number, too." She slid her finger across the screen to open it.

A strangled cry escaped Cisco's lips. "You're actually going to open it? It could be spam or malware."

"Or a telemarketer that I could mess with," Cadence reminded him. A large grin came to her face. "You have no idea how much I loved freaking people out when I was a medical examiner. I wasn't used to how quiet my phone was." She opened the text and turned her phone to the side, realizing it was a photo attachment. Her eyes squinted, and she looked closer.

"So, what is it?" Cisco asked with a hair of impatience. "Don't leave us in suspense."

"I'm not sure, it's kind of blurry." Cadence held the picture closer to her face while Caitlin leaned over her shoulder to get a good look. "It's kind of pink and looks like…" Cadence pinched her fingers on the screen and zoomed in and out a few times. Everything slammed into focus. Together, Cadence and Caitlin both let out yelping screams before Cadence laughed uproarisly while Caitlin turned her red face away.

"What?" Tired of being left out of the loop, Barry grabbed the phone. "What is it?" He held it in his hand while Cisco looked, then the two had the same response as Cadence and Caitlin, screaming and turning the phone away from them. "Is that…is _that…?"_

"Yes!" Cadence cried, confirming Barry's suspicions. Then he frowned, not quite liking how much mirth his girlfriend was finding in the situation. "It's a penis! Mick sent me a picture of his penis." She grabbed her phone back from Barry and scrolled down through the text and read off, "Just to say you're welcome, Princess."

" _Why_ would he send you that?" Caitlin squeaked.

"It's Mick, he doesn't make any sense." Cadence thought for a moment, tapping her phone against her chin. "Well, I _did_ thank him for helping me when the Dominators blast knocked me out but…I wasn't quite think that's what I'd get in return. A hawked computer, maybe. But not that."

"This brings new meaning to the nickname, 'Mick the dick'," Cisco said, bringing in a fresh round of laughter from Cadence while Caitlin and Barry continued to shake their heads. He thought back to the blocked number. "Must Be a burner phone." Then he sat up straight. "That means this is the first instance of a message from the future. Other than the one Barry sent, of course, but this a _text_ , a modern-day technology from the future. Oh, I have to figure out how this worked."

Barry scowled at him. "I'm glad you all find this so funny." It was the least bit funny as far as he was concerned. He didn't want anyone sending unsolicited pictures to his girlfriend, let alone people like _Mick._ Barry's cell phone then vibrated, sending a fresh wave of fear over him. "If this is Mick…" he mumbled, expecting to find some sort of middle fingered salute he was expected to respond to. Then his eyebrows came together when he read the sender.

 **Julian:** _Can you come to the hospital. We need to talk._

"Hey, uh, I've got to go," Barry murmured, looking at his phone. What was it that Julian wanted? He'd punched his co-worker hard enough that a concussion had to be evident. A concussion big enough to knock out his memory of Caitlin and Killer Frost. Maybe knock out his attitude a little. Still, Barry couldn't ignore the trepidation that washed over him. "Julian's asked for me to see him."

"Is everything okay?" Caitlin asked, voice growing soft. Barry could see the fear in her eyes and reassured her with a nod and a calming smile.

"I'm sure everything's fine. But I'll see you guys later, call me as soon as you find anything." With that, Barry streaked to the hospital and up to Julian's room. He stopped right inside the hospital, propelling himself into the elevator before the doors closed. Thankfully, no one else had caught it when he slipped inside. Barry composed himself as he rode the elevator up to the visitor wing.

When the doors dinged open, he nearly walked into Detective Patterson, who cast him a dismissive glance as he walked by. "Oh, it's you Allen," he remarked. "Don't you ever work?" His voice dripped with sarcasm that wasn't lost on Barry.

As fast as he was, as much work as he could get in a short time frame, there was always something more important that came up, making him leave the CCPD. Singh got on him all the time about it, enough so Barry was running out of excuses. Detective Patterson, on the other hand, was a shark. A shark that could smell the tiniest amount of blood in the water and he had his beady eyes zeroed in on Barry.

"I haven't heard that one before," Barry said, mimicking Detective Patterson's tone.

"What are you doing here, Allen?"

"I, uh, came to see that Julian was okay," Barry explained. He quickly fell in step with Detective Patterson as they headed down the winding hallways. He tried not to get a good look at those sitting in beds of the rooms he passed. He'd seen too many people he cared about end up in the hospital as of late, reminded of when he was there for a short period of time after his mother died. "He _is_ doing okay, right?"

"Okay enough to give a witness statement," Detective Patterson replied. "We've had to wait until he was of sound mind and health to ask him more questions from the night The Flash and that ice woman attacked him."

Barry winced. He hadn't _attacked_ Julian. Just knocked him out enough to talk to Caitlin. "Well, I don't think The Flash would ever actually attack anyone. Just…someone who's doing something wrong. A criminal…"

"Then why did he not attack the woman that attacked Julian?" Detective Patterson demanded. Barry closed his mouth, unsure of how to respond. "He's supposed to be one of justice and hope in this city but let her get away? What peace of mind does that bring to the citizens who are scared?"

Stumped, Barry opened and closed his mouth, quiet sounds escaping his lips. Detective Patterson merely grunted and continued to Julian's room. Barry spotted his name on the clipboard hanging at the end of the hall and grabbed Detective Patterson's arm. "I, uh, I was just, uh, wondering if I could talk to Julian. You know, before you ask him some more questions. We're, uh, kind of close and I was hoping he's okay."

"You already said that."

"Well, okay, since the alien invasion. That was…that was sure strange wasn't it? And alien invasion? Who, uh, who would've thought, right?" Barry laughed nervously, unable to keep himself from talking. Nevertheless, it seemed to make Detective Patterson want to get rid of Barry enough to wave him into the room. Barry nodded his thanks and slipped into the hospital room.

Julian stood by the window, holding his gown closed with one hand behind him, the other resting on the window sill as he looked down over Central City. He must've seen Barry's reflection in the glass as he didn't turn around when Barry entered.

"I was wondering when you'd show up," Julian sated. "Or if you'd even show up at all, honestly. Word around the CCPD is that you've disappeared when that invasion was going on. Not that I'm surprise, you do have a history of strange disappearances."

Barry licked his lips, lowering his gaze to the floor. He wasn't going to take the bait. "How're you doing, Julian?"

"Doctor says I have a slight concussion and frostbite that I'm getting over," Julian replied. He turned to face Barry, leaning on the window sill. "Should be out of the hospital by tomorrow."

"I bet you're excited."

"The word isn't bloody strong enough, mate."

"Well, I'm glad you're going to be alright."

Something flickered in Julian's eyes that Barry couldn't quite place. Something dark that washed over his skin, making him stand up straighter than he already had been. "As much as I appreciate your outburst of enthusiasm, I think we both know why you're here?"

Barry's face screwed up. What was that supposed to mean? Julian had asked him to come and he came. He hated the guy, but didn't hate him enough to ignore a trip to the hospital. That would be cruel. "I don't…know what you mean."

"Your friend, Caitlin Snow," Julian said slowly. He watched Barry's expression. Barry did his best not to let anything on his face show. What about Caitlin? Barry tilted his head to the side, hoping the expression of confusion he made was passable. Yet, his blood ran cold when Julian said, "She's a meta, isn't she?"

* * *

 **A/N:** Well, I think these guys deserved a little bit of a break, some time for things to slow down with them. I hope you enjoyed this chapter, there was enough downtime and action moments for them that I felt it may as well as have half of a Flash episode. Lol. What did you think of last night's ep?

From myself and **PowerHero432** thank you for all the feedback on our co-write of the crossover. We're so glad that you enjoyed it so much and it means a lot that there were moments that stuck out for you to enjoy which his always our goal.

Also, don't forget to check out my sister's Flash story _Out of Focus,_ the sequel to _In as Flash._ It's on chapter five so not much needed to catch up on until you're up to speed. I may be a little biased, but it's great. So, check it out.

Please remember to review; any feedback helps me become a better writer and motivates me to write more. I respond to every review, even anonymous ones.

 **Cheers,**

 **-Riley**

 **Review Replies**

 **Guest:** So glad you enjoyed it!

 **Ethan:** Yep, all of Brady's little jabs so far have been that he's becoming impatient that Barry hasn't proposed to Cadence yet. Yep, now all we need to see if 'cheerleader-Cade'. And yes, it's a cue to the Selena Gomez song. It should be up soon.

 **DarkHelm145:** I'm so excited for the mid-season, you have no idea.

 **Jason Hunter and Guest:** I don't watch Supergirl unless it has something to do with a crossover/crossover episode. To that extent, no I did not base the Breathtaker Cadence fight off Supergirl and Reign. My inspiration for fight scenes come from Avengers, X-Men, the video game Kingdom Hearts, and my own mind. Though since you did mention it I went to see the scene you were talking about and it is similar. Just a lucky coincidence I suppose. If it does become an issue, I'll re-work it. To that extent, I will not be writing Supergirl season 3 for anything other than the crossover portions. For the questions about Supergirl and Deity vs. Reign, please direct them to PowerHero.

 **Noblecrescent:** Plenty of more Caitlin stuff coming and I hope you liked what I did with Mick here. ;) lol.

 **Luna:** I agree, the focus on Cisco was very much needed and very fun to write as well.

 **Spinquin142:** I'm still working out how everything with Grodd will go, but I do already have some plans working for the mid-season finale portion.


	15. Tough Decisions

**15**

 _Tough Decisions_

* * *

Cadence kept her eyes closed as the sunlight drew in around her, making her fall closer to slumber. She knew she should get moving, too much sunlight made her lethargic, but all the same she enjoyed it too much. The time she got to herself. Things had become too hectic as of late. Too close for comfort. Julian knew Caitlin was a metahuman. Or, at least, had an idea that she was one. As far as any of them knew, Barry had hit him hard enough that he could've been seeing things, being hit hard enough to be knocked out was a sure sign of a concussion, maybe bordering on brain damage if they were hit hard enough.

She'd seen enough of them while working in the hospital, even working on Barry and herself. They'd been hit hard enough that if it were not for their healing abilities, they probably would've been turned into vegetables, wasting away on life support. No, Barry wouldn't hit him that hard, he'd feel too guilty. _No matter how much he doesn't like Julian,_ Cadence reminded herself. Her eyebrows twitched as she continued to hold her eyes shut. _He hasn't been able to do much more than knock someone out to be put into the Pipeline._

Once again, the thought of how differently they wanted to deal with metas and criminals struck her. They managed to come to a compromise, but it was always something they'd be stuck on. Cadence had managed to maim a few Dominators without thinking about it, yet the others had gotten away. Agent Smith was relocated to Antarctica or Deep Space or wherever it was that he hadn't been heard from. Lyla, though disappointed with the extra work needed to cover things up even further, had merely nodded when she was given the rundown on what happened.

 _And yet, none of them are aware of what's going on with Breathtaker,_ Cadence thought. Now that she thought about it, it was probably a good idea to let ARGUS let alone the government know what was going on with him. He was a threat, not just to her own life, not just to the city, but to all humankind. But then that meant having to explain everything and risk going to prison…and….

"More answers to unknown questions," she murmured. The sound of a police siren caught her attention, making Cadence's eyes blink open. It shattered her reverie, almost as fast as the silence of a toddler. Her heart jolted, and she immediately sat upright, dangling her legs over the side of the rooftop. Over the tallest building Central City. Her favorite place to go when she needed time to think and dancing or gymnastics didn't do the trick.

Cadence's mind shifted through numerous topics as she watched police cars race off towards the suburbs. No point in going after that one, she realized. It was something the police and the hospital could handle. It was something Team Flash had to figure out and adjust accordingly to, that the Flash and Flare weren't always needed in the time of crisis. There were cases that the police could handle on their own, mundane cases. A case of sudden death, a car accident, a plea for help to someone who had collapsed. Flash and Flare didn't need to go tearing to the scene to figure out what happened just as much as the CCPD and CCFD needed to be put out of their jobs.

It was a good reprieve for what could otherwise be hectic days. Gave them plenty of time to figure out more pressing matters. Savitar and Breathtaker. What was it they were going to do to get what they wanted? That was the part that was eluding them. Savitar wanted Barry dead, what speedster didn't? But Speedsters, apt to their name, had the power of speed. They could run by and snap anyone's neck before someone blinked. Proven by Zoom when he killed a multitude of police officers the year before. Cadence closed her eyes, feeling despair wash over her. They'd lost a lot of the CCPD within the last few years, lost a few good friends, and she hadn't gone to visit many of them since their passing.

She couldn't.

She had to move on.

Staying in the past was…staying in the past. Unable to move forward. Stuck in a rut that continued to drag its victim down into its depths, drowning them long before they came floating back to the surface. A stain that continued to affect the person alter. Especially when it managed to continue haunting.

Breathtaker…he wanted to have the metas and humans live in harmony. Had no qualms about killing anyone in power that would get in his way. Had no qualms of invading someone's mind to give a mental beatdown. What was it that he needed to get the outcome he wanted? He had the people he needed to cause as much havoc as he wanted. It was shown before. _What could he possibly need now?_

Cadence's phone sounded in her pocket and she pulled it out to see Deity calling her. Cadence swiped her thumb across the face of the screen and answered, closing her eyes once more to bask in the sunlight. "What's up, Deity?"

"What's the password to your Netflix? I got kicked off again," Deity replied. Cadence could hear the sound of popcorn popping in the background and frowned. It certainly was too early for that, but Deity refused to try cooking anything. Not after the last time she'd managed to completely burn eggs to a crisp.

"They only kick you off if you've been watching too long," Cadence pointed out.

"I've been bored."

"You wouldn't be bored if you'd just—"

"—I'm fine," Deity mumbled.

Cadence was going to say, 'if you'd just get out of the apartment a little'. To get fresh air, go flying, take a walk, anything. But Deity refused to leave. For someone who had been okay with going to STAR Labs or anywhere else she was needed to tag along, that had taken a sharp turn when the Dominators showed up. Nearly every night as she was making her rounds to turn every light off before going to sleep, Cadence would poke her head into Deity's room, finding her sitting at the window and peering out into the darkness that covered the city, as if watching for more Dominators to show up.

Other times she was awakened with the cries that Deity uttered when stuck in a nightmare, tossing and turning at all hours. It was no surprise that she started to stay up at all hours of the night, binge watching movies and TV shows on Netflix, anything she could get her hands on.

Still, she wasn't going to push. Cadence rambled off her password and said, "You know we've got a lot of DVDs and Blu-Ray in the apartment, right? Don't tell me you don't know how to work a Blu-Ray player." The silence on the other end of the phone made her laugh, knowing she was right. "It's not hard, you turn on the machine, stick the disc in, and use the remote to play the movie."

"…Why would I do that when I just use a computer?"

"You got me. But you have to be running out of things to watch by now. There's plenty of DVDs around the apartment to choose from. Just not the ones in my room."

"Why not?"

Cadence smirked. "I'll tell you when you're older."

Deity sucked in a sharp breath, sounding like she was about to protest but then changed the subject. "Well, I'm just waiting for Brady. He wanted to watch the Halloween movies with me because I've never seen them. Insisted on it really, I can't watch without him. He says they're scary. Why would movies about Halloween be scary?"

A loud laugh escaped Cadence's voice. "Trust me, that's something you don't want to miss. It's a staple of pop culture." She paused. "Are you sure you're okay?"

"Has anyone ever said you worry too much?"

"It's a mom thing, I can't help it. You should see the looks Cisco gives me when I keep telling him to stop rocking back in his seat. One risk of cracking his head open and he won't be laughing much longer." She gave Deity instructions to air out the apartment if the popcorn burned, thus making Deity make a sound of frustration, before hanging up.

The second she hung up her phone sounded again. This time it was an alarm. It was enough time for hanging out with her inner thoughts, it got to be too dangerous when she was kept to her thoughts for too long. Cadence stood up and brushed off the seat of her pants. She stood on the edge of the roof and continued to look down around the city, a smile came to her face. As much as Metropolis was the place she sought out for refuge when the time came, Central City had truly become her home. And she'd do anything to protect it.

With that, she took a step forward and allowed herself to fall down the side of the building, twisting and turning as she went. The air rushed by her, but she still felt a sense of calm as she allowed it to envelop her. Then she teleported, landing gracefully on her feet just around the corner from Jitters. Brushing her hair back behind her ears, Cadence went into the coffee shop and headed directly to the back corner. It was the most secluded booth in the café, where she and her friends had claimed for their own.

If there was any place for them to get news about metas or police at a short moment's notice, it was the best place. Close to STAR Labs, close to the CCPD, and close to all their apartments and houses. When Cadence arrived, Iris and Caitlin were already siting at a table, nursing cups of coffee. Cadence slid into the empty seat left for her.

"You're late," Iris noted as soon as Cadence sat down.

Cadence gave her a look over Caitlin's shoulder as she gave her best friend a hug. "Normally people say that to Barry." Her words prompted Iris and Caitlin to laugh, knowing how true it was. It was as much of a teasing joke between the Team as his 'wounded puppy' expression was.

"Did you get sidetracked?" Caitlin asked, flicking a strand of hair out of her eyes.

"If by 'sidetracked' you mean, 'racked my brains to figure everything out' then yeah," Cadence agreed. "Unfortunately, I've got nothing." She let out a frustrated sigh and scrubbed at her face with her fingertips. It was frustrating. "I go back through everything that I've done and seen while I was there but…" she trailed off. It was too much to think about.

There were many things she'd seen and done that still haunted her. Less of the innocent people she had killed, but for everything else. The part that made her feel…like a monster. Like there were two sides of her, one that came out when put under intense amounts of stress and shown spades of when she was Flare. The other part being the happy-go-lucky Cadence Nash that everyone knew.

 _If only they truly knew about the other part,_ Cadence thought. Instead, she put on a pleasant smile, really feeling it as she said, "But there's going to be something we can do take him down. I can feel it."

Caitlin lifted an eyebrow. "That was a quick change in opinion."

"Yeah, today I'm feeling cloudy with a chance of sarcastic," Cadence replied, wrapping her hands around the mug of hot chocolate that waited for her. She took a long sip as Caitlin and Iris laughed again. "No, but seriously, we don't have a choice of failing at this. We have to figure out what's going on."

"Maybe Breathtaker's put a mental block on you," Caitlin gently suggested. She shrugged, reaching up to rub her shoulder through her cold shoulder blouse. "Maybe to make sure you can't figure out what he's doing?"

"He's never had to do it before and Breathtaker works in almost a set schedule," Cadence remarked after swallowing a large gulp of the chocolatey beverage. "He makes sure that no one can get the jump on him in any way. Not even Mindboggler can read his mind and he gave her the ability to do so."

Caitlin and Iris exchanged a glance, perking p at the same mention. He had given her the ability to do so? Iris shifted in her seat. "What do you mean?" She asked. "How did Breathtaker give her the ability to read minds?"

Twisting her mouth to the side, Cadence shook her head. It was increasingly hard to explain. "He increased her powers, just as he had with Incognito and Stratos."

"Did he do the same to you?"

"I don't know."

Now Caitlin's eyebrows came together. "What do you mean, you don't know? He's enhanced the power of the rest of his team, why wouldn't he do it to you, too?"

Again, Cadence shrugged. "Maybe he always thought I was a flight risk." She grinned. "All those years of being a flyer on my cheerleading team must've paid off." She laughed quietly at her own joke before tucking her hair behind her ear. "Seriously, I'm not sure. There are a lot of things I knew how to do before meeting Breathtaker and there are some things he taught me to do."

"Have you ever shown them in battle?" Iris asked. Cadence shook he head. "Why not?"

"Well, I think reducing something to ash is a little much for a petty criminal, don't you think?" Cadence cringed once the words came from her mouth. She was supposed to be a hero, to insight light, happiness, and hope to everyone in the city. Not allow her own self-pity to continue to stain her words. "Anyway, why do you ask?"

"Because it's like what Alchemy is doing," Iris pointed out. She looked to Caitlin, who nodded in agreement. "He's using that…stone to give other people their powers. The Rival…Shade…who's to say there aren't any other metas out there that are gaining their own abilities because Alchemy is doing it. And what if he's working with him?"

Cadence followed along with Iris up until that point. "Why would Savitar be working with Breathtaker?"

"No, not Savitar," Caitlin jumped in, making Iris nod. "Breathtaker. What if Alchemy is working alongside Breathtaker?" She spread her hands as if to hold down a sheet of paper that was startling to curl up. "They have similar ideations, to increase or give powers to others. And with those powers, those beneath them are the ones that are doing their dirty work. Alchemy is making metas and Breathtaker wants there to be _more_ metas."

Cadence hummed lightly, her eyebrows coming together. That was a good point. A _very_ good point. How had they not thought of it before? That the connection between the two, simply, was their need for more metahumans. The more metahumans, the less humans, the quicker Breathtaker's plan could come to fruition.

"You said Breathtaker wanted nothing more than for metahumans to live in harmony with humans," Caitlin said. "And will do it by any means necessary." Cadence nodded in agreement. "And that he wants you to work with him."

Cadence nodded again. "To give metahumans their space in humanity."

"So, this is going to sound a little weird," Iris said slowly. She looked around to make sure no one was listening. "But it makes sense when it's all put together. He's trying to bring in a sense of enlightenment, in his own way. To create what he feels is what can make the world better." She licked her lips. "He's also said that he's been around for—"

"—centuries?" Cadence broke in with a small smile.

Iris smiled back. "Long enough to know that metahumans have been around for a long time," Caitlin took up the explanation. "Or what can be explained as a metahuman. Just like…back when people were considered crazy though they exhibited all signs of what we now know to be ADD, ADHD, or Autism. Knowing what we know now, there's a good chance that, he could be right. That there were metahumans back then. And he always holds four metahumans around him. Just like the four horses of the Apocalypse."

Cadence raised an eyebrow. She wasn't particularly religious, but having some sort of a biblical connection? That part she didn't quite believe. Metahumans who had the ability to turn into noxious vapor she could believe in a minute. She'd seen it before. But even that thought seemed to be a bit far-fetched.

"With comparison we've seen that the metahumans he has around him; Mindboggler, Stratos, Incognito, and you, or now, White Hot, represent the different horses. There's Pestilence, War, Famine, and Death. Pestilence is represented by the white horse, the one who symbolizes false prophets, the spread of disease. That'd be Mindboggler, able to create visions and mentally control those around her. Then there's Famine, the black horse, the representative of balance. The balance of mother nature and humans, that'd be Stratos. Death, the destruction of the empire, the pale horse utilizes the power of the other horses, just like Incognito can shape himself to look like and use the power of any other person." Caitlin swallowed hard. "Then, there's War, the red horse, the one represented by battle and strength. And who is also represented by—"

"—Fire," Cadence interrupted. She sat up straight, mulling over everything that was said to her. "Breathtaker said something about blindly following a false God, while Savitar, as HR explained to us, the Hindu God of Motion and considers himself a God." She shook her head.

"Then that must be the connection," Iris said grudgingly. "They both feel that metas should be the ones held in high regards. Just like Gods." She motioned towards Cadence. "And once you got out, he decided to find someone else…White Hot."

"Who we still don't know the identity of," Caitlin broke in. "Nor, Black Blade. I've run facial recognition, there's no hint to anything. With both, there's no criminal past, any records, or misdemeanors to go off." She waved her hands. "White Hot makes sure to block her face every time she comes around, and Black Blade, so far, hasn't given anything other than his name to go off. And we don't know if that's his first or last name."

Iris nodded. "So—"

"—We're in trouble," Cadence remarked. She ran a hand through her hair. "A _lot_ of trouble if we don't figure something out." Caitlin nodded. She reached out to drum her fingertips on the table. Cadence glanced at her and shook her head. She recognized Caitlin's nervous habits far more than the ice metahuman would've liked. So much so that when Caitlin started to chew her lower lip—her signifier of worry, it didn't relax her at all. "What is it, Cait?"

"Nothing, just…" Caitlin paused. She removed her drumming fingers from the tabletop. "Have you told Barry about any of this? About the whole Assassination Bureau thing?" Unashamed, Cadence shook her head. "Why not?"

"He deserves to know," Iris said.

"He does," Cadence agreed. She folded her arms. "I just wanted to know as much as I could before throwing out a silly explanation. You know how he gets, as soon as a thought comes to mind, he runs with it." A small smile came to her face. "And I totally intended that pun. I just didn't need him to do something stupid like going after Breathtaker himself."

"And he would," Iris murmured in agreement. She thought for a moment. "This just means we have to be more diligent with things we can find out about Alchemy and Savitar. No piece of information is too small."

Cadence took in a deep, calming breath, and nodded. Then she looked at her phone as it set off another warning. There was too much to do with so little time. "Hey, I've got to go to work," She said almost pleasantly, despite the seriousness of the conversation they'd just had. "Last thing I need is for Captain Singh to see me coming in late."

Caitlin blinked up at her in surprise. "How do you do it?" She asked. "It's like everything just rolls off your back."

A sincere grin came to Cadence's face while she made her way out from behind the table. "Well, my two moods are, like, glitter and death. You've got to take one with the other. And I'd like to live in 'glitter' a bit longer." She waved to her friends before hurrying to the CCPD. She walked into the bullpen just in time to see Joe and Barry deep in a heated conversation. They looked over as Cadence arrived. "What's going on?" She asked, looking back and forth to take in their wary expressions. "Did Captain Singh bust on you about the color of the suits or something?"

Barry blinked back at her. "The suits?" Cadence raised her eyebrows and Barry's eyes widened. He brought his hands up to his forehead, covering his face. "The suits! I forgot to get the suits! Oh man, he's going to kill me."

"If his ulcer doesn't get to him first," Joe said with his low, rumbling laugh. "Chief Paulson has had him in his office all day, so I think you're safe." Then he turned his attention to Cadence. "Speaking of 'safe', you have a visitor in your office."

"Speaking of 'safe' we've got some news about Breathtaker," Cadence said.

Joe and Barry exchanged glances once more. This time Cadence, had an idea of what the look was. Was it the right time to jump into the conversation when there was a risk of running off, with Chief Paulson right under their nose? It was one thing to come up with an excuse for Captain Singh, who saw on them daily and understood they were still able to get their work done. It was another to do it when the Chief of Police who was already suspicious of them—or at least their alter egos—was around as well.

Making the decision for them, Joe nodded towards her office and said, "That we'll have to deal with later. The long he or Alchemy are quiet, the better off we'll be." Barry didn't look convinced, but he flicked his head towards Cadence's office as well.

Taking that as her cue to leave, Cadence turned on her heel and strode to her office. The moment she opened the door Cadence's eyebrows rose, surprised to find Frankie already sitting inside, her hands clasped between her knees.

Frankie looked up and smiled. "Hi," she greeted quietly.

"Hi," Cadence replied, feeling her body relax. She was about to ask what Frankie was doing at the police station then stopped. There was light bruising around her right eye, disappearing into the hair that framed her face. The knuckles of her fingertips were bruised as well. Her smile was strained, as if it hurt too much to open her mouth any wider.

Eyes narrowing, Cadence eyed her carefully. Watched Frankie's breathing. Her breaths were too shallow. She couldn't breathe too deeply. Probably bruising along her ribs as well. The way her eyes darted from Cadence's face to every other object in the room was a tell-tale sign; looking for a place to escape when the time came. The window maybe? The front door was already blocked by Cadence, who continued to stand firm.

She wasn't going to let Frankie get away if she had come specifically to visit her. Their last visit had been…when Frankie got caught skipping school and shoplifting at the mall. A silent cry for help as far as Cadence was concerned. There weren't many people that skipped school that she wasn't called for, those under eighteen anyway. No, Frankie had seeked her out on purpose.

"What's going on, Frankie?" Cadence finally asked.

"I'm…um…" Frankie mumbled, lowering her head. Cadence could see her shutting down again.

'I'll give you a minute," Cadence said gently, sensing discomfort. "I just want to talk to a few of my colleagues real fast." Frankie nodded, Cadence backed away from her office, leaving the door in her line of sight before turning back to Joe and Barry, who hadn't left their places in the bullpen. "What'd she tell you?"

"Just that she wanted to talk to you," Barry said. He reached up to scratch the back of his neck. "That it was very important that she saw you. Joe and I got her in there just in case Julian wanted to continue his with hunt against her."

Cadence chewed her lower lip. She opened her mouth to speak but was cut off by Julian's sharp voice as he strode down the steps that led to the bullpen with a smug smile on his face. "Rumblings going around that you've got that Frankie Kane here. I'd like to speak with her." He moved slapped a manila folder against his palm.

"About what?" Barry asked, his eyes narrowing.

"About her case," Julian said. "About those blackouts she keeps speaking about—"

"It's very common for foster children to suppress their memories as a coping mechanism," Barry jumped in.

Julian looked at him with a raised eyebrow. A shared look passed through them that was gone in an instant. Cadence recognized it quickly. Mutual suspicion from both sides. Barry explained what happened with Julian at the hospital, how Julian had demanded to know if Caitlin were a metahuman. How Barry had narrowly managed to convince Julian that he had been hit hard enough to be mistaken. How he was mistaking a similar metahuman who may have attacked him.

It had seemed to work, but the fear was still there. Caitlin spent more time around STAR Labs than ever before, afraid to venture too far in case she ran into Julian herself. Barry reassured her everything was okay, but the worry still haunted them. Even Cisco, who hadn't been around the CCPD as much, hung back with her in case their connection was found out.

"Is it?" Julian asked, looking Barry up and down.

Barry scowled back at him. "It is," he replied, in the same mocking tone.

"Julian, has there been any developments on the case?" Joe interrupted, wanting to keep the co-workers from tearing each other's eyes out. It was the worst question to ask, Cadence noted, considering how quickly a smarmy smile came to Julian's face and his eyes lit up with a similar light.

"As a matter of fact, there is," Julian remarked. His eyes shifted to the side, spotting Frankie poking her head out from around the door of Cadence's office. Cadence made a face and quickly motioned for Frankie to go back inside, but Julian was faster. He lifted the folder in his hand and pointed it towards the teenage girl. "You!" He barked.

Frankie jumped and motioned to herself. "M-me?"

"Yes, you." Julian pointed at her then turned to the others that stood around him, eyeing him carefully. Cadence's heard sank, listening to his almost feverish words. "I ran a test on the DNA sample I got from your glass the last time you were here. With that, I isolated an element that was consistent with all five husks that have been found around the city. The last one being that of Edward Clariss's crime scene. It's not one I've found in any other metahuman sample I've found."

"So you think she has the same component in her DNA?" Barry asked. He folded his arms, pressing his lips together. Cadence recognized the look just as she became used to every other nuance of Barry's expressions and signs of body language. He was worried. Worried that Julian was coming too close to the truth.

"I wouldn't have done the tests if I hadn't thought so, now would I? But it's a good thing I did." He looked at Frankie once more. She gaped, taking a step back from Julian, moving further into Cadence's office. "You did it."

"What?" Frankie gasped. She brought her hand up, as if to cover her mouth, eyes widening with fright. Her chest heaved, pain flickering through her eyes with the rapid breaths she took in. "No. I wouldn't…"

"With the light post, you attacked him." Julian continued to wave his folder towards her. "I've got the proof right here." His voice raised with vehemence. " _You_ did it."

"Julian," Joe warned.

But Julian continued his tirade. "You're a metahuman. You put your foster father in the hospital. Didn't you?" Frankie brought her hands up to cover her ears, trying to block out the accusations Julian threw her way. " _Didn't you?_ You hurt him—"

Frankie's head snapped up frighteningly fast. A pupper on marionette's strings, she turned to face Julian, face slack, expressionless. Slowly, very slowly a smirk came to her face as her eyes glowed a bright magenta. "Oh," she said slowly, in a voice unlike her own. A voice coming deep from within her. "I want to do more than _hurt_ him." With that she started to raise her hands in a similar manner Cadence did while igniting her fire around her hands.

She exchanged a glance with Barry, the two moving into defensive stances. They couldn't do anything yet, had to wait to see what sort of danger was coming their way. Had to case the situation and act accordingly.

"Now I'm going to do the same to you," Frankie continued to rasp. The sound of screeching, bending metal filled the air, lightbulbs cracked and erupted, showering the floor of the CCPD with shards of glass. Cadence whipped her head around, watching as all metal started to bend and twist, pulling themselves from their mounted placements.

"Frankie," Cadence called.

"Frankie, stop!" Joe commanded.

But Frankie continued to breathe deeply, holding her hands up higher and higher. As the seconds passed, the screeching sound continued to fill the air, increasing in volume by the second. Then slowly, very slowly, the golden plaque that sat on the wall started to teeter forwards, ripping off its place on the wall and fell towards Julian.

Once again, Barry and Cadence exchanged a glance. Simultaneously, they sprung into action. They raced into their suits before going back to the CCPD, all in a fraction of a second. Then Barry raced forward to grab Julian, pulling him to safety of the plaque that shattered on the ground. Cadence charged forward and wrapped her arms around Frankie and teleported, bringing her outside of the CCPD and into a nearby alleyway.

The moment they stopped, Frankie elbowed her way out of Cadence's grasp and backed away, still sucking in sharp, angry breaths. Cadence held her hand up towards her. "Frankie," she warned.

"I'm _not_ Frankie," She growled. "The name's _Magenta_!"

"You're like this because of Alchemy," Cadence said, quickly putting the thought together. Strange blackouts, new, sudden powers. The same had to have been said of Edward Clariss before he suddenly turned up dead. Digging into his case, shortly after his body was found, revealed to Caitlin and Cisco his frequent complaints and worries of lost time before his arrival as a speedster. She looked over as Barry appeared at her side.

He took in what she said and added, "He changed you somehow, didn't he? With some sort of a stone?" Frankie continued to watch the two, her eyes daritng back and forth between them. "This isn't you. Just…let us help you."

Frankie shook her head. "I don't need _anyone's_ help."

"I don't want anyone to get hurt."

"It's too late for that."

Frankie's gaze flicked behind the two metas. No, between them. At that exact moment, Cadence recognized the sound of a car coming up behind them. Too late to do anything about it. Frankie had noticed it and lifted her hands into the air. The police cruiser went airborne, the driver white-knuckling the steering wheel as they quickly, effortlessly lost control of the vehicle. It raised high overhead, floating over the two heroes.

With a grunt, Frankie brought her arms down, throwing as hard as she could, a grunt of effort escaping her lips. Leaving Frankie, Barry streaked up the side of the building, pushing his legs as fast as he could go. The world came to a standstill around him—Flash Time—as he ran. He raced up the front of the building and turn, launching himself towards the car. Landing on the passenger side of the car, Barry opened the door—glad to find it unlocked— and reached into the car as it slowly arched to the ground.

Barry saw Frankie slowly lowering her arms, turning to run away. All in very slow, isolated muscle movements. Cadence looked up towards the police cruiser, watching the trajectory of the car's path before starting to run as well. Turning his attention back to the officer, Barry reached in and unbuckled his seatbelt before grabbing his jacket sleeve and pulled him out. Then Barry wiggled the two out of the car and ran back to the ground.

Once he was steady, everything came back into focus, moving at top speed. He expected to see hear the car crash to the ground but found Cadence standing directly where it was falling. She held out her arms and caught the grill of the car against her chest, bending down to absorb the blow. Then, as if holding onto a leaf, she lowered it back to the ground. Cadence caught Barry's eyes and shook her head.

Magenta had gotten away.

* * *

"Her name's Frankie Kane," Cadence explained, running a hand through her hair as she sat in the Cortex with her friends. "She's been in and out of the foster system almost since she was born. For the past year or so, she's been with her foster parents."

"She's been on and off the CCPD's radar because of her past delinquencies; shop lifting, skipping school…" Barry pulled off his cowl and rested it around his neck. "But right now…she's calling herself Magenta. And she's a metahuman."

"Meh," Cisco murmured, studying the face of the teen projected on the screen in front of them. "I could come up with a better name than Magenta."

"This Magenta is very different from the sweet kid that Frankie is," Joe agreed. "Like an entirely different person."

"Well, that's simple," HR broke in, pointing to the screen with his drumstick. "She wants to make sure her crimes aren't pinned onto her so she's decided to make up the identity of Magenta."

Jesse, who stood next to him, made a face. She shook her head and said, "Or, she's dissociative," she pointed out. "Having created a split personality within her powers."

"That!" HR declared, shifting the focus of his drumstick point to Jesse. "That. Good going Jesse. Read my…" he tapped his forehead. "Read my thoughts. That's exactly what I was thinking." Jesse chuckled, shaking her head.

Cadence nodded in agreement. "Frankie's been dealing with her split personality her entire life," she commented. "Her records indicate that it started shortly after coming into her pre-teen years. Once the increase of hormones and came into play, it started her steady mental decline. I've seen it a lot through my patients when I worked at the hospital."

"So Julian's interrogation must've triggered her," Caitlin murmured, her chin resting atop her hands. "Splitting the two sides of herself into a meta-powered side and a non-meta-powered side. Much like Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde."

"Her foster father must have as well," Cadence realized. She closed her eyes, reaching up her hand to tap her forehead with her fist. "He's been abusive to her…I've always known it. I should've done something about it sooner, but I didn't have any proof."

Barry grasped her shoulder. "This isn't your fault, Cade," he reminded her. His words felt hollow to her. In her heart of hearts, it was her fault. Her fault that Frankie suffered so much pain for so long. Especially when she saw what was happening, could tell even without her skills of added perception and tracking. "No one could've know that this was going to happen."

"But I could've stopped it sooner…" Cadence shook her head, falling silent. It was too hard to think about. Knowing there were many times Frankie had cried out for help and she was powerless to do so. As much as she was a vigilante and worked impulsively as Flare, as Cadence there were rules, regulations, protocols, and that damn paperwork she had to fill out before anything could be done.

"There's something else," Barry interrupted. He looked over every face in the Cortex. "She got her powers from Alchemy." Cadence stood up straight and exchanged a look with Caitlin. "When I said his name, she knew who he was. She must've existed in the other timeline."

"Did you ever meet her there?" Jesse asked.

Barry shook her head. "I never saw her, never met her. I only came across the Reverse-Flash, the Rival and…" he cut himself off the other part. The part he hadn't admitted to anyone yet. The part he wasn't sure he should ever say. "I never saw her."

"Anybody with those powers and as angry as her needs to be tracked down fast," Joe declared.

"That, I can do," Jesse agreed. "I'll take a quick trip around the city and see what I can find." Before anyone could stop her, she turned on her heel and sprinted from the Cortex. Joe took her lead and backed out of the Cortex saying, "I'll let you know if there's any leads on Frankie."

"Thanks, Joe," Barry called. He watched him leave before turning his attention back to his friends. His eyes narrowed. "Why do I get the feeling that you guys need to tell me something?" Cadence and Caitlin exchanged a glance. "It doesn't take a forensic scientist to notice the looks you're giving each other. What's up?"

"Or is this some sort of a girl thing you don't want to share with us, men?" Cisco asked.

"Like our plans for world domination?" Cadence teased. Then she became serious once more. "Iris, Caitlin, and I were talking this morning and…we think that Breathtaker and Alchemy might be working together."

"What?!" Barry and Cisco chorused.

"It's not such a weird idea," Caitlin murmured, finally lifting her chin from her hands. "There's so many similarities between what they want, what they're doing…" She nodded towards Cadence. "And why he was using her and White Hot."

Cisco waved his hand. "Because he's a bit of a pyromaniac?" He guessed.

"I know it sounds weird," Cadence said. Even as she continued to think about it, she knew how far-fetched the idea was. But with no other leads to go off, no one else to talk to…she sat up straight. No, that wasn't quite true was it. "But it's the only thing we have to go off. They both give people powers, or in Breathtaker's case enhances them. They both want to make more metahumans thus throwing off the balance of metas to humans. Like a gazillion to one."

Cisco let out a low chuckle which turned into full blown laughter. He ran his hands over his face and said, "Sometimes I wonder what it feels like to know WHAT THE FUCK IS GOING ON!" yelling the last words at the top of his lungs.

"You and me both," Barry agreed. HR nodded in comiseration.

"I tell you, BA, there's nothing worse than not having answers to any questions."

"Quit calling me, BA."

"I know where to get some answers," Cadence said mysteriously. "But I have to go alone." Her friends looked at her in concern and Cadence held up her hand. "Trust me. I wouldn't ask for this if it weren't important. You just have to trust me, and I'll be back with some information soon." Cadence walked out of the Cortex, only making it a few paces down the hallway before Barry's hand grasp her wrist. She looked up at him as he moved in front of her.

"Hey," he said quietly. "What's going on?"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean…" Barry licked his lips. "Wanting to do this thing on your own...ever since I got back, you've been acting weird around me. Not telling me things. Jumping into fights...I can feel it. This thing with the Assassination Bureau, with Breathtaker…if he's really working with Alchemy, then I need to know what's up. You can't keep these things from me."

Cadence let out a long breath. For the first time in a while she was going to be honest. "This needs to be a longer conversation," She warned him. "But…you were gone. Over here, you were gone at the science convention when the Assassination Bureau got out. The other metas and criminals. I was the leader of Team Flash for a while. I could handle it. Then. I've always been able to handle it on my own. I didn't want the rest of you guys to continue getting pulled into my mess. I got _used_ to it."

Barry nodded. Listened to what she had to say. In a way it was similar to how he wanted to handle everything with the Reverse-Flash. All on his own as it affected him the most. But, he'd had his team to help him in the end. His partner. That's why it worked. "Okay," he said slowly. "I'm not quite sure I understand but…if you wanted to handle all of this yourself, then you should've just told me. Then I can help you, _support_ you. Just like you support me." His eye shifted but he continued to speak honestly. "I can tell this is really bugging you, I can see it in your eyes."

"Well, the thought of instantaneous death within a moment can do wonders for your psyche," Cadence joked. Though her laughter was a little hollow, her words ran true. "I'm nothing but a constant state of internal screaming at this point."

Barry laughed. "Join the club." He ran a hand through his hair, eyes lighting up with mirth. "We get little gift certificates, the concern of one hundred people, and have to pay a membership fee."

"What's the cost?" Cadence murmured. "The loss of a parent?" She took a deep breath and continued before Barry could respond saying, "I'm just so tired of this. And I'm going to put an end to it, one way or the other." She looked Barry in the eye, noting his silent concern. "I'll be fine."

"Promise?" He prompted.

"Promise," she replied.

And it was a promise she planned to keep.

* * *

Half an hour later, Cadence walked through the darkly lit neon bar, past the bartender that leered at her and down to the basement. Reaching the last room at the end of the hallway, Cadence waited for one of the two bodyguards that covered it to go inside. He came out a few seconds later and nodded to her. Cadence nodded back and walked into the room, tensing when she heard the door click shut behind her.

No second click, it hadn't been locked.

That was a good sign.

A huge sigh heaved from the woman sitting at the desk in front of her. Cadence lifted an eyebrow and the woman waved a hand, "I express my emotions in long groans at different octaves and right now it's one of wariness. What do you want?"

Cadence folded her arms. "It's good to see you, too, Amunet."

* * *

 **A/N:** So, this chapter was all about Cadence and the next one will be all about Barry. I hope you guys enjoyed it as things slowly move forward and the puzzle pieces all slowly fall into place. But who thought there was going to be an appearance of Amunet Black this early? Were you surprised?

Also, don't forget to check out my new collection of one-shots that goes along with The Flash and The Flame series entitled _Naturally,_ up now.

Please remember to review; any feedback helps me become a better writer and motivates me to write more. I respond to every review, even anonymous ones.

 **Cheers,**

 **-Riley**

 **Review Replies**

 **Ethan:** As you know, I tend to change things throughout my stories to make them make sense to what's going on. So you'll see whether or not I decide to keep Barry getting fired at one point or another.

 **DarkHelm145:** Mirror Master won't take too long to show up again now that more of the plots are starting to come together. Glad you liked the multi-city angle. It's definitely going to come up again.

 **Yummers:** I always enjoy writing the two of them when they're sparring with each other. Coming up with different ways that they can come out on top with each other and their powers is cool.

 **Highlander348:** I'm glad you continued to enjoy Cadence's development throughout the series. I hope she's still someone you enjoy as things go on.

 **Natalie:** _Fuel to the Fire_ chapters 43 and 44 deal with Barry's and Cadence's adventures with Kara's Earth on Earth-38. Thank you for asking!

 **Guest:** Glad you liked it.

 **Spinquin142:** I hope this chapter was to your liking as well.


	16. Enemies

**16**

 _Enemies  
_

* * *

Barry ran as hard and fast as he could. Faster. Faster. And still, it wasn't fast enough. He could see on the cosmic treadmill that he was still going his top speed. The same speed he'd been at when he defeated Zoom. He thought it was fast then, but having Savitar to up against now? It was nothing. He may as well have been standing still. What was it going to take to make him go faster? He couldn't go fast enough to save his mother, couldn't go fast enough to save his father, couldn't go fast enough to stop Wally from getting hurt in Flashpoint.

Still, Barry pumped his arms, forced his legs to chug along, lightning trailing off him as he did so. He saw his reflection in the glass that separated his cosmic treadmill from the rest of the speed lab. As a matter of fact, it had become obsolete, as Cisco said when Barry asked about it. What was the point of the cosmic treadmill when they had the rest of the speed lab? But Barry pushed to have it returned. Sometimes he preferred to run and no go anywhere rather than push his top speed around and around while dodging obstacles thrown his way.

Barry took in a deep breath, lungs burning with effort, and willed himself to keep moving. Pushed himself until he started to feel lightheaded, pushed himself until his nose started to bleed. He felt the first drip slide out of his nose and land on his hand. Reached up his hand to wipe it from his nostrils. Saw the crimson smear that easily contrasted with the color of his skin.

With a gasp, Barry slowed down, the Cosmic Treadmill immediately reacting to his movements. It could only be powered by a Speedster, reacting to each of its footsteps within a second, the belt an extension of their feet. When Barry came to a brisk walk, the belt of the treadmill reacted accordingly, allowing him to stop and catch his breath.

Caitlin, who stood nearby, folded her arms in concern. "Everything okay, Barry?" She asked.

Barry nodded and sniffed, running his hand beneath his nose once more. "Yeah, I'm fine," he said. Nevertheless, Caitlin walked to the first aid kit in the corner of the room and picked up a First Aid kit. He quickly waved her off, "Caitlin, I promise, I'm fine."

"I think we all know that whenever any of us says it, we're not telling the truth," Caitlin said gently, making Barry smile. Truer words hadn't been spoken. And as Barry watched her, he could see a flash of sadness in her eyes. He knew what she was thinking. "This is for my peace of mind, Barry."

"Fine." Grabbing a towel, Barry wiped sweat off his face and crossed the room to her. "Sorry, I'm really sweaty."

"I've removed a lot of other disgusting things from you and your suit, Barry, I don't think sweat's going to be an issue." Caitlin smiled as she took a few antiseptic wipes and ran it over Barry's nose, removing the blood. "Now, you should've seen what happened with Ronnie. I can't even begin to explain how many times he came back from work covered in grease and slime from working on whatever it was he as doing that day." She laughed quietly. "There were towels we had that were nearly black, because I'd make him wipe up before even think of getting in the shower. They used to be white."

Barry laughed. "And I bet you pretended everything was okay," he said. "That you didn't care so much that everything was getting stained and ruined. Just because you loved him enough."

"Are you able to run fast enough to see ghosts, too?" She teased.

A chuckle escaped Barry's lips. He took an electrolyte tablet from her and placed it under his tongue. He _was_ starting to feel a little tired. Pushing himself hard enough to get a nose bleed was never a good thing. "If I could, then there'd a lot of explaining I'd have to do to my grandmother." He grimaced when Caitlin rose her eyebrows in question. "I never told her that I didn't actually like her casserole." He made a face, making Caitlin laugh. Just by the mention of the food, he felt himself start to dry-heave. How was it possible for a dinner-a _disaster_ -to be equally crunchy and slimy? "No, it's just…my mom would always use some of her best towels to make sure that her little boy was okay after he was beat up. Blood got everywhere. Sometimes I think she was more upset about the towels then upset about me."

"Must've happened a lot."

"Almost every day."

"I can't imagine people disliked you that much." Caitlin knocked him on the arm with her first and said, "It's hard to dislike Barry Allen." She said it with such sincerity that Barry felt his heart swell with pride. He could mess up so many times and still have people on his side. It was a great feeling. _But you don't deserve it,_ Barry thought.

His smile waned. Immediately, he was back in elementary school, ignoring the flicks on his ears and the back of his neck. The had tugs on his backpack handle that'd send him sprawling to the floor while the older students laughed cruelly. Then there were those that beat him up because he stopped them from beating up others.

"I'm not sure too many people would agree with you," he replied. "There aren't too many speedsters around that are trying to keep me alive, you know?" He started to count off on his fingers, turning his gaze to the ceiling. "One…two…Two. Yep, that's it." Caitlin gently whacked him on the arm, making the two laugh once more. "It's hard to dislike Caitlin Snow, too."

Caitlin lowered her gaze.

"Hey." Barry wrapped his arms around her in a tight hug. Caitlin immediately lowered her head and rested it against Barry's chest. "We're going to figure out your problems and all this stuff with Savitar and Alchemy and the Assassination Bureau. I promise."

Caitlin nodded and brought up her hands to hug him back. Barry closed his eyes, resting his chin atop her head, feeling her squeeze him tightly. Maybe it was her fear of the unknown, with her powers, with his fate, with what was to happen with Savitar and Alchemy that made her hold him tightly. Or maybe he was the one that was shaking, absolving all his fears out in the open. How maybe he wasn't good or fast enough to stop them. Despite that, it was like his father always said. He could always use a hug when one was willing to give it.

Barry reached up to wipe at his eyes, tears suddenly appearing in them, a lump forming in his throat. He really missed his mom and dad. Finally, Barry managed to compose himself and took a step back from Caitlin. "Are you sure you don't have the ability to make people cry?"

"If I did, it would make life so much easier," Caitlin said. She reached into the First Aid Kit and handed Barry a tissue. With a smug smile, she added, "And I think that's the last time you'll make fun of me for wanting to be prepared." Barry laughed and dried his eyes. "Come on." Caitlin rubbed his shoulder. "Let's go see if Cisco found anything about Savitar."

"Yeah."

But they were disappointed and with Cisco's report. Still no information on Savitar. They were stuck with the only information they had and, admittedly, it was short of nothing. That Alchemy and Savitar were somehow connected, that Savitar was a speedster, and only Barry could see him. Every mystery could be cracked with a bit of information and so far, that information was leading them nowhere. And something about the stone that Alchemy was constantly toting around. The same stone that had given Edward Clariss and Frankie Kane their powers.

And…Wally.

Barry watched Wally carefully over the last couple of days. When he wasn't with Jesse, he was at school and when he wasn't at school, he was at the house. It was easy to track him when Barry had a few seconds to spare. So he waited and watched, not completely ignoring the irony of if, knowing Cadence had done the same to him before when she was still part of the Assassination Bureau. He watched for the tell-tale signs of a speedster; increased appetite, unexplained changes in time perception, unexplained…everything.

Still, Wally didn't show any signs of his Kid Flash life and it appeared, as the days went on, that he was coming to terms with it. Every now and then, Wally would make some sort of remark about how he wasn't a speedster if he and Jesse had bee hit by the same dark matter wave when Barry and Cadence were facing Zoom, but those were few and far between.

Barry paced the floor of the Cortex, arms folded as he waited for information. _Any_ information that would be helpful. He racked his brains, trying to determine if anything had been moved from his short-term memory to long term. One of the pitfalls of being a speedster, he supposed. That it was harder for him to retain massive amounts of information when it left his short term so quickly. How many times had he read and re-read Cisco's engineering manuals? Too many times to count. He was starting to get sick of looking at the cover.

"Well, I may have something," Cisco said after a minute, making Barry's head snap up before she was by Cisco's side. Cisco reached up his hands to smooth down his displaced hair. "Easy, Fleet Feet, I said I _may_ have something. It's a dissertation."

"Something is better than nothing," Barry reminded his best friend, leaning close to the screen. "We need to know everything we can if we want to stop Savitar."

"Well, this may be the ticket." He tapped a pen towards his computer screen, eyeing it as if it was going to blow up. "There's this Hindu weapon called the Brahmastra. Legendary artifact with incredibly powers with the ability to create metas."

Barry studied the image on the screen, his blood slowly running cold. He studied the gem on screen, taking in every facet of it. Color, shape size. There was no way around it. "It looks just like alchemy's stone," he murmured.

"And more importantly," Cisco added. He tapped his finger on the screen, breaking his rule that no one was to touch his computer screens. Barry had had many times that Cisco would shoot him a dirty look before making a show of pulling out a cleaning cloth and scrubbed the fingerprints offscreen. Sometimes Barry marked it with fingerprints on purpose, moving fast enough that Cisco wouldn't catch him. "Look who wrote the paper."

Barry's eyes narrowed for as the name jumped out at him. _Julian Albert._ Of course. His life had a way of surprising him, but this time he wasn't thrown off his game. No, this time he was going to get answers. Before anyone could stop him, he raced into his suit and back to the CCPD. He shot into their office and grabbed Julian from his seat and ran them to the roof where no one would bother them. Julian gasped as he came to a sudden stop and whipped around, eyes widening as he tried to determine where he was.

"Julian Albert," Barry said, flashing his voice so that Julian couldn't recognize him. His face vibrated as well. He couldn't be too careful when it came to facing Julian. If he knew it was Caitlin so easily, then...who's to say he hadn't figured out he was The Flash or that Cadence was Flare? _Though Julian seems to just have it out for you,_ Barry reminded himself. Julian and Cadence were at least professional with each other when the situation called for it.

Julian turned to him, a scowl coming to his face. "Flash," Julian replied with barely concealed contempt. His upper lip nearly curled in on itself as he sneered. "To what do I owe the pleasure?" He slid his hands into the pockets of his slacks, of which, Barry couldn't notice appeared to be as new as the shiny leather shoes on his feet. "Or rather, displeasure."

"We have a lot to discuss," Barry replied. He tried his best not to show his own contempt for Julian's attitude. Even when he was The Flash, he didn't particularly like Julian. And the feeling was obviously mutual.

"And what would it be that you and I have in common to discuss?" Julian shifted his weight then folded his arms. His discomfort showed in how he was unable to sit still. His eyes flickered to the stairwell behind Barry. "Other than the kidnapping that you've just committed."

 _Kidnapping?_ Barry couldn't help but let out an amused chuckle. This guy certainly had a lot of nerve for making it appear that he was as bad as the other criminals he quite obviously disliked. What was it about the people he went up against that made him feel so smug?

Julian ignored Barry's laugh. "Who would think that the Flash would commit a crime like that? 'The Beacon of Hope'." He pretended to look around the buildings that towered over them, as if trying to peer into the office windows, looking for a witness to the encounter. "I wonder what the rest of the city would think?"

Barry gritted his teeth. _God, I hate this guy_. Hated the smug expression on in his weaselly face, in his voice, and in his body language whenever the two had to be around each other. This, however, he couldn't quite understand. What was it that he had against The Flash that wasn't so obvious as to what he had against Barry? Instead of allowing his irritation to get the best of him, Barry sucked in a calming breath.

"It's come to my attention that you know a little something. Something that could help me keep this city safe," Barry said, taking a step towards Julian. Julian lifted an eyebrow but didn't otherwise move. _Good,_ Barry thought. Julian was annoyed, not afraid. "Something about the stone that Alchemy uses."

Julian's eyes shifted once more. This time, Barry could see he appeared to be nervous. Julian blinked rapidly, cleared his throat. He shook his head slightly then was finally able to ask, "What does that have to do with me?"

"I got some information from STAR Labs—" Barry started.

Julian swiftly cut him off. "Yes, that team that holds your frosty friend there."

If it was possible to simultaneously stiffen and bristle, Barry did just that. However, he did his best not to let his gaze waver from Julian's. He was sure he had managed to convince Julian that everything he thought about Caitlin was wrong. She wasn't a meta, he had been seeing things, hit too hard. He should've known Julian wouldn't give it up too easily. No, not when he was so sure. Julian could be insufferable that way, so sure of things that he full-steamed with the information he had. From what Barry had seen of him since returning to Flashpoint, it made him a great CSI as much as he hated to admit it. He got all the information needed and went on the attack to close the case. Nine times out of ten he did so.

What would it take to get him off the trail for Caitlin?

"Curious…" Julian's eyes narrowed at Barry's silence. "That Barry Allen doesn't know whether she's a meta and continues to get assistance on his cases from those at STAR Labs." His eyes flickered up and down, looking over Barry's suit, taking in each and every stitch and feature. "And here you are, a meta in his own right. Are you telling me you're unsure if Caitlin Snow is a meta as well?"

"Julian—"

"You called her by name," Julian hissed, making Barry take a step back. When had he called Caitlin by name when she had turned? He was sure to keep everything a secret. Knew how much trouble any of them would be if something like that got out. "I wasn't so knocked out by that point, after you punched me." He brought up a hand and rubbed it along the side of his face. "I managed to stay conscious enough to hear your mentioning that woman's identity. And yet, you continue to deny it." He dropped his hand, leveling his gaze to Barry's once more. "It's only a matter of time until she's found out. I don't doubt Detective Patterson, or the other well-trained personnel of the department, are bloody deaf either. Unless, of course, you put them to sleep, too."

Barry gritted his teeth once more, clenched his hands into fists. A lump so thick it threatened to suffocate him swelled in his throat. The want to scream in frustration tore at him. How could he be so stupid? How could he not case his surrounds like that? How could he have been so...stupid. Completely and moronically stupid to put one of his best friends in danger like that? Barry lowered his chin, tried not to let tears come to his eyes. He truly hoped Caitlin wasn't listening in back at the Cortex.

"There are more important things to deal with right now," he murmured instead of addressing the accusation. He needed to think about everything but that. Everything but what was going on with Caitlin. If she was found out, then Cisco would be next, then Brady, then Cadence…he couldn't stand the thought.

"So, you don't deny it?" Julian demanded. He advanced another step towards Barry, forcing the metahuman to take another step backwards. "Caitlin Snow is Killer Frost?"

"Right now, what we need to know is who Alchemy is and what he wants," Barry snapped back, forcing Julian to stop in his tracks. He said it with so much fervor that Julian looked surprised at the outburst. The CSI stared at Barry, as if seeing him—The Flash—for the first time.

"And you're the best person to help," Barry continued, lowering his voice so that he didn't scare Julian away or make the situation any worse. "Since you've written a dissertation about it. _The Anthropological Analysis of the Brahmastra."_ Julian winced as soon as the words were announced back to him, as if the mere thought caused him great pain. "Give me the information and you'll never hear from me again."

"Is that a promise?"

Barry wished it was, but knew he'd have to face him again when he was called into work. "It's a promise."

The two stared at each other for a long moment, continuing to size each other up. Sirens sounded in the distance and Barry resisted the urge to race off to see what was going on. He knew Cadence could handle it. For a moment, Barry felt a sense of anxiety. It's why he had been running in STAR Labs in the first place. He hadn't heard anything from her since she'd gone to meet up with…whomever it was. As far as he knew, she could be being beaten up by those that had contracted her to kill him.

 _Has it really been that long ago?_ Barry thought. So long since he had first been called into the doctor's office to meet Cadence for the first time. Had it really been that long since their lives became so intertwined and fell in a way that he couldn't have ever imagined. He blinked and turned his attention back to Julian when he said, "Fine."

His voice was strong, not as begrudging as Barry thought it would be. He sounded relieved, actually. Like he was holding things in longer than he wanted. Julian took a deep breath, licked his lips to steady himself. "I've heard about the Bhramastra many years ago," he explained. "Or, as it is colloquially called, the Philosopher's Stone. It's rumored to be the first object to give people powers."

Barry couldn't help but turn his gaze to STAR Labs as it loomed in the distance. The day had been perfect then, when the Particle Accelerator turned on. Thunder rumbled in the distance as Barry scurried into his lab. He went to his desk and looked out the window, watching as dark storm clouds slowly started to gather together. Gather around what looked like a beam of light spilling up into the sky. A pyre of brilliance that made Barry's heart sink. He missed the launching of the Particle Accelerator. It turned on and he'd missed it. _And_ he'd been beaten up by a robber who had stolen Iris's bag, having to be rescued by Eddie.

How much more could his ego be broken? What else could go wrong? The sound of water hitting the floor was what. Barry whipped around as soon as the first droplets fell through the open skylight of his lab. That's right, he was supposed to close it before he left to Starling City. Of course. Barry trudged over to the skylight and grabbed the chains to pull it closed. His eyebrows twitched together when he saw lightning continue to roll through the clouds. It looked different somehow. More, alive. Like it was moving closer.

Too close.

Barry's widened. He started to back away. But a lightning bolt shot through the skylight and into the chains in his hand, coursing through his body before he was blown off his feet.

Shaking his head, Barry was back in the present. Julian stood across from him, the rest of his word finishing, mouth moving silently. The memory had shot through Barry's mind so fast it was as if time hadn't passed. Flash Time. He had no idea the same thing happened in his head as well. His voice shook when he said, "Like the Particle Accelerator."

Julian nodded, blissfully unaware of what it was that had been going on in Barry's head. "Over the years it got lost. I became quite obsessed with trying o find it. Did every piece of research I could, as I'm sure you've noticed. Managing to reference my research so easily, it's no surprise you're so smart. With the speed you have." He shook his head. "Must means a vast amount of information is available to you." He cleared his throat, lowering his head to run his fingertips over his mustache and goatee. "Much to my parents' dismay, I used every piece of my inheritance to find the Philosopher's Stone."

"But you never did," Barry realized.

"No, I never did. Soon after that I came here." His eyes flashed as he looked Barry in the eye once more. "I believe that is everything that you would like to know." He started to walk by Barry, heading towards the stairs. "And now if you'll excuse me, I have work to do."

Barry stopped him in his tracks with one question. He couldn't help it, he had to know everything about Alchemy and Savitar as he could. "In your research…have you come across the name Savitar?"

Silence stretched between the two. Julian slowly turned, the bottoms of his loafers scratching against the concrete of the room. Barry turned around to look at him, noticing Julian was scrutinizing him even further. Barry couldn't look at him for too long, his gaze shifted to the roof of the CCPD. In particular, to a blackened portion of the roof, where, he knew, had been struck when he was struck by lightning.

"How do you know that name?" Julian asked.

Getting the answer he was looking for, Barry became emboldened once more. His heart raced. This was it, all the information they were ever going to need to figure out what it was that Savitar was up to. Barry couldn't help but let the growing excitement keep the false confidence out of his voice. "I've done some research of my own," he said casually.

"As far as I know, Savitar is the first meta with speed. That's all I know, Flash. But I suggest you don't waste your time on this. Move on."

"Why?"

"Because you _can't_ beat him. No other meta can. It may as well be why they get removed from the city entirely."

So, that was it. Barry folded his arms. "You would've been one of the ones that had voted to have the Registration Act go through, wouldn't you?" He asked. Julian lifted his eyebrows. "You don't seem to like anything that's different than you and I have it on good authority that you don't seem to enjoy metahumans at all."

Julian smirked. "Allen's been talking to you, has he? Well, let's just say that Barry Allen tends to have a big mouth. Even when he doesn't show up for work."

Barry resisted the urge to roll his eyes. It was hard, but he managed it. "What is it about metahumans that you don't like, Julian?"

Julian folded his arms. "I don't like things I can't trust. That I _don't_ trust. I can't trust people that have these fantastical powers. And to that extent, Flash, I can't trust you." Julian unfolded his arms to point directly at Barry. Taken aback, Barry's head jerked backwards. "I can't trust you to always be there. And even then, knowing what you can do, even though there have been many times you've saved this city from certain destruction. Which, coincidentally appears to happen every March, it's what happens to the rest of the city that I can't trust. You make the people in this city lethargic and unable to do their own tasks.

"Our own police department has become lazy because you swoop in and handle everything. I dislike metahumans, most them, because they turned out to become criminals. They have these powers to do whatever they want, and they use it to do what? Rob a bank, cast revenge on those that have wronged them." Julian shook his head and lowered his voice to a soft murmur. "But it's not all metahumans that are as bad. I envy them sometimes, because all I've wanted in my life is to make the world as best as it possibly could be and with those powers I could do that. But I don't have powers and I can't. And sometimes it's even those that work closest to you, you can't trust."

Barry pressed his lips together. He knew Julian was talking about him. How many thinly veiled grievances could he have against him that he didn't already know? Barry had hardly been working with Julian and even he knew Julian was difficult to work with. He was a workaholic. A clock counter. And made sure he rubbed in the fact that he was Barry's boss in his face as often as he could. Still, he played dumb as Julian continued.

"Those who continuously hide secrets, disappearing at all hours of the day and only gets a simple slap on the wrist because of the work they produce. I don't trust those people and I never will. Now…are we finished here? I'd like to be brought back to my office, please."

Quick as a flash, Barry raced Julian back to his office and practically threw him into his chair. He stood across from Julian's desk as the CSI fought to catch his breath. He coughed and ran his hands over his hair, fixed his tie, and smoothed down his dress shirt. His eyes narrowed at Barry and he cleared his throat, "Thank you."

"You're welcome," Barry replied. He looked over his shoulder when Captain Singh stormed into the office, eyes darting around the office. Internally, Barry cringed, knowing Captain Singh was trying to find him. Julian followed his gaze and a smirk came to his face. _Great, just another reason for him to have his point proven._

"Is there anything I can help you with, sir?" Julian asked, the smugness easily dripping into his voice. Barry wanted nothing more than to punch him in the face. Maybe this time it would stick to make sure he didn't know Caitlin was a meta.

"You can help me by telling me where Allen is," Captain Singh snapped. He tapped the face of his watch with his fingertips. "West hasn't seen him, neither has Iris, and I know those two are practically his keepers."

"Sir, I hope I'm not speaking out of turn, but have you thought that maybe Allen isn't cut out for this sort of thing. He has been missing in action the last couple of days." Julian shrugged innocently. "Maybe there are some personal issues that he hasn't been able to overcome."

"Well, when you see him, tell him that there are some files I've needed him to give me and that I'm still waiting for him to—"

Barry sped through the office, gathering everything together. The tests and results that Captain Singh had been waiting on were piled together on his desk and in some of his cabinets. Barry collected them together into a neat pile. Then he raced out of the police department and across the city to the tailors. He grabbed the bags marked _SINGH_ on the front, left money on the counter, and raced back to the police department.

Dropping the bags off on his desk, Barry then dropped off the stack of files into Captain Singh's office, scribbling a note on top. By the time that Barry ran back to STAR Labs, allowing everything to slow down, Julian and Captain Singh were left to gape at the bag lying on Barry's desk as if it had always been there.

Caitlin and Cisco reached out to slam their hands atop the papers that threatened to shoot every which way when Barry skidded to a stop in the middle of the Cortex. HR, who stood in front of them, sipping a cup of coffee—which he had recently discovered, for better or worse, and greeted Barry with a bright smile and a tip of his mug.

"Ah, BA, to what do we owe this pleasure?" He asked.

Barry ignored the misuse of his name and pulled down his cowl. "I've got news," he explained.

"It'll have to wait," Caitlin replied. She jutted her chin towards the TV screen behind HR. "Look."

HR turned and gestured to the TV screen with a wave of his hand. "Yes. That. That's something very important going on right now. I should've brought that to your attention first, BA. I'm sorry. But, you know, no one gives a good pleasantry greeting anymore. All you do...you people just grunt 'hey' at me as if I'm nothing more than a common-"

"-HR!" Caitlin and Cisco shouted in unison, immediately shutting him up.

Barry's eyes shifted and widened as he watched the TV screen. He knew things happened quickly in the city but not _that_ fast. The Breaking News headline didn't matter, he barely glanced at it. It was who was onscreen he couldn't help but notice. Frankie.

And Alchemy was standing directly behind her.

* * *

"Well, I must say," Amunet said, mimicking Cadence's stance by folding her arms. "It's such a treat to see you here." Her eyes shifted over Cadence, studying her from head to toe. "And, we really need to talk about your styling habits. I mean, I get it, the whole feminine meets cute thing. But you think you want to add something with a little more 'oomph' to it, right?"

"I didn't come here to talk about my outfit, Amunet," Cadence said. "I came here to get some answers. I know Breathtker and the others used you a lot when we were still in commissiion."

Amunet blinked in surprise. "Why, I was under the impression you still were." She tapped the side of her mouth with her fingertip, the elongated metallic ring that stretched over her fingertip scratched against her cheek. "Or, is this what Breathtaker meant when he said to expect a visit from you?" She chuckled, showing off her teeth. "Honestly, I'm surprised you decided to come on your own, knowing what can happen to those who are brave-or stupid-enough to do it." Her eyes shifted as a figure appeared behind her.

Harrison stepped forward, holding a rifle in his hands. He lowered it from pointing directly at Amunet's heart and held it by his hip. "I believe you're in possession of something that is mine," he said.

* * *

 **A/N:** And now Julian is come more into play for the story. I've mean to bring him in sooner but you guys know what happens when I have so many plot points t hit, some fall by the wayside. But now a lot of it are starting to come together so it wont' be as widespread as they had been before. I hope you guys enjoyed what I had for Barry and Julian. Especially in terms of their antagonistic nature for each other.

Please remember to review; any feedback helps me become a better writer and motivates me to write more. I respond to every review, even anonymous ones. I know this chapter was late, but it'll be back on its updating schedule on Wednesday. And don't forget about The Flash and The Flame companion story _Naturally._ Check it out and let me know what you think.

 **Cheers,**

 **-Riley**

 **Review Replies**

 **Guest:** Haha, plenty for her coming. Glad you enjoyed it.

 **Ethan:** No, it can't. It just checks to make sure that you're still watching. Who knows if Alchemy and Breathtaker are working together? I mean, I do, but that's completely beside the point. Yeah, Julian messed things up for her, and it's something Cadence isn't going to take lightly. As you can see, things aren't working out for her right now, either.

 **PowerHero432:** There's a lot of connection that can be made, and, God, I wish someone who didn't care about spoilers would let me say what it is because I've been holding this in since the first story. Lol. But it's something that'll be worked out through this one. Amunet is always fun to watch on the show so writing her here is equally entertaining.

 **DarkHelm145:** Well with more focus on Brady coming and how his plot moves in with Barry's and Cadence's, there's plenty of Black Blade to come.

 **Jason Hunter:** Have you been taking a peek into my brain? LOL. More Amunet in the next chapter.

 **spinquin142:** Thanks, that's what I was going for.

 **yummers:** Glad your'e still enjoying everything.

 **babyj:** At the moment, I don't expect her to be as big as she is in season 4, but things like that change for me all the time. So there may be even more than I'm working on at the moment.


	17. Wally's Fast But Jesse's Quick

**17**

 _Wally's Fast But Jesse's Quick_

* * *

 ** _EARTH-2_**

"I already told you, I'm not expecting a package!"

"And I've told _you_ , sir, that this is a package I'm sure you'd want to receive." Burnout clicked her tongue in frustration when the door was slammed shut in her face. A steely expression of annoyance graced her features, hardened after years of the dark side of life pushing her down. She had no patience for pushbacks. Things needed to be done and she wasn't going to go off schedule. "Well, I did try to warn you," She said before teleporting into the man's house.

Her sudden appearance in front of him, which was only seconds after closing the front door, made the man jump. His eyes widened in surprise as he pointed at her. "You're one of them," he stammered. "You're a meta."

"That's right." Burnout stretched out her arms and watched the man with a wary glance. A slow, evil smile came across her face. "And you're just the man I was looking for. You see, I have some business to take care of and you're just standing in my way."

"What do you want from me?" The man demanded. He backed away, moving towards the door. He reached out to grasp the doorknob when he was close enough. Burnout moved faster, she teleported next to him and lazily folded her arms and crossed her legs, leaning against the door, holding it shut. With a repeat performance of her teleportation and the increase in temperature around them, the man backed away. He rapidly shot backwards, feet hardly touching the floor as he moved to get away from her. In his haste, his feet became entangled with the carpet that covered his living room and pitched to the ground.

Burnout grinned and walked over to the man. Her footsteps were slow and calculated, her grin growing wider as each second passed. An excited flicker of flame shot through her eyes. She could torture this man, using every means of her powers to do so. But this was more fun. Watching him squirm in fear. Watching him on the edge of pissing himself knowing what was potentially to come.

"You…you work for Zoom?" He asked.

Burnout tilted her head back and let out a harsh bark of laughter. When her laughter subsided, she wiped at her eyes, where tears had formed. "Zoom. That's funny." Her smile immediately faded, and the look of stony amusement replaced it. "No. Zoom is nothing but a suit compared to what we're capable of." She extended her hand, starting to examine her fingernails. "And with Zoom now gone…well, let's just say we're now back to our old tricks. He did ruin things for us for a short time. Couldn't go out and do our thing for a while because of what he was doing. How he was getting people to work for him…" She frowned, noticing a crusting of dried blood attached to her fingers, sticking beneath her nails.

She must've stabbed the target before her harder than she thought. Who knew blazing nails would've worked? Well, it was more like a blow torch but that was beside the point. One quick stab to kill and simultaneously cauterize the wound and she was on to her next target. This one was starting to become a bit more bothersome, however. At least the last one had been asleep. In and out with a teleport and no one was the wiser.

This one was making it harder for her to keep going. But then again, she always did find it entertaining to watch them beg for their lives once they realized what was about to happen. This time, however, he wasn't begging. _Interesting,_ Burnout thought. _This one seems to know what's going to happen._

"Why are you doing this?" The man asked, watching as Burnout stepped closer to him. She swung her leg wide and lowered herself down to a crouch, straddling the man's body. Burnout's eyes shifted over his face, over his body, watching as he trembled, shaking violently.

That was more like it. Finally, Burnout ran a hand through her hair and looked around the living room. In a sweeping glance, everything was confirmed for her. No family. No one to care about him. No one to question where he went. A simple in and out. Just how she liked it.

"Well." Burnout shrugged. She lifted her hand, the orange glow radiating from her eyes to encompass her hand in a brilliant bursting blaze. In a matter of seconds, Anthony Bellows was covered in fire, reduced to a grinning skeleton before he could even scream. Burnout glanced around at the singed pieces of clothing that ruffled through the air, burning out into ash that sprinkled to the carpet. Then she grinned back down at the skeleton and winked. "Gotta pay that child support."

* * *

 ** _EARTH-1_**

"And what, may I ask, would I have of yours?" Amunet asked. Whether or not she was surprised to see Harrison with Cadence, it didn't show on her face. No, she was intrigued. The rising of her eyebrows giving her away. Her lips pulled back into a wide smile, showing off her teeth. Laughter escaped her lips and she pointed back and forth between Cadence and Harrison. "Wait, is this some sort of a clever father-daughter thing? Like you're saying that because she's here I'm in possession of her and you want her back? That's clever."

Cadence and Harrison exchanges glances but didn't respond. Amunet's wide eyes continued to shoot back and forth between the two as the silence stretched between them. Harrison's fingertips drummed against the trigger of the gun. Itching for the trigger to be pulled while simultaneously waiting for some answers before a quick reaction could be made.

"That's sweet," Amunet said. "Very lovely. And it's a pleasure to meet you Dr. Harrison Wells. Charmed, I'm sure." She backed away from the two and went to sit behind her desk once more. "To what do I owe this pleasure? Oh, yes, you've already said that there was something of yours that you wanted back. I'm quite unsure of what this bit of stuff is that you'd need."

"There has been some information stolen from my lab that I want back," Harrison explained. "Of which I'm sure that Mick Rory or Leonard Snart has been helping you with. Or the information they've received had helped you in some way."

"Oh, right, that encyclopedia thing." Amunet slowly twisted back and forth in her seat. She let out a huge sigh and rolled her eyes. "That sigh was one of annoyance. You should know there are differences between them, Cadey-Cat." Cadence grimaced, immediately turning hostile at the nickname. "Right, right, that's specifically held in high regard for your parents. I remember." She started to drum her fingertips on the desk top. "I assure you, the information I received from Leonard Snart and Mick Rory is nothing that I couldn't have found on my own. They're not quite the brightest bulbs in the lamp. At least Mr. Rory was not. How many times could I explain to him that there was more to life than trying to steal paintings and jewelry? The oaf would simply look at me with that dumb billy goat expression and mutter something about the bloody beer I'd serve." With a shake of her head and click of her tongue, Amunet added, "There are much finer things in life."

"Amunet," Cadence said firmly. Amunet's eyebrows rose in surprise. The fire metahumans seemed to have more spark in her as of late. Then again, the last time Amunet Black had seen her had been when she was only a few months short of leaving the Assassination Bureau. "I need some information."

"And what do I get in return?"

Now Harrison lifted his eyebrows. "What makes you feel that you should get anything in return? You're the one who has stolen property in their possession—"

"—Of which has the utmost technology that could change the world, that could be trouble if it's put in the wrong hands. Blah blah blah. I must say, Dr. Wells, for someone who is supposed to be so smart, you do come across as very well to-do." Amunet laughed when Harrison, in response to her taunt, lifted his rifle and pointed it directly at her. "I do hope you know what to do with that. There aren't too many people who have a good idea of what to do once they have that sort of power. The same can be said of a lot of things."

Cadence quickly lost her patience. She brought up a hand and rubbed at her forehead. "Amunet, this isn't what I came here for. I'm sure I'll need to sell my soul to you for some sort of repayment."

"It appears to me you've already done that, my dear. Has that empty shell you've become since coming across Breathtaker really taken so much of a toll on you? And to think I remember a time when you were so happy. With nothing but the world as your oyster, or however that ridiculous saying goes. Now it appears the world has managed to tear you down like the rest of us."

Sucking in a deep breath, Cadence did her best to keep from losing her temper before she said eerily calm, "Amunet. There are some questions I need answered and you're the only one who can do it. You're the one who is connected to everyone here in Central City."

Amunet gave a small trill of laughter and said, "Guilty and charged." She reached up and started to twirl some hair around her finger. "Now, what is it I can do for you, dear? What answers do you need? It does all come at a price but considering the name of 'Nash', I'm sure there's plenty of things that you can do with that money you've got floating around."

Cadence pressed her lips together. She took a deep breath and said, "Is Breathtaker working with Savitar and Dr. Alchemy? There's a lot of things they've done or are doing that makes sense to them working together. What is it that they want and how can we stop them?"

"Stop them?"

Harrison continued to hold the gaze of the rifle pointed at Amunet. He waited for Amunet to finally stop her large peal of laughter. His eyes shifted around the room, taking in every sight and sound, waiting for the exact moment things got to be too dangerous. When metas were involved, everything that used to be mundane about anyone's life became dangerous. Even something as simple as going to the bar.

Finally, Amunet stopped laughing and wiped tears away from her eyes. "There's not much you can do to stop them, I'm afraid. These are people even I wouldn't want to mess with and you know me. I'm always up for a challenge." With that, she stood up from her seat and walked to the door they passed through to get to her office. She hummed, walking to a boxing ring that had been set up where two people were fighting each other.

Cadence's eyebrows rose as he watched them punch each other hard, each blow making a sickening 'squish' sound when the blow landed on the soft flesh of the opponent. Blood splattered along the ground, groans coming from their mouths with each hit. She jumped when an excessively hard hit spent a spray of blood and a tooth out of the mouth of one of them. Nausea rolled through her stomach and she closed her eyes, turning her head away.

How many times had she seen that herself? From what Stratos, Mindboggler, Incognito and herself had done. Memory flashes zapped through her mind, replaying over and over at rapid speed and in high definition of the intense fear and confusion of those that had fallen victim to what the Assassination Bureau's needs and wants were. Over and over. A growl escaped her lips and she took a step back.

Harrison pressed his hand against Cadence's shoulder, holding it tightly. He kept his hand on her, hoping he'd be able to comfort her. He felt her relax after a minute but continued to stay tense. Being around Amunet had drastically changed her demeanor. So much so he was surprised the entire bar hadn't burst into flames. She had to be holding a lot of control over her powers, he realized. "You know about Savitar?" Harrison asked, to be sure.

"Savitar sought me out as soon as he was aware I existed," Amunet said. She looked at her fingernails which were painted a shiny gray, resembling the bucket of metal that was never too far from her. "It was an interesting conversation. Almost as interesting as the one I had with Breathtaker once upon a time. Of course, neither of them would've batted an eye towards me before I became a meta."

"Did you receive your powers the night of the Particle Accelerator explosion?"

Amunet slid her gaze to Harrison while tilting her head towards Cadence. "Excuse me, Poindexter. But I believe the young lady was speaking to me in this whole conversation." She reached out and used her index finger to push the muzzle of Harrison's rifle away from her. "Please point that extension of your dick somewhere else, thank you."

Cadence didn't take the comment lightly, her eyes flashing. "Answer his question."

"Well, well, seems I struck a nerve. I'm sorry, Cadey, but you never know with these hot-head types. Well, I guess you do. I can understand why White Hot is doing her best to take your place." Amunet then let out a deep sigh as if the conversation was beneath her. Bored her. "Yes, yes, I was here when the Particle Accelerator blew. I was a stewardess, our plane was knocked out of the sky and when I woke up, I could control metal. And how fortunate I was to determine how I could use it for my own personal gain."

"Did Breathtaker seek you out then?"

"Not right then, no. But not too long afterward. There was a lot that he wanted to do, and I had the technology he needed to do it. It especially helped that I had that computer from _the_ STAR Labs. You'd be surprised how much information that you lot had lazily stored on there. I mean, honestly, what is your security like? You'd think for so many smart people working in one place you'd be smarter." Amunet reached out and lovingly caressed the hair of one of the fighters. "It's okay, sweetie, just take a break." The moment she said that, the fighter collapsed to the ground, eyes rolling up as he gasped for breath. "Or die if you'd rather." She leveled her gaze at Cadence and Harrison. "Breathtaker simply wanted information for information. Information I got, I will not share with you, I must have my own secrets, you know. But as for Savitar, yes, he sought me out. Wanted information and some of the things that I have in my possession."

"Do you know who Savitar is?" Harrison asked.

"No, I'm afraid he kept that quiet." The three watched as two of her bodyguards walked over to the man that collapsed on the ground and grabbed him by the wrists. His body fell limp, head swinging like a rag doll as he was dragged away. "Oh, poo." Amunet pouted. "Lost my bet on that one." She dismissively glanced at the one man whose lifeless body was dragged away then looked Cadence up and down. "You wouldn't care to take a stab in the ring, would you, Cadey? I'm sure you'd be able to make a lot of money through this."

"No thanks," Cadence said easily. "I enjoy my current career. What can you tell us about Savitar?"

"Like I said, you can't beat him. He's too powerful. I don't know who he is or where he came from, but you can't beat him. But he does have Alchemy working with him, and you should investigate this thing called the Philosopher's Stone. I believe it's a bunch of bollocks, but you never know."

Cadence felt her blood pressure rise in excitement. Finally. They were getting some answers. Answers that they could use to get things figured out. To know what they'd be up against. To get a chance to stop a villain before they got to be too in control. Just like she did with her position in Child Protective Services. Beat them at their own game before they could beat anyone else down. A grin started to come to Cadence's face.

Cadence could be really convincing when she needed to be. Yes, there was something she'd have to do for Amunet in return, but she'd do anything to keep Central City safe, to keep her friends, her _family_ safe. And this was a big step towards that. And this time, she didn't have to threaten anyone to get her point across. It was progress.

"As for Breathtaker and Savitar…well…" Amunet shrugged. "I guess we'll never know." Amunet looked Harrison up and down. "Now, to deal with you. I don't have your computer anymore. That has been sold for parts. The technology was unusable for the one who bought it. And while I can't, with good conscious, let you know who it was that got the computer, I can let you know that the information on it will never go out."

"And how can I trust you?" Harrison asked. Though his voice was calm, his words were clipped, holding a sense of quiet urgency in it. All the while, he held the tiniest of smiles on his face. Almost as if he found everything to be amusing. "Knowing what you do around here."

"You should know, Dr. Wells, that everything I do is for profit. And I'm currently trying to figure out the best way to maximize my use for the information on your silly little computer. I suppose you could buy it back from me, but I don't believe you'd be able to handle my price."

Harrison's eyes shifted for a moment. Then he stood up straight and lowered his rifle back to his side. He folded his arms and said with an icy cool, "Then I expect to be in contact with you in the future, for my own purposes."

"I graciously await that day." Amunet opened her mouth and made a show of yawning hard and loud. "Well, I must say this conversation has been very interesting, but I've grown weary and tired. Let's please see each other again soon." With that, she waved her hand towards Cadence and Harrison, signaling for her body guards to lead them away. "Please show them out, and you can use the front entrance. There's nothing to be afraid of. And, please, mop up that blood before it soaks into the floor."

Cadence and Harrison were led back out of the bar and back onto the streets of Central City. Cadence placed her hands on her hips and took in a deep breath, steadying her electrified nerves. Harrison leaned towards her. "Did you get everything you needed?" He asked.

With a nod, Cadence agreed that she had. "And more," she agreed. Amunet had no way of knowing that Cadence had been reading her like a book throughout their conversation. Had no idea that Cadence knew there were things she was lying about and had an idea of what the truth was. That Amunet had no idea they now had an idea to not only take down Savitar, Alchemy, and Breathtaker, but also how to keep _her_ at bay as well. "We need to tell the others."

Harrison started to agree but stopped when both of their phones went off with the metahuman app's familiar bleat that Cisco had programmed it to do. His eyebrows furrowed when he saw what was behind the alert. "That may have to wait," he said. "You need to get going."

Cadence looked over her own phone screen and nodded. Her heart immediately plummeted when she saw Frankie—or was it Magenta—smirking on the news feed on screen. Alchemy stood quietly behind her. And if Alchemy was at work, and if that were the case, it was giving Savitar more time to do what it was he was doing. Cadence bit her lower lip, closing her eyes as she pushed away the sense of frustration that flowed through her.

Of course, they couldn't get information and just deal with it, something else had to come up to keep them from doing so.

 _Welcome to Central City,_ she thought to herself before putting her phone away. She grasped her father's shoulder and teleported him into the Cortex before going to get into her suit. Her priorities had shifted. The most important thing they had to deal with what helping Frankie. Her life was hard enough as it is, they didn't need it getting any worse.

* * *

Amunet wasn't alone when Cadence and Harrison left her headquarters. She went back to her office and sank down in her seat, looking off into space for a few moments to collect her thoughts. Then she twisted and rested her chin on her shoulder.

"I'm sure it won't take much longer," Amunet said to the space behind her. She twisted the earring that hung off her ear lobe before pulling her hand away to examine her fingernails. Of which her painted in a slate gray color, resembling that of a glow covering metal. "But I do intend to be repaid for my services."

Breathtaker's voice wafted round her, though his body didn't manifest. "Yes, of course."

* * *

Wally and Jesse had been enjoying each other's company when everything with Frankie started to go down in Central City. Wally waited for his class to end, of which seemed like an eternity, and was the first out the door after slamming his notebook shut and shoving it into his backpack.

He waited for his, frustratingly slow classmates to get out of the way before hoisting his backpack up over his shoulder. He practically skipped out of the classroom, a smile coming to his face as he went. Finally. The weekend. The days where he could procrastinate on his homework—it was never hard nor very difficult to do when he got going so procrastinating wasn't a problem. (Though he had to be careful not to let Joe or Iris know, the more time he spent with them, the more they _really_ treated him like family). Finally, he could do anything but worry about his classwork, and group projects, and grades.

He could…hang out with a pretty cool girl, apparently. A smile came to Wally's face as he left the engineering building and looked over to see Jesse casually sitting on a bench, sipping a cup of coffee from Jitters. As she tilted her head back to take a long sip, her eyes locked with Wally's and she grinned.

"Hey," she said, lowering the mug to her lap.

"Hey," Wally agreed. He slid his backpack down his arm and to the ground, sitting next to her. "What are you doing here?"

"I'm waiting for you," Jesse replied. She motioned around the campus. "It's a beautiful day and I thought I'd see what CCU is like over on this Earth." Her nose wrinkled as she shook her head. "Not so different. Though everyone here kind of dresses a little weird. So…loose and casual."

"I thought you would've gotten used to that by now," Wally reminded her, silently referencing the cold shoulder blouses and ripped jeans she'd taken to wear since starting to live on Earth-1.

"Yeah, you can thank Cade for that," Jesse said with a wide grin. "She's been taking me shopping. Let me tell you, it's so much more fun to go shopping with her than with dad. He thinks I should be covered from my neck to my toes and even then, his clothing choices are atrocious." She laughed, waving her hand back and forth.

Wally laughed along with her. "I never expected Harry Wells to be so good with clothes," he admitted slowly, making Jesse laugh again. "I mean, he wears the same thing nearly every day. Does he think he's Albert Einstein or something?"

"He wishes."

The two laughed again. Jesse leaned over and threw her cup of coffee away. With her hands free, she turned to face Wally completely, crossing her legs at the knee and holding her hands flat against the bench. Close enough that Wally felt the body heat from her hands close to his. Suddenly nervous, he licked his lips, chewed them, wondering if it was the right time to hold her hand. Or…something. He _really_ wanted to hold her hand. What was it that he was able to do practically everything else with no thought to the danger in it—it'd been an absolute _rush_ when he helped fight off the Metapocalypse—but he couldn't do so much as hold a girl's hand?

Jesse clearly didn't have that problem, he realized. Every time she would start running somewhere she wanted to show him, she'd grab onto his hand and start running. And as he went along with her, reveling in how fast he was able to move as well—he felt nothing but sparks. Amazing sparks that were…amazing. He couldn't describe it. It was like he could do everything she could, that he was a hero in his own right.

It was the best feeling that he wished he could do himself. No matter how much he liked Jesse and how he felt when he was around her, he sometimes wanted that feeling for himself. Jesse, however, didn't seem to notice his plight, for she immediately sat up straight and, with shining eyes asked, "So, what do you want to do?"

"Don't you have some more training to do or something?" Wally asked.

Jesse snorted and shook her head. "No, I've done some much training I could have raining come out of my ears. I need something to do out in the field and that's not going to happen until something _happens_ so…" She shook her head. "Hanging around STAR Labs that long, living in the basement, it's not so much a fun place to be sometimes."

"Yeah, I think I get that," Wally agreed. He nodded slowly. "It's like…first meeting Joe and Iris it was like I was a secret they wanted to keep. A red-headed step-child that everyone wanted to push away so that things weren't weird." He reached up and scratched the back of his neck. "Now my mom's gone, I'm living with them, Barry's come back from an alternate dimension, all of my friends are being targeted every day and…that's just another day living in Central City."

"It's like…our lives were much more normal before meeting all of them."

"But not as much fun."

"You're right." Jesse leaned closer to him, eyeing him almost shyly. "And…since meeting me?" She prompted. "How've things been since meeting me?"

"Oh. Uh…" Wally felt his cheeks enflame and hoped his darker skin wouldn't give away that he was blushing. Yeah, his life had certainly gotten better since meeting her. More fun. More lighthearted. More…Jesse grinned and closed the distance between them, pressing her lips against his. Wally made a sound of surprise, he truly hadn't expected it. He recovered quickly and brought up a hand to rest on her cheek, kissing her back. Feeling the sparks again.

Complete.

He was falling, flying, everything that came with feeling you were doing the exact right thing at the exact right time. And he didn't want it to end. It was a drug, an adrenaline rush. The same feeling he raced after when experimenting in engineering and the drag races he used to do for money. It was a high he was addicted to and would continue to chase when he'd have to.

Finally, the kiss ended, and Wally leaned back, slowly opening his eyes. He chuckled to himself when Jesse brought up a hand to cover her mouth and turned away, her cheeks turning red. "Definitely more interesting," he murmured, making her blush harder and jostle him with an open palmed shove to the shoulder. "Are you blushing?"

'No," Jesse said quickly.

"Yes, you are," Wally insisted. "Jesse Wells is blushing. Never thought I'd see the day."

"Hang around with my dad often enough and you will."

Wally frowned, noticing the sudden sadness that came to her voice. No, it wasn't sudden. It was the same sadness that tinged her comments about him before. How he would buy clothes for her and dress her very conservatively. It didn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that one. "You really miss him, don't you?"

Jesse continued to face away from him, the blushing subsiding from her cheeks. Instead, she started to gently chew on her fingernails. "Don't you miss _your_ mom?" She asked.

"All the time," Wally said honestly. It was the first time he'd said it out loud in a long while. "But, at the same time, I don't. I had a lot of time to figure out how to deal with her dying. I knew it was going to happen and I got to say goodbye when it did. That was the best I could do." He paused, waiting for Jesse's response, but she didn't give one. "I know you didn't get to say goodbye—"

"—Are you getting hungry?" Jesse broke in. "Because I'm starving."

Wally couldn't help but grin. "You're _always_ starving, Jess," he pointed out.

"Right. And so are you. But you're lucky, you don't have the speedster genes to blame it on." Jesse stood up and made a show of stretching her arms over her head. "I could go for a run. What do you say? You want any Big Belly Burger?"

"I can never turn it down," Wally replied. "Let me just stop by my house so I can—" Wally was cut off by a flurry of motion. One moment he was standing in front of the engineering building, the next he was at a patio table in front of Big Belly Burger with a burger in one hand and a cup of soda in the other with a mischievous speedster smirking at him from across the table. "Okay, you don't have to be so smug about it."

"I know," Jesse said quickly, taking in her milkshake. "But it's so much fun."

Wally couldn't help but smile as well. Her smile and enthusiasm were contagious. In that moment, Wally forgot everything. Forgot he wasn't a meta, wasn't a speedster, didn't have his mother, didn't have who he thought was his father. Forgot everything that'd get him down. Was able to just hang out with the cool, smart, and funny girl who clearly like him as much as he liked her…all until he heard screaming.

As soon as the first scream shot out, Wally whipped around to see what was going on. He whipped around to see someone had fallen in the middle of the street as they scrambled to get out of the way of danger. Danger he hadn't seen coming nor expected to ever see in person. A car hovered in the air, no, not hovered. Flew towards the crowd that ran out of the way in such a spectacular fashion that it was like a movie. Until it wasn't. Pieces of glass and metal shattered and fell towards the street, striking some people down, droplets of blood staining the concrete.

And then Wally was moving. He hadn't realized he'd gotten up and ran towards the person that had fallen, moving to push them out of the way, until he was halfway there. Then he was at the person, grabbing onto their arm. He looked up, twisting around to watch the car continue to careen towards him. Then he was gone, away from the scene in a split second, and with two speedsters yelling at him. Why was it when he needed a speedster, it was at the worst time?

"What the hell were you thinking?" Barry demanded.

"You could've gotten yourself killed!" Jesse added.

"I needed to save that person," Wally protested but was cut off again.

"You can't just go running out there like that! You have to use your head."

"Will you chill?" Wally demanded. "Nothing happened."

"Nothing happened _yet._ You could've gotten yourself, killed."

"So is that the problem you have? Or is it that you can't handle any possible competition?" Wally spat back. Barry's eyes narrowed in confusion, a quiet "What?" escaping his lips. It was obvious he was confused. "Maybe there's not enough room in this family for two speedsters. Or maybe it's that, like every other time, you can't handle the thought of someone else coming in to try and take your place because you don't belong?"

"I never said that," Barry defended himself at the same time Jesse said, "He didn't say that!"

Wally gritted his teeth. "You didn't have to. You don't ever have to say it because you do it. All the time. I can't even belong with my own family because there you always are and always will be."

Barry gritted his teeth as well. "You're _not_ a speedster, Wally! Okay? I know how much you want to be one, but you're not! You have to stop throwing yourself around just because you have the need to do something. You really helped with the Metapoclypse, but this isn't that, okay? This is…this is more dangerous. I can't keep watching you to make sure nothing happens to you."

"Well you don't have to anymore," Wally snapped. He clenched his hands into fists and took a step back from Barry and Jesse. His eyes shifted. "I'm sorry I managed to mess up your perfect life, Barry. But don't make me apologize when I feel, in my gut, that there's more that I could be doing than just taking a back seat to things. I figured out of anyone, you'd be the one who'd understand." He raised his hands as he started to back away. "Is there anything else you want, or can I get to safety now?"

He knew he was being snotty and downright rude, but he hadn't felt so betrayed and downright frustrated in his life. Alone. There were things he wanted to talk to Barry about but now he wouldn't give him the satisfaction. He didn't deserve to know. Wally only made it a few steps, hearing the telltale _whoosh_ sounds behind him that let him know Barry and Jesse ran off to face the threat, before stopping short. As if something had him.

A chill ran down Wally's spine. His breaths came shorter and shorter until he gasped for air. He tried to bring a hand to his chest but found he couldn't.

 _Wallace._

 _Wallace West._

He could hear a voice calling for him, could hear it swirling in his head and around him. Saw flashes of…something in his head. Saw himself. Saw himself with powers, running back and forth and taking on the Rival. Saw himself, _felt_ himself continuously getting beaten. Felt a hand shove through his back. His mouth dropped open in a silent scream. No sound could come from his mouth, but he still felt the pain. More than pain, the most horrific feeling he'd ever felt in his life. More painful than his mother's death could ever do to him.

 _Wallace West. The time has come to restore what was hidden from you. The time has come to set you free. Find me and I will release you from all of this. I can make you whole again._

 _Find me._

Finally, Wally was able to move. He stumbled forward, gasping for air as he frantically patted down his body. Nothing. No stab wounds. No hands shoved through him. No lightning encircling his body. Nothing. And yet all of it felt real.

Especially that voice.

It was the voice that had been haunting his dreams ever since Barry returned from Flashpoint. Then a second thought struck him that slowly made him start to smile, he had to have been moving _very fast_ to get to the person like he had done. As fast as, say, a speedster.

* * *

Cadence reached up as a street lamp flew towards her. She back-peddled a few paces and caught it against her stomach. Gritting her teeth, she spun in a circle and threw it as hard as she could, flinging it back towards Frankie.

Frankie merely lifted her hand and sent it flying through a nearby office building, causing Cadence to curse under her breath. Who knew how many people had just been hurt by the street light let alone the shrapnel coming from the broken glass and portions of the building. She moved to run but saw two streaks of lightning shoot across her path before she could do so. They twisted back and forth with people appearing on the street far away from danger as the seconds passed. Frankie seemed not to notice, for she merely lifted her hands and caused a vortex of shrapnel to surround her.

Hair blowing out of her face, Barry and Jesse came to a stop beside her. Cadence silently asked a question with her eyes. "That's everyone in the building," Jesse said, bending down to rest her hands on her knees. There was a difference between running at top speed for any of the training they did, and another to use it to grab people and getting them away from danger over and over.

"Any casualties?" Cadence asked. She let out an audible sigh of relief when Barry shook his head. "Can only ask for small favors."

"I can't say the same for later," Barry replied, mentioning the harsh reality they went through every day. They couldn't save everyone. "Got them to the hospital as fast as we could but…" he shook his head. Instead, he turned his gaze to Frankie as she slowly continued to gather shrapnel around her in a continuously rotating shield, visibly like bugs crawling along a dropped piece of food. Alchemy continued to stand behind her, watching the free for all behind his beak-like mask. "Alchemy's got her."

"I figured," Cadence replied. "Frankie wouldn't do something like this on her own." Frankie would hardly lift her voice against anyone that bumped against her on the street let alone try to take down as many people as possible. It was obvious Alchemy had some sort of hold over her. Her powers hadn't been that strong the last time they'd seen her alter-ego come about.

Frankie smirked. Her eyes glowed a bright purple as she looked down at the group. "There's nothing you can do now, Flash," she called. "I'm going to get my revenge and you can't stop me."

At the same time, the three started towards Frankie. Just as they leapt up to charge at her, the shrapnel formed a large shield they crashed into before falling back to the ground. Cadence immediately got to her feet and teleported off to the side to before projecting herself forward with a burst of flame from her feet. She made it closer but received bullet-like pieces of shrapnel to her shoulders and legs, forcing her back towards the ground. As she fell, Cadence pulled a gun from its holster and aimed it towards Frankie, just off to the side and fired. One shot to scare her.

A curse escaped her lips when the bullet was then sucked up into her vortex and shot back to Cadence, catching her in the knee. She screamed with pain as she hit the ground, feeling her knee-cap and the surrounding tissue blown apart from the single bullet. Barry and Jesse crashed next to her seconds later, also sporting wounds from their attempts to get through her protective barrier.

"Have to be better than that," Frankie murmured, her smirk widening.

 _"Is everyone okay?"_ Harrison's voice came through Barry's and Cadence's communication devices. His concern was palpable, and Cadence could only think the others were nothing short of worried over what was going on with Frankie and Alchemy.

Barry shook his head, pushing aside the dull ringing that wound through his ears. He opened his jaw wide and wiggled it back and forth before closing it once more. It subsided but didn't completely lessen. "Yeah, I'm okay," Barry replied. He grunted, pulling himself into a seated position before rolling over to a kneel. He grabbed onto Jesse and pulled her up as well before looking at Cadence.

She grimaced, watching as her knee very quickly healed back to normal. Boy, that was going to be some horrible scar tissue to deal with later. Reaching up, Cadence pressed her finger to her Comm. Link and reported, "Healing just fine."

 _"Good, good,"_ HR then broke in, his jolly voice sounding a bit distracted. _"We've got someone on the line for you. You can go ahead and start now, Bradley."_

Barry and Cadence could hear Brady's scoff—of which Cadence was sure made him roll his eyes as well-before he said, _"Hey, I heard what's going on. Do you guys need my help, do you need me out there?"_

"No," Cadence said quickly. If it was just Frankie it would've been fine, more people around to draw her attention when she was about to attack. But with Alchemy there, it was too dangerous. Much more dangerous than it previously had been. "No, stay where you are. I don't think your abilities would help much with this one. Just stay in the apartment and keep Deity company."

Barry expected him to protest, to insist that his training had progressed him enough to let him help, or that even facing aliens should've let him go. Instead, Brady just hummed and said, _"Yeah, okay,"_ before wishing them luck and hanging up. Barry lifted an eyebrow and glanced at Cadence, who raised her hand and shook her head. She'd known him for years, but he still managed to surprise her.

"Guys." Jesse zipped back and forth across the street a few times. "We need to find a way to get through that barrier."

"You never will," Alchemy said. He never raised his voice, but it echoed around the streets, over the sound of the blaring car horns and warnings of nearby security systems as if he were shouting. "Her power is far too great for you to defeat."

"The power you gave her with the Philosopher's Stone," Barry called back.

Alchemy's head slowly tilted to the side. Frankie's did the same. As if she were a puppet on marionette strings. "I see you've been doing some research," Alchemy continued to drawl. "There's so much more that you don't know, Flash. Things that you'll find out when the time is right."

"What about now?" Barry called. He spread his arms wide. "Right here and now? We're not going anywhere."

"Funny," Alchemy said, voice still as dry as dead leaves. "I was going to say the same to you. Savitar and I, we're not going anywhere. There is a race that must be upheld, and I intend to be there when you fall to the strongest God that history has ever known."

Cadence clenched her hand into fists. "What do you want with Frankie?" She demanded. "She's done nothing to you or for you. What do you need her for?"

"I returned to her the power she had to inflict pain upon others. She came to me to stop her father from hurting her, now she's in control."

Frankie curled her fingers into her palms. Squeezed so tightly she drew blood that dripped down between her knuckles and to the ground. There was a low, ominous groaning sound that filled the air. The ground shook beneath their feet.

 _"Oh, that doesn't sound good,"_ Cisco said, voicing everyone's thoughts.

"She's trying to tear the street apart," Jesse cried. She wind-milled her arms, trying to keep herself upright. Cadence bent her knees, trying to keep herself steady as well, but found the shaking to increase by the second. Then it was gone, and a new groaning sound filled the air.

Barry was the first to see it, a shadow that loomed over the city so ominous that he almost started to laugh incredulously. There were many things in his life he'd seen before joining the CCPD and after that would've made him think things were strange. That would've made him shake his head and say things were crazy had anyone repeated it to him. He'd seen speedsters, metas that could create pits of molten tar, metas that could set themselves on fire, take on spirits of animals, and even watched little kids take on a meta that could've easily killed them.

But this took the cake. He took a step back as he watched a tanker slowly out of the water of the marina and hover over Central City, dropping rivulets of water that cracked glass and bent street sings as if it was made of putty. Barry's jaw dropped at the spectacularly horrifying sight. "For real?" Barry asked. "A tanker."

 _"If that thing comes down it'll obliterate half the city,"_ Cisco pointed out. _"Not just from the force of impact and the resulting shockwave, but I'm sure there's a bunch of gasoline in there somewhere just waiting to be ignited."_

 _"You have to do something to stop it,"_ Caitlin added.

Jesse tossed her gaze to Cadence for a split second, narrowing her eyes against the sunlight the poured over them, watching the tanker move closer and closer. She widened her eyes once the tanker was finally overhead, allowing them to see more clearly. "You think you can catch it?" She asked. "If Frankie throws it?"

Cadence snorted. Sure, she could catch it. She was strong enough. But lifting it directly after? That was a different story. She probably could, but the resulting effort had the potential to rip all the muscles off her bones. Tear them into shreds. It'd be a surgeon's dream of the money he'd get for it, but a logistical nightmare for how she'd be able to explain completely healing from it. Let alone the act of catching it in the first place. Judging from how big it was…she'd be as squished a bug on a windshield if she tried.

Her snort was all the answer Barry needed. He lifted a hand and pressed his finger to the Comm. Link in his ear. "What if I created some sort of updraft?" He asked his friends in STAR Labs, mind moving a mile a minute. "A wind funnel."

 _"Brilliant idea, BA!"_ HR cried, jumping to his appraisal as soon as the words left the speedster's mouth.

Caitlin quickly shot the idea down. _"You'll never be able to do one that big."_

 _"Not such a good idea, BA,"_ HR immediately corrected his statement form before, making Barry roll his eyes and quickly explain, "No, what if I ran it." If a lightbulb was to go off at that moment, it would've lit up the Cortex in its entirety.

 _"Run it in a figure eight, make a propeller, make an updraft_ ," Harrison commanded.

Barry nodded, lowering his finger from his ear. He nodded over to his partner and the other speedster. "I'll do the running; you guys handle Frankie."

"Are you sure?" Cadence asked him. She didn't have to ask to know if he was sure about his decision. She was asking if he could run that long, that fast. If they hadn't been able to get through Frankie's shied, they had to get through to her another way. _Knowing what I know about brainwashing, that's easier said than done,_ Cadence thought.

But Barry, as unflappable as ever, nodded. "I can handle this. You can handle her. Go." And leaving a streak of yellow lightning behind, Barry ran. He streaked out of the street and towards the side of the There was a second that Cadence and Jesse couldn't see anything happening, Barry was moving so fast. Then they could see a figure eight slowly being imprinted on the ground, asphalt melting as he did so.

Cadence nodded and turned back to Jesse, mind moving as fast as Barry was running. "We have to get as close to her as possible," she figured. "No matter what. The closer we can get, the better off we'll be in terms of being able to reach her."

"I guess this is as good time as any to appreciate the enhanced healing speedsters have," Jesse remarked. She cracked her fingers in front of her and started to stretch her legs. "Because I have a feeling this is going to hurt." With that, Jesse took off and started running towards Frankie. Frankie's glowing eyes followed her movements, shooting to follow the speedster's movements. Every time Frankie would lock eyes on her, she would send a wave of shrapnel after Jesse.

That gave Cadence a clear chance to follow up on her other side. Rather than trying to divert Frankie's attention, Cadence threw balls of flame towards Frankie, melting as many pieces of shrapnel that she could that'd come close to protecting her. The shrapnel melted and dripped to the ground seconds before it was replaced by more shrapnel. Cadence frowned. Okay, that wasn't going to work, she needed to try something else.

Cadence quickly worked out her smokescreen wouldn't work. She'd have to try something different. Cadence centered her gaze on her goggles, watched as it booted up to show different parts of the area around her. The buildings were structurally sound, she could see the temperatures Barry and Jesse were giving off as they ran around, could see the rise in body temperature in Frankie. But…could also see where Frankie was at her weakest as her shields shifted around. Perfect. With a smirk, Cadence held out her hand, allowing flames to appear around it. With a little concentration it turned into a bow and arrow. Pulling it tight, Cadence turned the arrow towards the sky and let go.

 _Pssht-boom._

The flame arrow streaked upwards and, once reaching a certain height, it exploded in a barrage of fireworks and sent smaller arrows raining down towards Frankie.

Frankie growled and raised her hands to cover herself from the burning debris. Cadence used the opportunity to put her next plan in motion. Jesse continued to run around Frankie, trying to put herself as close to the evil meta as she could, but was unable to get around the barrage of metal that followed her. Jesse cried out as a heaving sheet of metal struck her in the back, knocking her to the ground.

"Take this!" Frankie moved quickly to continue covering Jesse in as many levels of metal as she could. Cadence ran forward and ducked behind a van. She thrust out her hand to melt the metal that went shooting towards Jesse. It dripped harmlessly to the ground, giving Jesse the chance to run into the hole that was created in the shield and get up close to Frankie.

Using her blinding speed, Jesse rained blows upon her chest and arms, causing Frankie to stumble backwards. But Jesse kept coming. In her slowed down speed, she darted back and forth from foot to foot, punching Frankie whenever she got a clear shot. With a sweep of her feet, she knocked Frankie to the ground.

Cadence was then at her side. Frankie screamed with effort, throwing her hand up. Metal wrapped around her hand like a gauntlet and she swung it hard towards Cadence. Cadence used her heat vision to melt the metal off her arm, ignoring Frankie's frustrated scream turning to one of pain, and kicked her straight in the stomach. Frankie grabbed her leg and created a shiv of metal and jabbed it towards Cadence's thigh. Twisting painfully around, Cadence kicked the shiv out of Frankie's hand, where it got sucked up in the vortex of swirling metal. Then she rolled along the ground and threw Frankie as hard as she could. She crashed into the side of her shield, pieces of metal striking her, before she fell to the ground.

Jesse went in for the kill, but found a whistling sound stopping her. A very loud, very…scary whistling sound.

"Move!"

Cadence ran forward and teleported. Using her momentum, she grabbed Jesse around the waist and twisted them out of the way as she teleported once more. _BOOM!_ A large sheet of metal crashed to the ground where the two had been. Had Jesse still been standing there…Cadence wasn't sure she'd be fast enough to move out of the way or heal herself without an increasing amount of pain.

"Wow," Jesse gaped. Her face was ashen as she looked to see where she'd just been standing. "Thanks."

"That's what we mean when we say not to get too cocky," Cadence returned Jesse's 'thanks' with a nod, letting god of her alternate-Earth sister. "Barry could use that lesson a few more times but…" She took in a deep breath and ran her hands through her hair. "This is tougher than I thought."

"She can control metal," Jesse said, now struggling to catch her breath. She could run fast, but she hadn't trained as long as Barry. Her powers were still new, she got tired a lot faster. "There's too much stuff around here that's metal. And, you know." She feebly gestured upwards to the tanker that Barry was still holding aloft. "That thing." She sucked in a deep breath and placed her hands on her hips, trying to work out a cramp.

"Come out, come out, wherever you arrrre," Frankie taunted. It sounded as she was coming closer. Cadence turned around and used her heat vision to see Frankie slowly walking towards them. _Alchemy's given her a lot of power if she can hold up the tanker and hold us off this time._

"You got any ideas?" Jesse asked.

Cadence shook her head. If it came down to it, she'd take Frankie down as quickly as she would anyone else but…what sort of a friend would she be if she didn't at least try to get through to her first? "Well, considering I have no idea how to get through her shield over than a direct charge—" Cadence immediately cut herself off as an idea struck her. One so obvious she didn't know how she didn't think of it before despite it sitting right in front of her. "Jesse, keep running and wait for me to give you a signal."

"You got it," Jesse agreed and took off running once more.

Cadence, on the other hand, moved as close as Frankie would let her. The last thing she needed was to freak out Frankie even more than she already was. There was no telling what she'd do to everyone around them if she could handle protecting herself so long so easily. "Frankie," Cadence called. Frankie's head whipped towards her like a rattler. "Let me help you."

"I'm _not_ Frankie," Frankie growled. The shrapnel around her continued to swarm faster and faster, like frenzied bees swarming over the honey in its hive. Cadence had to swallow down the wave of nausea that overwhelmed her from the thought.

Cadence continued, undeterred. "You don't want to do this," She said. "You don't want to kill all these innocent people just to hurt John. I know you want to get back at him, I know you want him out of your life, but once you hurt someone innocent, you can't come back from that." Frankie continued to glare at her but didn't respond. "Magenta may want to, but Frankie doesn't. I know Frankie is still in there. I know the things he's said to you. I know you're hurt and scared. But I also know how nice and warm and smart you are when you're around the right people."

Frankie slowly, very slowly lowered her hands. They stayed by her side, not lowering completely. Nevertheless, Cadence could see the faltering in her eyes. Could see them slowly losing their purple color. "He said I was weak," Frankie growled, lips violently trembling.

"You're not," Cadence said. She took a step forward, holding her outstretched hand. Frankie watched her come closer but didn't take a step back. She eyed Cadence up and down, but still didn't step back away from her. She spoke to the fire metahuman from the distance that stretched between them. As wide as a canyon.

"He was I was pathetic. That I'm worthless, a waste of space."

"If I believed that, I wouldn't have tried to help you so much. I wouldn't have willingly come to pick you up, to talk to you, to treat you the way you deserve to be treated. With love and caring. Your foster father…he's not any of those things. He's not fostering the love and care a parent should have for their child and he's certainly not a father to you. None of what happened is your fault."

"I just want him to stop hurting me."

"This isn't the way to do it. He takes his mistakes out on you. He wants that power, but he doesn't have it. You have the power to stop everything. He knows that, and he's been afraid of that. Afraid of you. You're not a scary person, Frankie. You don't deserve the terrible things that have been said about you. There's no truth in it. You may have hurt someone today, but you didn't have a choice. You have the power to stop this. Right here, right now. But if I have to make you, I'll do that, too."

Frankie stared at Cadence. She dropped her arms to her sides. Cadence took the opportunity as fast as she could. "Now, Jesse!"

Jesse nodded and ran faster, conjuring lighting as she went. Finally, she ran fast enough that the lightning completely covered her body, settling around her hands. She came to a sudden stop and spun once to keep her momentum going to her arms—much like an Olympic shot-putter—and threw her arm forward as hard as she could. The lightning streaked directly through the protective shied she created. At the same time, Cadence ripped a car door off a nearby van, making the mental note to find the owner of the car and replace it later, and threw it like a frisbee.

Frankie glared at shot her hand out towards her. Cadence smirked. Frankie did exactly what Cadence hoped she'd do. Pulling the van door to a halt brought it to the right alignment for Jesse's lightning bolt. The lightning struck the door and ricocheted, striking Frankie directly in the chest. She grunted in pain as her feet were blown out from beneath her and she went flying, crashing to the ground. She rolled along the ground, clothes smoldering as she went. Frankie growled, flipping her hair out of her face. She squeezed her hands and glared up at an advancing Cadence.

Cadence gasped as her legs suddenly felt heavily, dropping her to the ground, arms outstretched in front of her. She felt an incredible amount of pressure on her thighs and it took a second for her to realize what was happening. Frankie was using her powers to pin her to the ground via the pistols attached to her thigh holsters. If she teleported, she'd continue to faceplant no matter where she moved. Reaching out, Cadence dug her hands into the ground to give herself enough traction to pull herself forward.

Slowly but surely, Cadence started to move, coming closer and closer to Frankie. Frankie lifted her head, her entire body now shaking with effort to keep the fire metahuman down. "I don't think so," She growled, eyes glowing as bright as ever.

 _If I don't do something soon, Magenta will completely take her over,_ Cadence thought. She pushed herself up on her palms, extending her arms, then pushed herself backwards, aiding in Frankie's efforts. "Sorry, Franks, but this is going to hurt," Cadence warned. Frankie's eyebrows furrowed. With her enemy distracted, Cadence pulled herself forward and swung her body around at the same time.

It was a direct hit. Her movement threw Frankie off, so much so that she didn't see Cadence's legs snap towards her until her foot connected hard with the side of her face. Frankie fell aside, releasing her hold on Cadence, giving her the chance to teleport. In one quick move, she continued her forward momentum against the ground and grabbed Frankie around the throat, holding the crook of her arm around the young meta's neck and held her close to her body.

Frankie screeched and thrashed back and forth, trying to get away, but Cadence slowly applied the pressure of her super strength against Frankie's neck, quickly making her gasp and choke. It wouldn't take more than a second to snap her neck if needed, but Cadence wouldn't go so far so fast. No, not when she knew she could reach Frankie.

"Everything's okay, Frankie," Cadence said, continuing to hold onto her. "I've got you. I've got you."

Screeches came from Frankie's lips as she whipped back and forth, trying to break free. As the seconds passed, the shrieking lessened and turned to quiet cries that tried to be masked. Much like a little boy or girl who, tired of the pain the world inflicted on them, would cry quietly while curled in bed, not wanting to attract any attention to themselves less they brought on more pain. Frankie gradually stopped struggling, allowing the updraft Barry was creating to do most of the work to keep the tanker up, allowing him to slowly move his running path to the side, to return the tanker back to the ocean liner. Once Jesse saw what he was doing, she joined him in his run, moving the tanker across the city street.

Finally, the light faded from Frankie's eyes and her arms fell to her sides. A whimper came to her lips, big fat tears rolling down her cheeks before she broke down into hysterical sobs. Cadence dropped her arms from around Frankie's neck with a gasp and Frankie turned. She threw her arms around Cadence's waist and pressed her face against her neck. "I'm sorry," Frankie whimpered. "I'm so sorry."

"Hey, it's okay," Cadence said, gently rubbing her back. "Everything's going to be okay. You're safe now." She looked over as Barry and Jesse came to a stop beside them and gave them small smiles and nods. She exchanged a long glance with Barry then looked to Jesse, the corners of her lips turning up. "Great job."

Jesse beamed back.

* * *

"What are you doing?"

Deity turned, ready to reply with a smart comment about how she was clearly watching TV—though she wasn't quite sure what the point was of a show about people trying to survive on an island—then gaped in surprise when she saw Brady hovering above her. He looked back at her with nothing short of innocence on his face, waiting for a response.

"What?" He asked when he saw the look she was giving him. One of complete and utter bewilderment crossed with amazement.

"You can fly?" Deity asked as she continued to stare.

Brady made a face. "So can you."

"Yeah, but all Kryptonians can fly and I've always been able to fly." Deity stood up and waved a hand beneath him, her fingers passing through the air. She repeated the movement a few times, as if trying to find the "You weren't flying last time I saw you."

"I'm not really flying anyway." Brady shrugged. "Technically, I'm phasing."

"Oh." Deity continued to wave her hand back and forth beneath him. Phasing, huh? She didn't want to try to have it explained to her. It was hard enough listening to Barry tech-speak when he was explaining something about his work day. Every now and then she'd look over to Cadence or Brady for clarification, but they'd look at stumped as she did. "So, what's up? You know besides you?"

"I was going to start dinner, I came to see if you wanted to help."

Deity's eyebrows rose. "You want me to help after last time?"

"Yeah." Brady lowered to a level where he could unfold his legs and stretch them to the floor. "It's not hard," he said, now standing, only slightly shorter than Deity. "And I don't think you're going to blow up anything like you did with the eggs."

"You can use an oven by yourself?" Deity asked, a little surprised. She had a rough idea of how to use her own but if she ever needed to cook a meal for herself, which wasn't very often, then she'd stuck to the microwave.

Now Brady looked offended. "I'm ten, not four." He turned and walked back through the door to her room and out to the kitchen. Deity turned off the TV in her room and followed him—being careful to open the door he had just phased through. She pulled herself up onto a stool by the island and watched as he pulled pots and pans out of the cabinets before producing the food that was to go with them.

"You really know how to cook?" Deity asked with intrigue.

"You don't."

She didn't really like the smug edge to his voice. Then again, she didn't particularly like being shown up by a teen-year-old either. But Cadence had said they do their fair share of chores. She had thought all that meant was Brady tidied up after himself like she did with Kara. Turns out he did a bit more than that, including doing his own laundry when the time came.

"No, not really," she agreed.

"Well, it's not hard. It's just a means of following a recipe and then waiting for things to get hot." Brady said. He flipped on the radio by the sink, allowing a peal of a big brass band to start playing, then grabbed a bag of potatoes and heaved them up onto the counter. "Do you want to help?" Deity shrugged and nodded. "Okay, well, we need mashed potatoes. So take these." He pushed the bag to her and went to the sink to drain the water around the chicken left there.

Deity pulled a potato from the bag and looked it over. Okay, how hard would it be for someone to mash a potato? For a normal person it probably took some time, but for her, how hard could it be? Placing the potato down on the island surface, Deity held her hand flat above it before slamming it down with enough force to mash the potato without destroying the island. Having not thought it through, Deity squeaked slightly when bit of potato flew out from beneath her hand. Some splashed onto her shirt while some hit Brady's face and the rest were scattered throughout the kitchen. Lifting her gaze from the remains beneath her hand, Deity's eyes met Brady's almost horrified one.

"What?" She asked defensively.

"I said to mash then, not destroy them," he exclaimed with wide eyes. To him it was obvious. Then again, he was dealing with an alien hybrid from an alternative Earth.

Deity showed him her hand. "This looks pretty mashed to me."

Brady's eyelids lowered in a 'duh' look, and he pulled off a piece of potato skin that had some potato stuck to it. It swung back and forth between his fingers. "Do you want to eat this?" He tossed it aside and pulled out a potato peeler. "You skin the potato first, heat it up until they're soft, and then…" he turned to another drawer and produced a spoon. "Mash them with this."

"Okay, okay, geez." Deity frowned as she took the spoon. She examined it for a second then put it down to take the potato peeler and figure out what to do. Seven knicks on her fingers—which thankfully didn't break the peeler—a few exploded potatoes—which came from how tedious having to peel each one was—and a boiling pot of water later, dinner was almost ready. Or at least the potatoes, she had no idea what Brady was doing on the other side of the kitchen by himself.

That is, until Deity became impatient with how long it was taking for the water to boil and the potatoes to grow soft and decided to use her energy vision to speed up the process. Merely seconds after she did so, a plume of smoke erupted from the pot that had recently been filled with boiling water, and the smoke alarm went off.

Brady immediately ran over and grabbed a handle with an oven mitt and chucked it in the sink before turning on the faucet. He coughed and backed away, flapping a dish towel next to it. Deity twisted her mouth to the side, looking at the blackened lumps stuck inside. Then she noticed Brady's gaze on her and she looked at him as he continued to wave a dishtowel.

"What?" She snapped.

Brady smirked and shook his head.

"Oh, like you've never messed up when cooking?" Deity said as she placed her hands on her hips and leaned over towards him.

Barry, who stood at the door to his and Cadence's bedroom, chuckled. He turned from the open door and turned to the smoke alarm that bleated in the corner of the room. He rapidly swung his arms in a circle to suck out the smoke that slowly started to rise towards the ceiling. He turned to Cadence, who sat calmly in the middle of their bed, flipping through a newspaper.

"You don't think we need to go down and help?" He asked. He coughed lightly once the smoke cleared and folded his arms. "Last time Iris and I tried to make dinner for Joe when we were his age, we had to stay in a hotel for a few days from the smoke damage."

"Well, that's what Flash and Flare are for," Cadence said, continuing to turn pages. He smiled, noticing the little grin on her face. "We can put out a fire faster than we'd need to worry." Then she lifted her head and flashed her smile at him. "Besides, how many times have you been grateful that Brady made dinner, so you didn't have to? And it only takes you a minute at the most to have it all done."

"It looks like a minute to you, but it's hours for me."

"Boo hoo." Barry smiled as he made his way back over to the bed. He stretched out next to her. "Besides. One's a metahuman and the other's a Hybrid. I'm sure they can handle cooking." Barry tilted his head as he watched Cadence, her eyes shifted over the newspaper folded in front of her, but it didn't appear she was focusing.

"Are you alright?" He asked. Cadence let out a low humming sound in response before lifting her head to look straight across the room. "Is it Frankie? She seemed okay when we left her at STAR Labs. Caitlin said she'd keep an eye on her."

Straight after the fight with Frankie, after she managed to calm down. Barry, Cadence, and Jesse went right back to STAR Labs to have her checked for any after-effects of the power Alchemy had over her. Caitlin did as many tests as they could think of and they all came back clean. She was fine. But with the news breaks that had gone out and Julian's insistence she was a meta—which kickstarted everything—as well as her admission to want to hurt her father once more, there was a lot that needed to be cleaned up and swept under the rug. Just like what had to happen with most of the alien invasion. John James was resting peacefully in the hospital, but Cadence made a vow that CPS and the CCPD would be checking further in him sooner than he expected. If anything came up—and it appeared it would—he'd be going away for a long time.

"What about me?" Frankie asked quietly.

"Well, we probably could use someone with your skills around here," Cisco said, before Caitlin glared at him and he added begrudgingly, "But, you know, you probably wouldn't be too happy here."

"Yeah, it's not like we want her to be sleeping on a cot in the basement," Jesse couldn't help but add a little bitterly.

Cisco threw his hands into the air. "I can't help you people! I said you could stay anywhere more comfortable but no, Harry had to go insist that you two were perfectly fine down there. That it was the last line of defense if anything ever happened with 'that shotty system you call security'." He used air quotes around the words. "Yeah, he said it just like that."

Jesse chuckled, shaking her head. "That's dad," she murmured.

"And we're going to find a good foster family for you, Frankie" Caitlin said, ignoring the other two. She pressed her hand to Frankie's shoulder in reassurance. "A really good one. I promise." Frankie smiled and nodded. Shortly after, exhaustion overwhelmed her, and she slept off the excitement of the day in the medical bay while Barry, Cadence, and Harrison explained to the others everything they found out about Savitar and Alchemy.

"So we still don't know if there's an actual link between them and Breathtaker," Harrison said, twisting his mouth to the side. "But now we have some more information on all of them. And information is the strongest weapon you have."

"I think the Philosopher's Stone would beg to differ," Barry pointed out, rubbing the back of his neck. "If that thing can give powers, maybe even have the ability to take them away…then we're in trouble. Not just because of what can be done, but because of how many people he can turn into metas. How many people I don't even know had powers over there."

"So, what are we supposed to do?" Joe demanded. "Run around like chickens with our heads cut off to see who's going to be the next meta?"

"What else can we do, Joe?" Cadence pointed out. "We have no ways of tracking him since he and Savitar move faster than anything we've seen." She motioned to herself. "I can't even track them. As far as we know, they don't even belong to this Earth."

"We've never heard of Savitar on our Earth," Jesse pointed out.

"Yeah, but you'd never heard of coins, either," Cisco added.

Jesse nodded in agreement. "I think my dad mentioned something about them once but…" she trailed off, rubbing at her eyes. "Nothing about a Savitar or Alchemy."

"So, again, it winds back to be my fault," Barry said. He lifted a hand when protests started to go out through the room, mostly from HR who had, moments before, nodded along with everyone else that had been speaking. "Guys, you don't have to talk me out of what I know. This wouldn't have happened if I hadn't gone running like that and I'm just going to have to fix it." He ran his hands through his hair. "I don't know how to do it yet, but I'll figure something out."

Barry shifted his gaze back to Cadence as she turned another page of the newspaper. "And Jesse," Cadence admitted. "and Deity. It's everything." She ran her hands over her face then smiled at him over her shoulder. "It's funny, when I first met you guys I had one kid." She lifted a finger. "Then I met you and Cisco and it's like I got two more." She ignored the wounded puppy expression Barry made in response to her statement. "And with my job—CCPD and as Flare—and figuring out things with the Philosopher's Stone and Alchemy and Savitar and—"

"—It feels like you've got the entire weight of the world on your shoulders and it's slowly crushing you down?" Barry asked.

"Mhm."

"Yeah, join the club. The only difference being you've got the super strength to handle it and I don't," Barry joked. He reached out and rubbed her knee when he noticed the unamused expression that came to her face. "I'm just kidding, Cay. But it's the life of a hero, you want to save everyone, but you can't." He pretended to think. "Those words sound familiar. Who was the one who told me that before? That it was one of my flaws?"

"In my defense, I was mad at you at the time."

"In _my_ defense, I got used to doing it that way since I was the only one out in the field at the time." Hearing screams, Barry got up from the bed once more and zipped to the bedroom door. He leaned against the railing of he balcony just outside their room and leaned to the side to watch the terror unfold. His lower jaw shifted to the side when he saw Brady frantically puffing the fire extinguisher close to the oven while Deity blew into it, causing a black cloud of smoke to shoot back in her face.

Deity reached into the oven without a mitt and pulled out the tray with the chicken holding it up as the flames burnt their dinner. She was about to use her super breath to put the fire out when white foam hit her in the face, soaking before her and the chicken.

After feeling the foam slid down from her eyes, Deity blinked and opened her eyes to see Brady watching her with the fire extinguisher in his hands. "Did you really need to do that?" Deity asked slowly, holding back the annoyed tone her voice would have used to reflex her emotional state.

"There was a fire," Brady said as if it were obvious.

"Yes. And I was about to put it out," Deity said calmly.

"Sorry."

Barry smiled and shook his head, watching as Deity chased Brady around the kitchen, trying to grab the fire extinguisher form his hand. "There was a fire but it's out now," he said. "And I think Deity's getting some training in with Brady's phasing powers. She's trying to kill him."

"Great," Cadence replied.

"And the kitchen's covered in foam," Barry said, suddenly feeling very tired as he watched the fire extinguisher empty out into the kitchen.

"Well they can both clean it up."

"Dinner's burnt."

"So order some take out," Cadence said casually, as if the whole thing didn't even bother her or if it even warranted a blip on her danger radar.

Barry looked over to his shoulder at her with a bemused smile. "What's it gonna take for you to get up?"

"Something life threatening." The sound of something expensive smashing filled the air and Barry rushed out the room at super speed coming to a stop as he, Brady and Deity staring in horror at the smashed window overlooking the living room, next to the kitchen.

"What was that?" Cadence shouted from her room.

"Smashed window," Barry shouted back.

"That's not life threatening."

 _Yeah, right._ Barry could hear a frustrated tinge come to her voice. It glommed onto him when he heard a knock at the door to the apartment. "What now?" He murmured under his breath, going to answer it. As he walked over to answer it, Barry noticed Brady and Deity close behind him. Whether it was due to being curious as to who was at the door—they rarely got visitors—or because they wanted to be as far away from the window they'd broken, he wasn't sure.

Nevertheless, Barry answered the door with a nervous smile while Brady and Deity leaned around him to see who it was. For a moment Barry was surprised, but then he was knocked back with a hug so tight he was surprised his back hadn't broken.

"Barry, it's so good to see you," Maya Nash declared once she untangled herself from his hug. "With some clothes on especially." If she noticed Barry's flaming blush, she didn't notice. Instead, she clucked her tongue and shook her head in disapproval. "Gosh, you're so thin. Do you ever eat? Well, I guess as a speedster that'd be a little difficult. Are you going to let me in?"

Barry stepped back and closed the door behind her. "Cade!" Barry cased with a smirk in his voice. "It's your mom!" He blinked and then Cadence was beside him with a wary expression as she asked, "Mom, what are you doing here?"

Brady threw his hands in the air with obvious excitement. "Mamaw!" He cried. He reached his arms out towards his grandmother. "Aack!" Cadence grabbed him by the collar of his shirt, dragging it into his throat while holding him still.

"Not so fast, buster," Cadence ordered, her eyes still on her mother, who pouted at not being able to hug her grandson. "There's a broken window that needs attending to."

A pout graced Brady's lips. "There's a lot of things I can do, mom, but I don't think I can fix a window." Cadence turned a sharp glare at him and he quickly backed away, holding up his hands. "I can order a pizza, though."

"Yeah, you do that."

"Oh, don't bother." Maya waved her hand. "I'll just have whatever you've whipped up for dinner." She held her purse tightly to her chest when she noticed the haze of smoke and fire extinguisher fluid that hung in the air. "Oh dear, I hope I wasn't interrupting something. Well, something that wasn't _fun_ anyway."

Barry felt his blush deepen, despite knowing she wasn't necessarily talking about him. Cadence, as usual, took it in stride and said, "God, mom, you really know how to make things awkward." She folded her arms. "So what are you doing here anyway? How'd you know where we were?"

Maya flashed a warm smile to her daughter. "You should know by now there's nothing that'd keep me from knowing where my daughter and grandson are." Her smile faded at Cadence's sharp look. "I'm kidding, Cadey-Cat. I talked to Ryder and he told me that you moved and that you haven't had anyone over yet."

"We're still unpacking and decorating," Barry explained, finally finding his voice. "Haven't had a housewarming or anything yet."

"Oh! So, I'm the first guest?" Maya then pointed towards the kitchen where Brady had his cell phone pressed to his ear and was dodging foam Deity was flinging towards him with the other. "Or is that Brady's girlfriend?"

"No, that's our friend's daughter. She's staying with us for a while," Barry explained.

Cadence cut to the chase. "Mom, why are you here?"

"I told you, sweetie, I wanted to come see you," Maya replied. Cadence watched her for a long moment, as if trying to decide whether her mother was lying. Rather than being offended, Maya added with a soft smile, "I've missed you two and I wanted to see how you were doing face to face. Is that a crime?" Cadence shook her head. Then Maya placed her hand to Barry's shoulder. "And Barry, I'm so sorry to hear about the loss of your father. For the very short time I knew him, I could tell he was a good man."

Barry smiled his thanks, watching as Maya walked further into the apartment and perched herself onto a stool and carefully pushed foam from the fire extinguisher away before reaching into her purse for a wet nap to clean herself. Cadence let out a frustrated sigh and rested her hand atop her head.

Barry gently placed his arm around her shoulders and pulled her close to him. "What's wrong? I thought you and your mom were getting along now."

"We are," Cadence said. "But…I know she's lying. About being here. She's not _this_ impulsive to drop everything and show up unannounced. For holidays? Yes, that makes sense. But for things like this? No. She's only that spontaneous about buying furniture. I just can't figure out why and it's driving me crazy. Even more so than everything else at the moment." She gazed at him. "Do you ever wish you had the ability to stop time and just…live in the moment? I could really use that right now."

Barry smiled. "Well, I can't do that," he said slowly. "But I think I know what could cheer you up."

Cadence gave him a wry smile. "You're not going to sing to me, are you?"

Barry's smile widened. "No, I'm saving that for Valentine's Day." Cadence laughed quietly. "How about a date? Fancy dinner, quiet restaurant, where it's just the two of us. And we talk about everything… _anything…_ but this."

Cadence leaned back against the wall behind her, letting out a breath so heavily that it moved her bangs off her forehead. Suddenly, she felt very tired. "I could really use that." Then her eyes flickered towards the broken window. "But not tonight."

"No, definitely not."

* * *

 **A/N:** I think I'm most proud of coming up with the chapter title. Haha. Anyway, I hope you all enjoyed it and thank you for checking it out. I know FFN is still being a bit buggy with alerts and everything so there's that in terms of my not wanting to update. But I've also been working hard so there's that. For those that read stories in the other fandoms I write in, sorry I haven't updated anything in a long while.

But I hope this chapter with a little bit of everyone makes up for it. We've got some development with Wally and Jesse, together and by themselves. And now we have more information with Breathtaker and Savitar. Wonder what'll happen with that. ;) lol.

Please remember to review; any feedback helps me become a better writer and motivates me to write more. I respond to every review, even anonymous ones.

 **Cheers,**

 **-Riley**

 **PS -** Whomever is reviewer 125 will get a sneak peek into the numerical next chapter. (So I don't know if that'd be the next one (18) or the one after (19) etc.).

 **Review Replies**

 **Ethan:** Barry and Caitlin always have a great friendship and I needed to show it more as the stories went on. I've shown a lot of Cisco's and Caitlin's and Cadence's and Caitlin's, but not Barry's and Caitlin's. So, it needed to come up again.

 **DarkHelm145:** Yeah, I really felt that the rooftop was a better one for the conversation. It just felt cooler to me. Just like how this confrontation with Frankie happened during the day. It felt better to me.

 **Yummers:** Hope you liked it.

 **PowerHero142:** Yeah, Barry was sidelined a bit for this one. I did that on purpose as I felt it makes more sense for him for what's coming up next. (Can't say too much but you'll see it and I think you'll agree it makes sense then). Julian is fun to write as an antagonist. Working on his and Barry's relationship as things go on will be fun. Plenty to explore for it as well as with Cadence and Jesse. I've hinted towards things with their relationship in this one.


	18. Danger Looms Closer

**18**

 _Danger Looms Closer_

* * *

Frankie was sent away from Central City. As much as she'd preferred to stay, she knew it was the best thing for her. She had to find a place where her powers wouldn't put her in any danger, where she'd never get to the point of pain and suffering that'd make Magenta come out and attack once more. Caitlin kept her word and made sure Frankie was placed with a foster family that'd be amazing to her. A foster family they'd found through other means not typically used—using their technology to find a family that wouldn't mind having a meta as their new foster kid—and bid their goodbyes.

Frankie had hesitated before leaving, it took a lot to understand how she was causing so much pain and suffering to others when she wasn't aware of it. Hard to wrap her head around knowing she had an alter-ego of sorts that controlled her as much as she controlled it. All because she wanted to gain a sense of power in her life after feeling nothing but incredible pain at the hands of John James.

The same man who Iris and Cadence visited in the hospital. The same man who made numerous comments under his breath of how "Frankie was always a weirdo, scuttling around, peeking around corners like a cockroach" and "That freak is getting what she deserves, always been a pain in my ass." It was bad enough that Cadence had to bite her tongue while waiting for him to finish, silently threatening to set his hospital room on fire. Iris, on the other hand, didn't have to keep quiet. Her journalistic integrity was one that would allow her to ask the hard questions when needed.

The moment came when John continued his tirade against his foster daughter by murmuring, "That damn metahuman freak nearly killed me. That's what I get for taking her in, God help me if I see her again." At the same time, Iris and Cadence stiffened. Not just because they were part of Team Flash and had been able to befriend other metas over the years. But because of the cool, callous way he said the words. Proving he truly meant it.

Iris straightened herself, sucking a short breath through her nose. It was one thing to hear horror stories from her father and Barry over the years. Stories that were tame enough for her to be told, but still those that would make a civilian's stomach twist and turn with disgust. She placed her hands on her hips. "What does that mean?"

John rolled his gaze to Iris, lazily looking her up and down. He dismissed her with a short shake of his head. "It means she'll be the one who ends up in the hospital," he murmured, then swallowed thickly, muttering, "Damn hospitals don't know how to keep people healthy around here. Where's that nurse when you need them?"

Instead, Iris brought the man's attention back to her, slapping her hand down onto John's broken leg, making him yelp in pain, jerking along on the bed. "Tough love, right?" She demanded, tightening her grasp along him as she did so. "Have to make sure she knows when to stay in line, be seen and not heard?"

"That sounds like something you've been taught before."

Iris bared her teeth and moved her grasp to John's shoulder. Cadence said her name in a low protest, but still allowed Iris to continue. She dug her long nails into the skin, making him continued to squirm in discomfort, not wanting to show he much she was hurting him. "My father loved me enough to know that harsh discipline isn't the way you show love. I can only hope that, where you're going, you learn that sooner rather than later."

"I hope you don't mind the hospital walls," Cadence added. "And being waited on hand and foot." She walked to the bed and slapped her palm against the metal railing. The ring that sat around her pinkie clanged with the hit. "Because you're going to be begging for them by the time the CCPD gets through with you. I hope you have a good lawyer because, at this rate, you're never going to see the light of day again."

John James was arrested for the abuse he subjected Frankie and his wife to, only charged once his wife stepped in to admit everything that was happening. And yet, with that victory in mind, there was still no sign of Savitar, Alchemy, or The Assassination Bureau since that day, leaving Team Flash on edge. Even with increased patrols over the city and their training, Team Flash was still on edge.

When he wasn't training, Barry was in the Cortex, staring at screens that overlooked Central City, waiting for something, anything to show up. He pressed his mouth into his cupped hands and rested his elbows on the counter top. Nothing. Nothing. More nothing.

"Come on," Barry murmured, eyes shifting back and forth, almost daring anything to show up. Even so far as a criminal so that he could run out and get rid of the nerves that made his muscles constrict and threaten to spring into action. "Come _on."_

"Dude, I don't think you're going to will anything into happening," Cisco said from Barry's other side. Barry jumped, not having noticed Cisco come up beside him. "I mean, it'd be totally awesome if you could, but I think even _that's_ impossible."

"Yeah, you're just going to drive yourself crazy the longer you try to think about it," Caitlin added. She gently shook her head, ringlets bouncing around her face. "You're just going to drive yourself crazy."

"You mean he's not yet?"

Barry ignored Cadence's teasing comment, though had to try hard to resist the urge to roll his eyes. He was even further brought away from his thought when he felt a sharp pain against his thigh. "Ow!" He yelped and backed away when he saw Brady standing by his side, holding his bow staff, of which he'd just finished training with.

"Sorry, Barry," Brady quickly apologized. "I didn't realize I was standing so close." He peered up at the older man, squeezing an eye shut. "Are you thinking about Savitar again?"

"It's all I ever think about," Barry said honestly.

He brushed his hands over his face and leaned back in his seat, as far as the back would let him bend. What else was there to think about? They knew about the Philosopher's Stone. Knew about Alchemy being his pet, his own avatar to what Savitar wanted. Knew he was a God of speed. And what? What could they do with all that information. His mind continued to run at the speed of light, coming up with every scenario possible in figuring out what Savitar needed Alchemy for if Savitar was simply trying to get to him to…do what?

 _Other than kill me,_ Barry thought with a wry smile.

HR's voice broke through the gloom of Team Flash. "Look at all of those sourpusses!" Barry cracked an eye open and watched in dismay as HR walked into the Cortex carrying a large box in his arms. "It's like looking at an oil painting. You know, of those farm people. I mean, we never had them on our Earth, but I saw it in one of your nifty sculpture edifices."

Brady's nose wrinkled in confusion and he turned an exasperated glance towards Cadence, who shrugged in response before twirling her finger by her head. Brady smiled then turned his gaze to Barry, who had simply brought his hands back down to cover his face. The last thing he needed was for more of HR's antics and it didn't look like either of his problems were going to go away anytime soon.

"You mean a museum," Caitlin said.

Cisco's eyes widened in surprise. "Oh, is _that_ what he meant?" Caitlin turned a smug smile his way and Cisco stretched his lips back into a wide smile in response. Then he sat up and tapped his fingertips on the counter surrounding his computer. "Wait, does this still have to do with that stupid STAR Labs Museum you were talking about?"

"Yes!" HR whipped his drumsticks out his back pocket and pointed them directly at Cisco and adopted a voice that a game show host would have. "You've won the grand prize. He's won the grand prize! Tell him what he's won!" His voice echoed around the Cortex, arms spread as wide as the smile on his face. There was a long moment of silence before HR's smile wilted to a frown. "My God, you people really need to figure out how to get some cheer around here. It's almost the holidays you know."

"Don't remind me," Cadence said, pressing her hands to her hips. "Not only do I have to worry about Thanksgiving now that my mom's here, but I've got this one's birthday to think about,"—she jerked her thumb over towards Brady. Cisco followed her gaze and frowned, pushing his candy cabinet rawer shut, only giving Brady seconds to get his fingers back out of the way before it was closed on it. " _And_ Christmas. The last thing I want to deal with is the opening of a museum."

"Well, that's too bad Candace—"

"—Cadence—"

"—Because I was thinking of putting you in charge of choreography."

"Choreog—" Barry dropped his hands from his face and sat up straight. He exchanged horrified glances with Cisco and Caitlin as they whipped their heads towards him at the same time. Their expression both shot massive amounts of ' _do something'_ at him. While Barry could only raise his eyebrows back, ' _What am I supposed to do_?' "What do we need choreography for?"

HR shook his head like a disappointed parent, folding his arms. "Honestly, it's like you all haven't been to an opening of a museum before, BA. We need the choreography for the dancers that will be greeting the guests at the opening. I've got it all figured out." He reached back towards the box he put down and opened it with a flourish. "By the way, I need you all to figure out what font looks better on these flyers. They're going to be passed around soon."

A groan escaped Barry's lips and he scrubbed his face with his fingertips. His head was starting to hurt. It wasn't that he didn't like HR, he tolerated him enough, but now. Right now? Caitlin seemed to have had the same thought for she cleared her throat and carefully sidled up to HR's side.

Placing her hand on his shoulder she said, "HR, this is a great idea."

"I know, isn't it?" HR's smile was unflappable.

"But maybe we can worry about it later," She said. "There's already so much we're dealing with on our plates and maybe's now's not the best time for the museum opening." She tightened her grasp and shook his shoulder. "Not that we're not happy for you and what you've managed to accomplish. But let's just put this away for later."

HR nodded through everything Caitlin said, then pointed at her. "Uh-huh, uh-huh. Okay. I think I see what the problem is." Caitlin blinked in surprise. "You're worried about not having a date for the party. But that's okay, Caitlin. That's okay, because…" he placed his hand on his chest while Caitlin's eyes widened even further. "I will graciously step in as your guest of honor. I'd love to. Thank you for asking."

"She didn't _ask_ you," Cisco practically barked. He stood up, pressing his palms flat against the counter top, leaving Brad the chance to phase his hand through the drawer and dig around for a chocolate bar. "Okay? Because she already has a date." He jabbed himself in the chest. "Me. Okay, now just take those flyers and you can shove them—"

"Cisco!" Cadence interrupted firmly, though there was an amused twinkle in her eye that couldn't be stifled. "I think he gets the point. You don't have to threaten him." She waited for Cisco to make the shape of a 'V' with his fingers, point at himself, then point at HR before sitting back down. "No need to get green-eyed-monster on anyone."

"Yeah, I mean, I didn't know you and Caitlin had some sort of," HR wiggled his fingers back and forth between the scientists, who gaped at each other. "Romantic entanglement going on. Had I known, I would've never tried to but in like that."

"What?" Caitlin's eyes widened in surprise.

Cisco laughed nervously. "What? No. Me and Caitlin. Pshht." He batted the air with his hand. "Like that'd ever happen. Haha. No, no, definitely not." He continued to chuckle, scratched right behind his ear, a smile froze on his face. A smile which seemed to freeze even further when Caitlin pursed her lips in offense, as if silently asking him what was wrong if they were to start dating. That was a whole can of worms he wasn't ready to open. "Someone, _please_ stop me," he murmured.

"Oh no, I'm having a _lot_ of fun with this conversation," Cadence said, folding her arms with a smirk. HR mimicked her movement, all with an earnest smile and nod. "What were you saying, Cisco?"

Barry got up from his chair and went to Cadence, placing his hand on her shoulder. "Please stop trying to give Cisco a heart attack, I need him." He gave the fire metahuman a peck on the cheek and said, "Right now I need answers and there's only one person I know to go to who can give it."

"Well, I'm not sure there's anything I can do to help you, BA," HR said modestly, giving a low bow.

Barry and Cadence ignored him. "Do you need some backup?" Cadence asked, gazing at her boyfriend curiously, wondering what thought was going through his head.

"Not unless you can teleport to other Earths," he replied.

Cadence thought for a moment then shook her head. None of them had tested it before, and they had no idea of the consequences if she really could do it. As far as they knew, the top half of her body could get to one Earth and the other would be at another.

HR continued speaking as if everyone were still paying attention to him, not noticing they'd all tuned him out to do their own thing. "But if you really want to chat we can just pop up to the room that we use for my office and—"

Barry got to his feet and before anyone could stop him. He raced to Cisco and slapped him on the back. Hard enough to make Cisco jump in surprise at the sudden movement, but not so much to bruise him. Cisco's jump forced him to open a portal and Barry raced through, allowing it to take him all the way to Earth-3.

The moment he arrived, he looked over to find The Trickster being led away by cops, hands shackled behind his back, laughing as he went. Trickster's eyes landed on him and widened, glancing back towards the scarlet speedster standing behind him.

"There's something wrong with my eyes," Trickster said. His purple painted lips spread into a maniacal grin. A wheezing laugh escaped his lips, the officers dragging him towards the waiting squad car. "I'm seeing double."

Jay Garrick folded his arms over his bulging pectorals and tipped his hat towards Trickster as he was taken away. Barry grinned when he spotted his friend. Everything about his suit screamed 'old fashioned' but even from the distance he stood, Barry saw the speedster continue to hold a command of things around him. "I'd love to see you try," Jay replied. He repositioned his helmet when the police car peeled away from the curb with the sirens screaming. Jay then flicked a laser-like focus onto Barry. "It's good to see you, kid," he remarked, not seeming surprised to see him.

Barry lifted his hand in a short wave before replacing it to the pocket of his jeans. "Likewise," He agreed. Then he licked his lips and looked around. Earth-3, in comparison to Earth-1 and 2 looked retro. While Earth-1 was the reality he was used to, and Earth-2 holding a golden glow over nearly everything, the third Earth had neon colors everywhere. The automobiles, though Barry being able to hear the GPS blaring instructions of the one that pulled up at the nearby light, seemed to come straight from the fifties.

"Talk about a blast to the past," Barry murmured, lifting a hand to run through his hair.

Jay laughed. "Traveling to different Earths as much as you do must through you off," he said. He removed his helmet and held it against his chest. He looked like he was about to stand for the National Anthem. "But something tells me you didn't come all the way to my Earth to deal with the Trickster."

"There's something I need to talk to you about," Barry said, not bothering to pretend it wasn't true. He took a deep breath to steady himself. Waited for Jay's response as he said. "A speedster. Named Savitar."

Jay's head tilted back, eyes shifting towards the sky. Barry knew in that exact movement Jay knew exactly who Barry was referring to. Jay pressed his lips together then took in a deep breath. He held up a finger and in a whirl of color, changed his clothes, then grabbed Barry's arm, dragging him somewhere at the speed of light and sound. When they came to a stop, Barry twisted around to face the restaurant they stopped in front of.

Motor Car Diner.

Barry read the sign above the door then slowly nodded. Of course. It was the place his father loved to bring him and the same place his father's doppelganger had brought him and Brady when he wanted Barry's explanation about Flashpoint. _Must be something that every version of Henry Allen enjoys,_ Barry thought, a flash of pain shooting through him. He followed Jay into the diner. How long had it been since he'd thought of his father? Thought of him without feeling the horrific amount of pain and fear that'd stuck with him since watching him become murdered. At the thought, Barry stopped by the hostess stand.

They were in the Motor Car Diner when Zoom had grabbed his father and raced him off.

 _Lightning crackled. Henry was yanked out of his seat. Zoom's arm wrapped around his neck. Barry stared at him. Everything moved in slow motion. Zoom and Barry stared at each other before moving at the exact same second. Barry leapt to his feet, stretching his hands out towards Zoom as Zoom turned on his heel and streaked from the diner. Barry raced after him and a few seconds later, Cadence was on her feet and teleported after them, grabbing Roy along the way._

 _Barry pumped his arms and legs sprinting after Zoom. Faster, faster. He had to catch him. Had to save his father. Had to get him back safely. He couldn't go through his again. Not again. Not again. Had to save. Had to protect. Had to—_

 _Zoom streaked around a street corner and raced into a house all the while Barry running after him. They stopped in the living room. Barry stood over the threshold, running into an invisible brick wall. No. Please no. Not his home. Not his childhood home. Not again. He took a deep breath and forced himself to go inside. He could handle it. He went through the same thing in the Speed Force, but that had been like a dream, now…_

 _Who could handle real life when a cosmic dream was more than enough?_

 _Still, Barry forced himself to cross the threshold and walk towards the living room. Zoom was standing behind Henry, arm wrapped around his neck and cowl pulled down. Barry glared into Zoom's—Hunter's—face, waiting for him to say something. A cold, black darkness crept through Barry's body, weighing him down. His subconscious knew what was going to happen long before the rest of him did._

 _"It's poetic, returning to your childhood home," Zoom rasped to Barry. The merry light in his eyes made Barry curl his fingers into fists. He was so preoccupied with Zoom, he didn't notice Cadence and Roy appear behind him, Roy with his bow drawn and pointing an arrow directly at Zoom._

 _No._ _Barry lifted a hand and stretched it towards Zoom. He stepped forward, foot pressing into a squeaky floorboard. It was the only other sound in the otherwise silent room. Even Henry stood still, watching his son. Barry's eyes shot to his father's. Don't worry, I'll save you. "Don't do this," Barry whispered. "I'm begging you. I'm begging you." He thumped a hand against his chest. "Take me. Take me instead." He licked his lips, swallowed hard. Throat as dry as a furnace. "Kill me. Kill me!"_

 _"No!" Henry shouted._

 _"Barry," Cadence said from behind him. She exchanged a glance with Roy, he continued to hold the bow directly at Zoom, fingers slowly starting to tremble from the immense strain of pulling the bowstring tight._

 _"Look at me," Henry said to Barry. Barry shifted his gaze to his father. Shook his head. There had to be something else. Anything else. But Zoom was as fast as him, faster…Words were the only weapon now. "Look at me, son." Henry sucked in a deep breath through his nose, spoke through gritted teeth. "Don't take your eyes off me."_

 _"Barry," Cadence repeated. This time with more force. The tension in the room immediately rose._

 _"You still won't believe me that you and I are the same," Zoom growled. "That there isn't anything that separates us from each other. That you think you're better than me."_

 _"Come on." Had he said it out loud? Had he whispered it? Yelled it? Each word sounded like a bomb dropping. Shattering everything in sight. But the walls stood tall around them, waiting for the final nail removal that'd take them down. "Come on, Zoom."_

 _Zoom continued as if he hadn't heard Barry say anything at all. "So I'm going to have to make you believe me."_

 _"No," Barry whimpered. His lower jaw started to tremble. Eyes stung. There had to be something. Anything that could be done. Anything other than what was about to happen. His heart rammed against his throat. He knew what was about to happen. His blood went cold. Every part of him turned to ice._

 _"Whatever happens," Henry said firmly. "You've made me the happiest father."_

 _"Dad," Barry gasped. His jaw shook fiercely. Body equally turned hot. He felt itchy, wanting to tear off his skin, wanted to tear off Zoom's head just as badly._

 _"This time." Zoom showed all of his teeth as he grinned. A Cheshire grin that couldn't be contained. "You're going to watch your parent die, just like I did."_

 _"No. NO!" Barry shouted._

 _"This is what's going to make you just. Like. Me."_

 _Father and son's eyes met._

 _"Your mother and I love—"_

 _One last time._

 _"Zoom!"_

 _And just like that, Zoom rammed his hand through Henry's heart. Blood splattered along the walls, across Barry's Cadence's, and Roy's faces, dripped to the floor, stuck to Zoom's finger tips along with tiny shreds of Henry's heart._

 _" **NO!** " The pain of Barry's scream ripped through his throat._

Barry pushed the thought away, trying to focus on anything but the memories that came flying back. He let out a long breath and hollowly gave his order to the waiter that came by, tapping the back of his fork on the counter. Jay eyed him for a long moment before reaching out and firmly pressing his hand against Barry's. Barry quickly pulled his hand back and lifted his eyebrows in a silent apology.

The waiter then brought them their food ten minutes later. "So, Savitar," Jay said as soon as the waiter walked away. He calmly cut into his stack of pancakes before drowning it in a puddle of syrup, making sure every layer was hit. "You've grown powerful enough to challenge him."

"Who is he?" Barry mixed his eggs and sausages together before starting in on it. He looked at the plates that covered the table and chuckled to himself. It was only a matter of time until they were empty, and even more plates covered the table top. "Other than a speedster, I mean."

"Don't know," Jay said flatly. Barry's shoulders slumped in frustration. How come they could never get answers right when they needed them? "Never seen him. But you're the only one fast enough who has." Jay blew through half of his plate in a few seconds. Barry followed him seconds later, moving his plate aside to grab another one. "Every story I've heard about Savitar is the same. Savitar was the first man ever granted speed. And over time, he became the god of motion. The fastest of us all. Before Savitar graces an earth with his presence, he sends a predecessor to prepare for his arrival."

A predecessor? _Can only be one person,_ Barry thought. How many times had he seen Alchemy sticking around those that had just gotten or were about to get their powers? And with their last encounter, he'd admitted as such, "Alchemy," Barry mumbled through a full mouth. Jay nodded. "So he uses Alchemy to warn people. To prepare us. What's he preparing for?"

"I'm sure it's obvious by now, Barry. Every speedster seems to have the same goal as of late."

"To be fast?"

"To kill you."

Barry made a show of sarcastically snapping his fingers. "Darn, and I was thinking they just wanted to get faster and go away. I guess I'm 3 for 3 in pissing people off with my speed." He bobbed his head back and forth. "More, if you count what happened with Flashpoint."

"Well, Barry, I can't say you're wrong. With Flashpoint, you've proven the speed and abilities you have. You threaten his power and all he wants is for that threat to be eliminated." Jay moved onto his fourth plate with Barry a split second behind. "It's common conjecture through the Speed Force. Rumors…if Savitar has come for you, he'll be back to finish the job."

Barry shrugged, hoping the false bravado he fronted wasn't see-through. "Then I'll be ready." He had no choice. If Savitar was going to be around for a while, he had to be there to make sure everyone was safe. This time on a grander scale if only _he_ could see Savitar. The amount of people that'd fall pray to his traps…

"You mean _we'll_ be ready," Jay corrected him. Barry paused, nearly dropping his fork and knife to his plate in surprise. "Savitar…if he's exactly as people say he is…then you'll need as much help as you can get."

"But I've looked through all the books and papers I could think of. Mythology, spirits, demi-gods, and no mention of Savitar. Not once."

Jay tried to hide the smug smile that came to his face but failed. "In my experience, the answers tend to come in time." He pushed his massive stack of plates aside and dabbed at his lips with a napkin. He smiled towards the couple that sat at the table next to them, staring at their mountain of dishes and cutlery. "And that seems to be something I've told you recently if memory serves correctly."

"Actually, you broke a mug and then told me I couldn't put things back together the way it was before," Barry corrected him.

"Same principle."

A frustrated grunt escaped Barry's lips. He sank back in his seat. "I can't wait for Savitar or alchemy to attack. Someone could get hurt."

"You can't worry about what may or may not lie ahead," Jay deflected. "Besides, this is a time that you should be with the ones you care about." He leaned forward and looked Barry in the eye. "There's no way for you to know that Savitar is watching your every move. But if you continue to question it, not only will you drive yourself crazy, but then you'll play right into his plans. To break you. Barry, you don't know where he is right now and that's okay. Get your head out of the books and get back with your loved ones when you've got the chance. There's more to being The Flash than Barry-Allen-being-the-flash."

Barry twisted his mouth to the side and slowly started to smile. What could he say? When Jay was right, he was right. "What about you?" Barry asked. He folded his arms and returned Jay's look. "What about your loved ones?"

"My loved ones…" Jay chuckled, tearing up his napkin into small pieces. "Well, let's just say they do their best to understand what I do. Sometimes I disappointed them, sometimes I make them proud. All I know is I have their unconditional love and support."

Barry nodded. Memories of his parents flashed through his mind once more, making him push it away as quickly as he raced to Earth-3.

He was getting good at that.

* * *

"But if you really want to chat we can just pop up to the room that we use for my office and—" Quick as a wink, Barry disappeared through a breach. HR pursed his lips and looked in the direction Barry had just disappeared in. "Rude, he could have at least thought of a better way to say 'no'."

"How could he?" Cisco asked. "You never shut up." He exchanged a smile with Brady, who did his best to duck his head and hide his laughter. Cisco replaced the last of the papers that flew off his desk in Barry's wake and settled back in his chair. Seconds later, they were knocked back to the ground when Jesse screeched to a stop in the middle of the Cortex.

She leaned over, trying to keep her balance then stood up straight, using both hands to brush her hair back from her face. Cisco let out a loud yelp sound then dropped his forehead back to his desk with a low _thud._ Caitlin and Brady both jumped at the sound and exchanged glances before laughing.

"Whoops." Jesse covered her mouth with her hand. "Sorry, Cisco."

"Ah, fair Jesse!" HR cried regally. "And what do we the pleasure of your presence?"

Jesse twisted her mouth to the side. "Is that supposed to be a dig at me?"

"No, it's just HR being weird as usual," Brady said. He blew his fringe from his face then looked up at Caitlin, snapping his bow staff back into the Shadow Shot. He shoved it into the pocket of his jeans and asked, "Aunt Caitlin, how long do you think Cisco will be like this?"

Caitlin studied the back of her friend's head as she rubbed his back in soothing circles. "I don't know. Probably another hour. Why?"

"It's probably the only time you'd get some of your pizza pockets without him sniffing around."

"Ooh. Good idea. Let's go get some."

Cadence smiled and ruffed Brady's hair as he passed. Then she regarded Jesse with a raised eyebrow and folded arms. Jesse's smile immediately faded and she turned on her heel, starting to high-tail it out of the Cortex at a fast walk with Cadence right behind her. "Uh-oh, I know that look."

"Do you?" Cadence walked along with her. There was no point in a burst of speed, Cadence would've gotten to her room first, her teleporting projecting her faster than the speedster's run. "What look?"

"The, 'you're-in-trouble', look," Jesse explained. She clasped her hands behind her back. "I've gotten that look from my dad enough to recognize it. You do almost an exact same look, but yours is far less scary."

"That's because I don't work with fear, I work with tough love," Cadence said. "It's worked for me so far. I never have to ask Brady to do something more than twice." Jesse laughed as the two arrived at Jesse's room. "So where've you been? We haven't seen you around much lately and you missed training today."

"I know," Jesse said. She came to a stop, blushed, and started to rub her arm. "I was…I was with—"

"—Wally," Cadence finished for her. Jesse's blush darkened. "Figures. I mean, who doesn't want to spend all their time with the person they think is more awesome than the Super Bowl and the Country Music Awards all rolled into one?" She smiled. "How do you think I manage to spend so much time with Barry?"

"Barry likes the Country Music Awards?" Jesse asked.

"No, that's me. He's more of a Lady Gaga fan."

"Okay, that makes a lot more sense." Jesse laughed, walking across the floor of her bedroom. The bedroom she used to share with her father. She stretched her arms in front of her, lowering herself to her bed. "I hope I didn't miss too much. I know training is important and everything. I'm sorry I missed it. But…I still want to be a kid, you know? And, it's not like I don't have the same things drilled into my head over and over. Be a hero when you need to be a hero. Be responsible, smart…"

Cadence shook her head. "Hate to break it to ya, but we went over much more than dodging at high speeds today. There's a lot more to speedster training than that. I know it gets annoying, but repetition is key. Barry mentors you on the speed, I mentor you on the fighting, the physical aspect."

Jesse looked up at her alternate-sister with raised eyebrows. "What? Are you saying you're going to kick my ass?"

"I've been thinking about it," Cadence teased back.

Jesse hoped she was teasing, she wasn't quite sure despite the friendly smile on the fire metahuman's face. Jesse had watched Barry and Cadence in the field form STAR Labs and seen many times how she'd smile when taking down a meta with flames burning it the background. It could be scary sometimes. If it weren't for the normally cheery, cheerleader disposition Cadence habitually had, Jesse would've thought she had some sort of Dr. Jeckyll and Mr. Hyde thing going on.

A sigh escaped Jesse's lips. "I'm sorry," she repeated. "It won't happen again. With Savitar around, I know it's getting serious. I'll get serious." She nodded once, then looked away. Embarrassed once more. "It's just so weird…I've liked guys before. But not like this. It's like, every time Wally and I hold hands we…I can feel this…this tingling between us."

Cadence smiled. "Like sparks." She knew exactly what that was like. Long before realizing her own feelings for Barry, she felt nothing short of sparks when she was around him. Nothing felt better than finding that person in life that made you feel your best self. Simultaneously, nothing was worse than the fear of them being taken away.

"Yeah, but…on a bigger scale. You know?" Jesse twisted her mouth to the side. She heaved a sigh so heavy it appeared she was about to collapse in on herself. "I wish things could be different."

"Different how?"

"I can't stay here forever. I know that, you know that. I'm just getting training done before I go back to my Earth. To my dad. He's handling everything over there on his own and…" Jesse tilted her head, staring at the photograph of herself and Harry that sat on her bedside table. A makeshift table made of Caitlin's leftover medical cart. "Maybe I'm having too much fun."

"And he wouldn't really approve?" Understatement of the year. Harry was very forceful and played by the rules as often as he could. He wasn't anyone who managed to smile so much, unless he was making fun of Cisco in some way. Otherwise his very forceful and abrasive attitude managed to be great the best of times and a pain in the ass at the worst.

Jesse snorted. "No. Definitely not. He'd say I need to get my work done and worry about boys later. That someone with my powers should think about using it for good not trying to attract the opposite sex."

Cadence snorted. "My dad would've said…" she thought for a moment, trying to picture his voice. It took a lot longer than usual to pinpoint it, the nearly always jolly lift to his voice she couldn't picture. Then it came back. Ah, there it is. "'You're young, have fun'." Cadence paused. It was like she could practically hear his wheezing laugh.

Jesse's nose wrinkled in confusion and disbelief. "Your Harrison Wells would've said _that?"_

"No, not Harrison, my dad." A chuckle escaped Cadence's lips. "He wouldn't have said it at first because he worried about my having powers. He didn't want people to treat me badly or want to experiment on me or something. But he probably would've said it now. He died a year ago."

"Oh, I'm sorry," Jesse said.

Cadence waved her hand. "Don't worry about it, I'm not…" her voice trailed off. An alarm went off in the back of her head. A year. _A year?_ Did she say it'd been a year? _Has it really, already been a year?_ How could it have been a year already? Cadence frowned, eyebrows furrowing together. Memories shot through her mind. The last moment she had with her father. Thanksgiving the year before.

Thanksgiving at the West house. Thanksgiving with all her friends. Her family together for the first time. Harrison, Tess, Kent, and Maya all together for the first time in years. Cadence squeezed her eyes shut, willing herself to remember. Was he smiling? Why couldn't she remember if he was smiling? He had to be smiling, right? He was visiting his family, working to make things better.

He _had_ to be smiling.

Pain started to erupt through Cadence's chest, making I hard to breathe.

"Cade?" Jesse asked.

Why couldn't she remember?

"Cadence, are you okay?"

Cadence brought her hands up to her cheeks, moved to push her bangs back from her forehead. She was sweating. When did she start sweating? Why was everything so hot? She needed answers. Cadence took a step back. "I need to go home," She murmured. "Tell the others where I went." Before Jesse could respond, Cadence teleported back to the apartment.

"Hi, honey," Maya greeted as Cadence arrived. She set her glass of wine aside, lowering the volume of the TV as she did so. Cadence had the sudden thought that her mother was supposed to be in a hotel or at Jitters or something and wondered how she managed to get into the apartment without a key but didn't dwell on it. "I was just talking to that cute little alien you have around." Normally, Cadence would've cringed and rolled her eyes at her mother's statement. She'd been particularly fascinated with Deity once it was revealed she wasn't from their planet. Asking as many questions about Krypton and what it was like to be an alien with Cadence apologizing every time (though Deity didn't seem to mind the intrusive questions). "Did you know she had no ideas of soap operas? She's missing out. I just ran her through the history of the Young and the Restless and she got upset. I told her it was just a show and that none of these people are real—"

"—Mom," Cadence started. Her chest hurt. No. Her _heart_ hurt. And it continued to grow with each passing second. She could feel hysteria start to take her over.

"Well, I have no idea if they have TV where she's from or knows anything about acting. But I don't understand her being upset about it. Though I guess one of the kids trying to kill their mothers for their money isn't very cheerful—"

"—Mom, why are you here?" Cadence blurted.

Maya looked at her funny, twisting fully on the couch to face her daughter. She lifted a perfectly sculpted and plucked eyebrow. "I already told you, Cadey-Cat." She looked at her daughter closely. "is everything okay? Is there some meta stuff going on?" She got up from her seat and started towards Cadence. The fire metahuman shook her head and took a step back. No. She couldn't deal with her mom going into 'mom-mode'. Not now. "You know, you look tired, sweetie. And very thin. Have you been sleeping well? Eating? Let me whip up something for you."

"Are you here to see us?"

"Honey, I said—"

"Are you here to see us?" Cadence's voice rang through the apartment. "Or because daddy's dead?"

Cadence's words made Maya falter. Her smile stayed frozen on her face for a few seconds before the corners of her lips turned down. Maya sighed heavily, bringing her fingers up to play with the pearl necklace hanging around her throat. "Things have been pretty lonely for me," Maya finally admitted. "Since your father died. And…I thought it'd be…" she took a deep breath. "it's hard for me in Metropolis right now. I can't stay there. Not right now."

Cadence squeezed her eyes shut. Some daughter she was. As selfish and self-centered as ever. "Why didn't you say anything?"

"I didn't want to bother you."

 _Argh._ Cadence's hands clenched into fists. "You wouldn't have bothered me, mom."

"Wouldn't I?" Maya feebly gestured around the apartment. "You have your whole life here. You've got your friends, Brady, Barry. I didn't really have anyone. You'd think there was some shortage of feelings once people got money in their hands." Cadence couldn't help but smile. "And, there was no one there that would understand."

"Understand what, mom?"

"Understand what it's like to lose your best friend. You face that every day, if there was anyone who could handle it, it'd be you."

Cadence's jaw dropped. Then she closed it. The pain in her chest continued to increase in pressure as the seconds passed. She was going to break and soon. Her mother was hurting, and she hadn't even realized it. Hadn't realized how long _she'd_ been hurting for the past year. And it was all about to erupt in a fiery blaze that she couldn't quite handle at the moment. Instead of responding to her mother, Cadence turned on her heel and went to her room. She stopped by the closed door to the guest room when she heard quiet sniffling from inside.

Swallowing hard, Cadence glanced at her mother over her shoulder, watched as Maya picked up her glass and drain the rest of the pale liquid inside. Sighing, Cadence straightened herself and knocked on the door to Deity's room. Receiving no response, she knocked again and opened the door. "Debby?" She called, then cleared her throat after hearing how whispered it was. Cadence stepped into the darkened room and noticed the curled up lump on the bed first and the packed bag by the floor second.

"Debby?" Cadence asked, walking closer to the form on the bed. Deity continued to keep her back to Cadence, her shoulders shaking as she cried. "Debby?" Still, Deity didn't answer. Cadence gently sat down next to her and waited. Waited for Deity to compose herself a little.

The teen girl continued to sniffle, but soon found her voice to say, "I try to forget about it. I try to push it out of my head, but I can't. It's always there." She started to tap her temple, wincing with each tap. "Right here." Cadence was silent. "I did something bad," Deity said. "Something really bad. But I had no choice. I had to do it. To get back home, to get to mom, to…I had to do it."

"Had to do what?" Cadence asked the question slowly. Her heart continued to hammer, as if warning her of a silent, invisible threat looming closer and closer.

"Had to kill."

Cadence took in a sharp breath and let it out. Not to say she didn't expect it, they were the ones who were tasked with protecting their cities and it was bound to happen. But it was also a hard decision to be faced with when the time came. How many times had she and Barry argued about it now? He felt that killing was the worst decision to make, that they could be imprisoned and rehabilitated while Cadence felt, if the time was right, killing was a safer option

What about when you had no choice but to do it to stay alive? Would you allow yourself to be killed instead or continue to fight no matter the consequence?

Even faced with the Reverse-Flash and Zoom, Barry couldn't bring himself to do it while Cadence found the less she thought of it, allowed her feelings to get in the way, the better. Still, the horror and fear of doing for the first time, anytime, wasn't anything that went away. Deity had to have seen some true horrors if it broke her like that.

Deity turned and pushed herself to her knees, sitting on her heels. She wiped at her nose, keeping her head down. "It's called War World. They…they take people prisoner and force them to fight each other, to kill each other, for their own entertainment." Her lips trembled as she tried to keep from falling into full-blown hysteria. "For their own sick entertainment. They…they torture their prisoners, hardly give them food, force them to fight to live…"

Cadence thought for a moment. Then it clicked. It all made sense. Right from the very beginning. "You saw a dominator while you were there."

"I fought…I killed one." Deity reached up and brushed away her tears. Her voice trembled, jaw rapidly vibrated as she sucked in a deep breath. Cadence could tell she was edging closer and closer to her breaking point. "I killed them…I…I didn't even show mercy…it consumed me and I…" and she fell over, crying hysterically.

Cadence reached out and gently smoothed Deity's hair back from her face with even strokes. Just as her mother used to do when she was unable to be comforted. Despite her own thoughts on the matter, Cadence was starting to understand why Barry never wanted to kill even if it was someone who had caused a great amount of pain.

Pain.

There was only so long you could push down the constant pain. That pitting, wrenching, excruciating feeling in the chest cavity down to the pit of the stomach and back again. Burning everything in its path like acid until there was no choice for it to come out. A festering sore unable to heal. A barrier against anything good and happy. Walls closing in around to block out the pain from leaking out, cracking through the surface. An explosion.

Eyes shifting, Cadence moved Deity away from her and stood up. She went to the window and looked out before turning back around to face the now confused alien hybrid who watched her every move. Cadence's eyes narrowed as she looked out over Central City. Tears started to burn her eyes and she sniffed quietly and cleared her throat.

Sharply, Cadence turned around and said flatly, "You have to leave."

"What?" In turn, Deity's eyebrows furrowed together. She continued to sniffle, barely coming down from the exhaustive emotions that coursed through her. That kept her curled up like a child waiting to be comforted by their mother. But Deity wouldn't be comforted until she returned to her Earth. Not in the way she needed to be. "What? What do you mean?"

"Leave," Cadence repeated. "You have to leave." She had to stay strong, it was for the best.

"If this is about the broken window—"

"—if this were about the broken window then Brady would've been kicked out ages ago," Cadence said. Her eyes narrowed for a moment and she pressed a finger to her chin. "Though I'm sure there's some sort of law against that." She shrugged. "Or at least I'd wait until he was sixteen, that seems to be a great age."

Deity slowly stood up, brushing tears from her cheeks with her fingertips. She shook her head, face contorting in intense confusion. "If I did anything wrong—"

"The only thing you did wrong was tell me what you just did," Cadence interrupted again. Deity frowned, partially from being continuously interrupted, partially from intense confusion as to how quickly she changed her demeanor. "Because it was selfish. You're selfish."

"I'm not—"

"You ran away from home because you couldn't handle what you did. You decided that Kara didn't deserve to know because you were ashamed. You decided to come here and keep Kara in the dark because you were scared. And while you were here you decided not to participate in anything here. You decided to veg out and watch as much mindless TV and movies as you could to keep your mind off everything that you did rather than think about how you're making Kara feel. How do you think she is feeling? How she felt when she came home to find you were gone? Scared. Helpless. Worried to all hell. And confused. Confused because you can't talk to her."

"You don't get it," Deity whispered as he head lowered.

"I do get it, Debby!" Cadence said with a raised voice suddenly, prompting Deity's head to shoot up to meet her gaze. "I get it more than possibly anyone else you'll ever meet. But she's your mother and deserves to know!"

"I know that!"

"So what makes me more trustworthy than her?" Cadence's question hit her with silence. "What makes Barry better? Or Caitlin? Or Cisco? What makes you think she wouldn't understand?"

"It's not about understanding!" Deity cried out, catching Cadence off guard, particularly since she'd been on a roll and very few people interrupted her when she was in the middle of a lecture. "Don't you get it? I can't tell her because then what's she going to see? A murderer. She won't see me, she'll see the monster I've become, the girl that killed people just to stay alive. That's not what Supergirl would do…that's not what Kara Danvers would do. You took a risk with your friends, with Barry. I can't do that with Kara. If I lose her…" The sniffles returned. "I don't know what I have left." Deity dropped back down onto the bed, sitting with her head lowered once more as she whimpered. At least until Cadence let out a dry snort of laughter. Deity looked up to see Cadence's gaze lowered, her bangs shielding her eyes from view.

"Wow… Do you really think so little of your own mother?" Deity frowned as Cadence lifted her head, brushing aside her fringe as her eyes connected with Deity's. The tough love was gone now, replaced by something else, something kinder but still firm. "You think Kara, my friend, who put her entire life on hold for you, who raced over here, not just for you, but to help a whole other world she didn't even owe a thing. Do you really think that woman, isn't going to understand? Isn't going to forgive and listen to you? She's your mother, Debby."

Cadence opened her clenched hand, revealing the Tachyon device and pressed her thumb into it. A portal opened beside them, casting the room in an eerie blue glow. "You need to tell her. Now."

"But-"

"Uh-uh," Cadence quickly said with a shake of the head. "This isn't up for debate. You've gotten to play this little game your way long enough. It's time to go home." She nodded towards the portal, this time taking on a kinder voice, "I'm going to miss you. We're all going to miss you. But it's time for you to go."

The two shared a sad smile before Deity took two quick steps forward, wrapping her arms around Cadence. "Thank you," she whispered. And that was all that was needed to be said. The bag was already at the foot of her bed, packed as if she'd already known this was coming. Cadence handed her the tachyon device and Deity gave her one last smile before jumping through, the breach sealing shut behind her.

For a moment Cadence just stood, staring at where the breech had been with that sad goodbye smile everyone had after seeing a friend off. At least that was one thing she'd manage to get cleared up. Hearing the door behind her she turned to see Brady popping his head through, then frowning when he saw his mother on her own. "Where's, Debby?"

"She's gone home, Bud," Cadence said as she smiled to him. "And what are you doing here?"

"I phased here as soon as Jesse said where you were," Brady explained, walking to her. "She said you looked upset." His frown deepened as he quickly changed the subject again. "She could have said goodbye."

"Well, now she has a reason to come back," Cadence said optimistically as the corner of Brady's lips turned up, seeing his mother's logic. It didn't last long. Neither did her own optimism. "What is it, bud?"

"Why do all of my friends leave?" Brady asked. He folded his arms, looking at his feet. "Conner, then Deity…and Papaw, too."

Cadence put her arm around Brady's shoulders. "Hate to break it to you, but it's going to happen more the older you get. Not everyone sticks around. What matters is the memories you made with them and that you're still happy. I can't say it stops hurting, though."

"Well, I know _that_ ," Brady said. "That's why Mamaw's here, right?"

With a smile, Cadence kissed the side of her son's head, laughing when he ducked out of the way almost immediately. "You're smarter than I give you credit for."

"I could've told you that." He backed away and looked his mom in the eye. "Are you okay, mom?"

Tears finally came to Cadence's eyes but this time she made no move to hold them off. "No," she admitted. "But I will be. Here's the thing, though, I think mom's going to need the help more than I do at the moment, alright?" Brady nodded.

Cadence gave him another kiss on the head, this time Brady held still to have it done. The pain was going to be there for a long time. She couldn't release it yet. Not when her mother was hurting so much. She needed her mother to be happy first before she was happy. And she longed to be happy.

It was what her father would've wanted, but to do that first, she needed to get rid of the assassination bureau for good.

And she'd do it.

* * *

 _Julian_.

Julian's head whipped to the side as he heard his name called. His movement was so violent that he knocked his beakers and other testing tools off his desk and to the ground. Rather than moving to pick them up, to clean the shattered glass, Julian waited to determine where the voice came from. Had he imagined it? Was it all in his head? It was a whisper as dry as death. Of course he imagined it. It was nothing more than fatigue catching up to him as he tried to keep up with the work he missed.

 _You're psyching yourself out, Julian,_ he reprimanded with himself. Then, with a sigh, Julian sized up the mess he had to clean. Then he heard it again. The same whisper that made him twitch violently. As if something was controlling him. His arms flew into motion, pushing him away from the desk, making him stand up. Julian's heart pounded against his ribcage.

 _Julian!_

"Stay away," Julian murmured. Finally, he managed to speak, his voice only coming out in gasps moments before. "Stay away from me." He scrambled back to the corner of the room, the corner that allowed him to see the entire lab. To see who was trying to sneak up on him. His heart pumped even harder when he found there was no one there. But the voice continued.

 _Don't you get it. You can't get away. There's nowhere I won't find you. Become my servant once more. Become Alchemy._

It was in his head. All in his head. Julian closed his eyes, willed himself to calm down. But the voice came faster and faster, louder and louder. It had to stopstopstop. Nownownow. He needed peace.

There was a bright flash of blue light, a ripple of wind that rushed through the lab. Jumping, Julian whipped around and stared, mouth agape at Savitar. The silvery-blue mechanical suit rocked with each step the speedster took forward, the floor shaking simultaneously.

"W-what do you want from me?" Julian whimpered, looking at the speedster with a mixture of fear and awe.

"Only together can we bring about my return," Savitar growled.

"Why should I help you?"

Savitar turned his head to the side. Then he stepped back and slowly brought himself down in a crouch. The moment its knee pressed on the ground, the back of the suit opened. Nuts and bolts clanged as the back of the suit shifted and shook, opening a hole wide enough for a tall, lanky man to climb out. Julian's eyes widened in surprise, then narrowed in disgust as the man turned to face him and swooped his fringe from his face.

"Allen," Julian spat. "I knew there was something not quite right about you."

Savitar—the spitting image of Barry Allen—smirked, running his fingers over the scarred side of his face. "You don't know the half of it."

* * *

 **A/N:** Well, the first arc of the story (questions) is finally done. And now the next chapter starts the next arc (answers). We're moving closer to the midseason finale and everything that happens with that, as well as more with the Assassination Bureau. Some interesting emotions going on in this chapter.

Please remember to review; any feedback helps me become a better writer and motivates me to write more. I respond to every review, even anonymous ones.

 **Cheers,**

 **-Riley**

 **Review Replies**

 **Ethan:** Yep, Brady's a pretty old soul at this point. He's seen too much to be able to still hold that childlike innocence he had at the beginning. Not completely anyway.

 **yummers:** Barry's got his strengths in mentoring and Cadence has hers. It just makes them work as a team when their skills are both needed. Lol.

 **PowerHero432:** A teeny bit more of a hint with Maya and Deity in this one. Can't wait to see Deity's POV of what Maya is like, lol. And yes, Burnout is back. Now that this first arc is over and the second one is starting more of Earth-2 does come in.

 **Guest:** Glad you enjoyed it.

 **Spinquin142:** Yes, Wally's powers are coming more into play. It took longer than I anticipated, but I had taken a lot of what was originally his to Jesse so it took some time for me to figure out how to get things worked out.

 **Babyj:** I'm glad the pacing is working out well.


	19. I Understand

**19**

 _I Understand  
_

* * *

Brady jerked his head back in time for a spray of bullets to miss his forehead. His heart leapt into his throat, a bead of sweat poured down the side of his head, dripping to his chin. After a few seconds passed, he slowly inched his way forward once more. Close enough so that he could see out the vent. He pursed his lips, watching as the men below slowly turned their attention back to the case they stood in front of.

Finally, he phased his head through the vent once more. This time he wasn't brazen enough to stick it out too far. The metal that had been struck but bullets were so twisted and snarled he hand to be careful of where he put his hands and knees. Even with his aversion of sticking himself on the edges, he felt the warmth from the projectiles launched from the gun.

"What happened?" He heard Barry's voice murmur in his Comm. Link, on the verge of falling into full-blown hysteria. "Are you okay? What do you see?"

Brady did his best not to roll his eyes, marked out by grease paint smeared on his skin. He'd only been quiet for a few moments, And the sound of bullets flying should've been something they were used to by then. Even if said bullets were flying towards a ten-year-old. Instead of allowing his sarcasm to permeate his words, Brady whispered back, "They're standing around the case. They haven't done anything yet. You know, other than try to beat my head with a bullet."

"That's not funny," he heard his mother say next. Though Brady knew her well enough to hear the light lift in her voice that betrayed her struggle to keep from laughing.

"Sorry." Brady blew his fringe from his forehead. "I think they saw me. Or thought they saw me. I've followed them this far, I'm blending in but…"

"They're starting to get nervous," Barry said. "Just wait a little until you see the money, until they actually get into the case."

"After that, move as fast as you can," Cadence added.

 _Thank you, Uncle Cisco, for the Shadowstriker,_ Brady thought. Then he frowned. Okay, that name wasn't the best, but he was still working on it. Either way, it was parked exactly where he left it. Around the corner. Besides, the moment he was on top of the bike, the moment he could turn it invisible and phase it as he needed. Getting away wasn't the problem. Getting to see what it was they were hiding, _was._ He was starting to get a crick in his neck and knew it was only a matter of time until he lost control and the rest of his body phased through the vent. As it was, he was surprised he still managed to fit in there considering how long they'd staked out the place.

Brady held his breath, waiting to see what the men below would do next. They continued to speak in hushed tones, looking over their shoulders as the seconds passed. Who knew something as tiny as an almost sneeze would run the risk of a spray of bullets to take off his forehead. Maybe one of them were a meta and had super hearing, could hear the drip of sweat that was barely moving to dangle off him and to the ground.

Finally, the men moved closer to the case embedded directly in the wall. To Brady's surprise, instead of one of them opening the case, a man stepped forward and gabbed onto the sides. He stuck his fingers in the grooves and yanked back as hard as he could, the case falling out of the wall with ease. Almost as if the man had only pulled a book off the shelf. Then, he lowered it to the ground. The second he backed away, there was a blast of light as bright as a bolt of lightning and the sound of a loud _clang_ that made Brady jump and yelp.

"What was that?"

"I thought I heard something."

"Brady. Go! Go! Go!" Cadence declared.

Brady closed his eyes, knowing he had no choice but to reveal himself. He took a deep breath and phased through the air vent, flipping to the ground where he landed in a crouch. One of the men huddling around the case whipped around and pointed his AR-15 towards him. Brady planted his feet firmly on the ground as the front of the rifle started to bloom with light. Brady's shoulders jerked backwards as the bullets fired from the gun and passed through him. The bullets didn't hurt him, he hardly felt it when they struck him, but always had that slight pins and needles feeling when something moved through him or he moved through something.

The men started at him in surprise as the bullets continued to whiz through him. Finally, the tell-tale sound of clicking filled the air as the man continued to try to fire bullets, slowly coming to the realization that he was running out. With a smirk, Brady stepped forward. "You really need to think this through," he said. "If it's the Flash that wouldn't get to you, or even Flare, you should've known _something_ was coming."

"Christ, he's just a kid!" The other man declared, making Brady purse his lips once more.

Brady sighed. Okay, he really needed to talk to Cisco about getting some sort of a vocal modulator for his suit. Not that those didn't think there was much to Shadowhunter as it was. Rumors were going around that he was young, but as young as a child? It wasn't going to bode well for STAR Labs or the rest of Team Flash when they found out.

The one who had been dealing with the case turned to Brady, holding up his hand. "Careful, kid. You don't know what you're doing. Why don't you go play 'hero' somewhere else?"

"Hard to play one when you are one," Brady replied. He brought his hand back into his pocket and found his slingshot and yo-yo. Exactly what he needed. Then he heard another sound that was familiar to him. The sound of a knife being flicked open. He had to move fast.

Before any of the men could react, Brady threw a flash bomb to the ground, causing the men to immediately scream, bringing their hands up to shield their eyes. The one who brought out the knife was the one who reacted the quickest, almost expecting everything to come. He'd turned away at the exact moment the flash bomb went off and was able to recover much faster than the other men. He immediately turned back and swung wildly, the tip of his blade moving closer to Brady.

Repeatedly, Brady backed away, moving his head as far as he could to keep from getting hit. He didn't need to worry too much, but the other men didn't need to know that. The two continued to repeatedly back across the expansive floor. Finally, when they were in the center of the floor, Brady shot out his other hand and extended his slingshot. He swung it around and struck the man on the side of the head. He cried out in pain and backed away Brady, giving him the opportunity he needed. He threw one hand forward, creating a shadow ball that encompassed the men. They screamed as it swallowed them and held them together. With his other hand, Brady threw his yo-yo so that it wrapped around them and pulled hard on the other end, tightening the man together. They screamed in anger and humiliation, working to get free. But they were stuck.

With a smirk, Brady used his abilities to levitate, soaring up until he made it to the rafters that combined to hold up the roof. He pulled the entire length of rope out of the yo-yo and wrapped it around the rafter, leaving the men hanging like a piñata before lowering himself back to the ground. Brady lowered himself back to the ground and hurried out of the building just as a line of police cars pulled to the front of the building. The silent alarm had gone off about ten minutes before; took them long enough.

Brady threw his leg over the side of his souped up ATV—which _still_ didn't have a name—and revved the engine just as the officers leapt out of their cars, guns drawn. "I left a little present for you," he called then pulled on the throttle and careened his ATV out of the alleyway and back into the light traffic of Central City, back to STAR Labs.

He flew around the corner and drove straight towards the shuttered wall of the hangar. He continued towards it, not slowing down, even as it slowly started to open. Going head-on, he wouldn't make it without smacking face-first into the grated metal. Instead, he squeezed the brake into his palm then pulled hard on the handlebars. With a squeal of the tires struggling to gain traction, the ATV turned and screeched into the hangar as Brady ducked his head, pressing his body flat to the metal below him before screeching to a stop.

The sound of the engine revving filled the garage where the rest of the STAR Labs vehicles were stationed. Caitlin, who took a step back when he came charging through, gently shook her head. "Always have to have a bit of style when you return, huh?" She asked, voice barely able to rise over the sound of the engine.

Brady nodded before turning the key, cutting off the low rumbling immediately. "We can't all be speedsters or teleporters," he remarked.

"And we can't all be the ones who get to enjoy all the hard work I put into my inventions," Cisco announced his presence as he, Barry, and Cadence came through a doorway and strode to him. He waved his hand, shooing Brady off the ATV before kneeling to check the treads on the tires. "Do you have to come in like that? Do you know what it takes to make sure your tires don't wear out?"

Brady opened his mouth to repeat his defense against Caitlin. He needed some style every now and then. But a warning look from Cadence—she subtly shook her head and put a finger to her lips behind Cisco's back—made Brady press his lips firmly together. Although the corners wiggled as he fought off a smile.

"Sorry, Uncle Cisco. I'll be more careful next time." Reaching up, Brady pulled his hood back from his face and used the heels of his palms to start smearing away the grease paint. Then he turned his gaze to Barry and Cadence and asked eagerly, "So? How'd I do?"

"You did a great job," Cadence said seconds before Barry made a low sound in the back of his throat, waving his hand back and forth. "There could be some improvements, but for what you went after today, you did a good job."

Brady huffed, placing his hands on his hips. Then he lowered his head, listening to Barry's words. He was right, he knew Barry was right. He shouldn't have blown his own cover, making the robbers aware of his presence, making them nervous. It should've been an easy in and out. Wait until they got the money, get them together and wait for the police. No muss, no fuss. Having had them shoot at him…the weight of that slowly started to lay on him. It was always like that, Brady knew. While in the field his adrenaline was running so much that things like that didn't matter.

It was when things were slowing down that it all came crashing down. He felt his hands starting to shake and wiped them on the sides of his cloak, doing his best to keep from letting it travel to the rest of the body. He felt it every time, when a bullet would come through him, when he was stabbed, when something would impale him. He'd feel how it'd slide through his body as he phased but never felt the excruciating pain that came along with it. _That_ scared him more than being able to actually feel it.

"Well, I don't think robbers in an art museum is that difficult," Brady said slowly, folding his arms. "They weren't even really trying to kill me. They just wanted the money." He ran a hand through his hair and started to scratch at the nape of his neck. When had he started to sweat so much?

"So you _want_ them to try to kill you?" Cisco asked, raising his eyebrows. He stood up from the ATV, grease smeared over his hand, and said, "That's not something I thought I'd ever hear."

"As far as we know, these guys have a rule of not being able to kill a kid hero until they're eighteen," Cadence said with a wave of her hand. Barry gave her a look and she shrugged. "Look, you know as well as I do that if I ever completely got my way, Brady would never have gotten his powers. Unfortunately, it looks like I gave him the ability just because I gave birth to him. But it's not something we can ignore."

"I'm not saying we need to ignore it," Barry quickly defended himself. He looked to his friends, almost as if he were silently begging for help. Then he took a breath, turning his gaze to the ceiling, mulling carefully over the words he was going to say next. "I'm saying we need to take things slow."

"How slow?" Brady burst out. He couldn't help it. The words shot from him with pent-up frustration he could only hope to "I've been training for over a year now. Jesse was able to gout in the field in a few weeks. Maybe less."

"Jesse has had more training."

"Because she can run fast? Because she can move through everything faster? So what?" Brady gestured towards his mother. "I've gotten more training from fighting my own mom than anyone else could get. And I'm _still_ not able to go out on my own unless it's something that you two don't want to deal with." He held up his hand and started to count on his fingers. "I stopped Geomancer on my own, I stopped Metallo, on my own, I stopped that glass guy on my own—"

"—I thought Leah helped you," Cisco pointed out.

Brady paused then conceded. "Okay, she helped a little. But I help save Conner from Damien Darkh on my own!" He lifted his hands and slapped them to his sides. "What else do I have to do?"

Silence stretched out in the hangar. Brady lowered his head, embarrassed. They really didn't get it. What it was like to be someone who had to sit on the sidelines and constantly wait and watch. Worry about Barry and his mother when they were getting thrown around at the streets of Central City. Wonder with baited breath when he was going to be tagged in and what he would do if he were out there to help them. He was invincible, with his phasing ability, nothing could hurt him. So why was he constantly being left on the sidelines?

"There isn't some sort of checklist you have to check off," Caitlin said, her voice becoming soft in the way that only Caitlin could make it. Equally filled with worry and warmth. "It's not like we're waiting for you to hit specific milestones before you can go out there."

"I know. You're trying to protect me."

"No," Barry said. Brady lifted his head and looked Barry in this eye. It wasn't the Barry who was his close friend, the one who he could talk to about nearly everything. No. This was the Barry who was The Flash. The Barry who was their team leader. The Barry who owned STAR Labs and did his best to protect the city with every hard decision he'd ever have to make with it. "It's not about protecting you, Brady. It's about making sure the Team is as strong as they can possibly be. No, you don't have the same sort of speed the rest of us, do. No, you can't teleport. That doesn't have to do with it. It has to do with being sure we're ready for Savitar."

"You know, whoever he is," Cisco pointed out. "We still don't know."

"At this point, his identity doesn't matter," Barry insisted. His face still held a stern expression. "There's nothing we can do about that at this point. We need to know where he is, what Alchemy is doing with him, and whether he's working with Breathtaker. The same meta who was able to get into Cade's head and beat her up while we could do nothing but watch. He has more strength and power than we thought was possible and Savitar has the same abilities with Alchemy working with him. We need to have all our bases covered and that can't happen until we're all ready. And if that means that I have to have you train a bit longer, Brady, then I'm sorry. But that's what we're going to do."

Caitlin's eyes narrowed as she folded her arms. She turned to Barry, looking him in the eye. "You went to Earth-3 to see Jay," she pointed out. "You were over there for a while. Is there something you know that we don't?"

"Yeah," Cadence added, tilting her head to give him the same look. "What'd he say?"

Barry sucked his lips into his mouth while Brady's eyes shifted back and forth over his friends and teammates. They were able to talk to each other without malice, without suspicion, even when things were being kept from them. He had to learn to do the same thing. Had to wait for when the time was right to get the answers they needed. And he'd just gotten his answer to the question that burned through him more than anything else. He was still a vital part of the team and needed to get to the point where he could hold his own against Savitar, if the time came.

"Jay said I needed to stop worrying about it," Barry said after a second, suddenly looking very tired, Brady noticed. Almost as if he had aged within the time he spent on Earth-3. "That I needed to slow down. He doesn't know Savitar's identity. All he knows is that he wants to kill me. Just like all the other speedsters we've come across."

"And with Julian?" Cadence pressed.

"Well, I think Julian is going to hate my with any identity I go to visit him as," Barry said slowly. "He already dislikes Barry Allen, but I think he has a special hatred in his life for The Flash." He looked his friends in the eye. "Especially considering he threatened you, again, Caitlin,"—he looked to her, noting the troubled way her mouth turned down. "And even went so far as to say that because I—we—do what we do,"—he looked to Cadence, who lifted an eyebrow curiously—"we've made people's lives worse. The CCPD are complacent, we've made them lazy, slow—"

"I'm sorry," Cadence interrupted, eyes flashing with irritation. " _He's_ saying that we're messing up the CCPD when he was the one who singlehandedly almost ruined my case against John James because he just _had_ to demand that Frankie was a meta?" Barry opened his mouth, no sound coming out then closed it as he nodded. "Talk about an ego."

"You think he has a thing against metas in general or just you?" Cisco asked.

"Both. But he gave me all the information we know about Savitar and the Philosopher's Stone and I'm thankful to him for that," Barry said begrudgingly. He placed his hands on his hips. "Not that I'd ever let _him_ know that. But it did give us more information than we had before and at least now we've got a lead to go after."

Brady sucked in a breath and lifted his chin. "So…what are we going to do?" He asked. "Keep training and hope Savitar shows up again and we can trap him? Or…wait for some more information? Because it's not like it's going to drop out of the sky. Or out of Julian's mouth. Not when he hates the Flash and Barry so much."

"Do you guys _always_ have to remind me of that?" Barry asked. He rolled his eyes, making Brady, Caitlin, and Cisco smile as they exchanged glances. What could they say? Ribbing Barry was some of the most fun any of them could have. Especially when he continued to take it without fighting back too hard.

Cadence smiled and looped her arm around his waist, using her free hand to pat him on the chest. "Yes, Tholly, we do. Because not only is it funny to watch the person who feels the biggest need to be liked _dislike_ someone, but it does help prove a point." She looked at the rest of her friends as she thought, eyes narrowing slightly. "You said he hates you and The Flash. How can we know for sure that he's told you everything he knew?"

"Because I promised I'd never speak to him again if he told me," Barry said. He quickly clarified as he added, "As the Flash, anyway. Though I'm sure he'd do the same if he could take that same deal with Barry Allen."

Cadence nodded, the intense expression of thought still on her face. "So, how do we know he's telling you everything then? He could've just told you what you wanted to hear to get you away from him. I mean, you _did_ say he'd written a thesis on it and that takes yea—"

Within seconds, Brady wind-milled his arms as he came to a sudden stop inside the Cortex. Using both hands, he brushed his hair back from his face and looked over to see Caitlin, Cisco, and Cadence straightening themselves the same way. It took only a few seconds for Brady to realize what'd happened. Barry had flashed them all up to the Cortex in the second it took for Cadence to finish her sentence. Even less time, actually.

"I hate it when he does that," Cisco grumbled, frantically raking his fingers through his hair.

"You always say it's so cool," Cadence reminded him.

"Yes, in _theory._ When it's a one or two-time thing. But do you know what it does to me? Have you seen what's it's been doing to my hair lately? It takes a long time to get it looking so luscious and perfect, Caitlin. A long time. And he keeps messing it up."

Brady laughed as Caitlin rolled her eyes. All the while Barry had pushed HR out of his seat at the computers and was rapidly running through the information stored inside. "I mean, if you wanted to see what I had planned for our opening, you could've just asked," HR was saying as his chair finally came to a stop, having been pushed across the floor of the Cortex. "It's not like it's a secret. I'd love to share my thoughts with you."

Barry ignored him and continued typing. His fingers moved so fast tiny wisps of smoke started to trail behind the movements of his hands. Cisco groaned, knowing the plastic that held the keyboard together was only seconds away from bursting into flames. There wasn't anything he could do, once Barry got going on something, it was hard to stop. And how did you stop a speedster, save from throwing him in front of a brick wall?

Instead of addressing Barry's destruction of Cisco's computer, Cisco asked HR, "You're _still_ going forward with that whole museum thing? Haven't we talked you out of it by now?"

"I've got something," Barry said before HR could respond. "It's like you said, Cade. He wrote this thesis on the philosopher's stone. He had to spend a lot of time on it, years. It's not like someone to take that level of study lightly. He had to have put his entire life to it. He told me he used his inheritance from his parents to find it, spent _years_ looking for it."

"So?" Brady scratched his head, confused. "It's a lot of studying right? Like we have to do in school?"

"Sort of," Caitlin said. Her words came out in a slow drawl as she tried to follow Barry's thought process was going. "But when it comes to a thesis, you're usually putting your studies to practice in some way. A control group, a focus group, surveys…you wouldn't just research and write about it."

"Not for something as big as a magical stone that can give people powers," Cisco murmured in agreement.

"Question," HR broke in, lifting a drumstick over his head. "But you said something about Julian looking for it for a while? What if he really _was_ looking for it?" He twirled his drumstick around his fingers. "Has Mr. Julian Albert been missing and time from work lately?"

"No," Barry said. "But he _did_ spend some time traveling before he came to Central City. Said he couldn't find the stone. But I managed to find something else." He turned the computer around so that the others could see the headline that'd jumped out at him. _Researchers Found Dead at Research Site._ "There was an expedition he led and…he was the only one who came back alive."

"Meaning?" Brady prompted.

"Meaning there's something about Alchemy and Savitar that Julian knows that he's not telling us."

"Because some newspaper article is telling you that?" HR asked.

Barry gritted his teeth, his eyes flashing with frustration. No. No more than frustration. With something that made Brady suddenly scared as he'd never seen it before. Defeat. Barry looked like he'd finally been defeated. "There's nothing else to go off. We have no other answers, and all this is doing is leading us to Julian. That's where we have to look now. And I'm sorry if you think there's something else that can be done, that a newspaper isn't telling us anything, but I'm tired of running out of options! I'm tired of knowing that I'm close to stopping everything that I've created here, that I've messed up and having that solution ripped from my hands. This is what we've been looking for?"

"Okay, but what are you going to do? Barge into the CCPD and accuse him of being Alchemy?" Cadence asked. Her eyebrows twitched upwards as she thought about it. "Actually, if you do, I'd love to be there to see it."

"If I have to!" Barry shot back, voice cracking. He brought a hand up to run over his mouth, shook his head. "I'm sorry, I need…I need to get some air. I'm going on a run." He turned on his heel and walked out of the Cortex. Brady exchanged a glance with his mother, who tilted her head in the direction Barry had just left.

Brady nodded and followed Barry. He knew he'd be able to catch up to him. Barry wasn't using his speed. He never did when he was angry. He worked out most of his anger with the long strides it took for him to get to the elevator of STAR Labs. Sometimes it was moving slower that was the better option. It wasn't until Barry was desperate to relieve himself of his rage did he superspeed and race as far as he could go.

"Barry," Brady called, hurrying after him. "Barry, wait."

"No offense, Brady, but I really don't want to talk right now," Barry said.

"I kind of figured that," Brady said, finally reaching the older man's side. He looked up at him, reaching out his hand to press his fingers into the button to call the elevator. "I was wondering if you wanted to get something to eat." Barry gave him a funny look. "I know, dumb question. You're always hungry. But I'm starving and I don't have any money, so I guess you're going to have to pay for me." He patted Barry on the arm as the doors to the elevator popped open and he stepped inside. "So, let's go."

The expression of confusion was still on Barry's face, still, he allowed himself to walk into the elevator with Brady. "Wait a minute," Barry said as the doors closed and the elevator led them down to street level. "Didn't you just get your allowance a few days ago?"

"I spent it," Brady said simply.

"On what?"

"The vending machine."

" _You_ spent your entire allowance on the vending machine at school?"

"Do you know how much things cost now? It's like two dollars to get a freaking bottle of soda." Brady rolled his eyes as they two stepped onto the street and started to amble towards the heart of the city. "And don't get me started on how much the candy costs."

"So just ask your mom for some more money."

"I could or else I'd get the 'do you think money grows on trees?' lecture." Brady shoved his hands into the pockets of his jeans and widened his gait, almost skipping as he went along. Barry chuckled as he moved beside him. "And then she'd remind me that even though Mamaw would give me anything I want, that she's the one who has all the money and I'm the one that's broke." He shook his head. "It's like I can't win in either parts of my life, you know?"

Barry placed his hand on Brady's shoulder. "I know the feeling. Trust me. It seems like no matter what decisions I make now, even if I think it's good, something bad is going to happen either way. So why bother?" He shifted his gaze, dropping his hand from Brady's shoulder to open the door to Big Belly Burger. Brady went and sat in a booth while Barry went to the counter and bought food for the two of them.

Brady pulled out his phone and started to flip it back and forth between his hands. The screen was black, no notifications of messages. Nothing from his last message to Conner. He didn't expect to get anything. It'd take time. Now that he understood he knew it would. Oliver had talked to him at the party, after they'd finished taking down the Dominators. Explained what was going on with Conner's departure. He had to go into hiding, into witness protection, so that no one could figure out his link to Oliver and put him and Samantha into any more danger. If Damien Darkh could figure out about Conner then who was to say anyone else could, either.

Oliver admitted he didn't know where Conner was, and preferred not to know lest he went to find his son. Brady swallowed that bitter pill, but knew it was for the best. They still communicated through their Instagram account, it was all they could do. It'd bene a few days since their last conversation but at least Conner had read everything. Read what was going on in Central City. And they'd gotten a few more additions to the account, soon he and Leah would start talking to some of them in person.

Brady continued to spin his phone in a circle around the tabletop. He probably should mention something he and Leah were doing. The training he was getting was good enough to train others. They just needed to figure out when the best time was.

"I thought…" Barry's voice caught Brady's attention and he looked up. "I thought I was doing the right thing when I went to save my mom." He pushed a wrapped burger and a packet of fries to Brady, who slid them in front of him. He picked up a fry and tapped it against the table as he listened to Barry. "I thought I was saving people from all the pain we felt since her death. I wasn't just thinking about me, I was thinking about Joe and Iris and Wally. I thought about Francine. I thought about Caitlin and Ronnie. I thought about Cisco. I thought about Eddie. About you and Cade and your grandfather. I even thought about Eobard Thawne. I thought about everyone and all that we'd lost. I thought I was helping us when I went back in time. But it created Flashpoint."

"I thought I had done the best thing for us when I was going to let Eobard Thawne go home. Then he was murdered, the singularity was opened, and…we lost Ronnie. We faced off against Zoom, the man I chose to trust, and he betrayed us. Making it easier for him to get me where it hurt the most. Every decision I've made, it makes it harder to know how to move forward. If I try to go after Julian with what we know about Alchemy, how do I know he's not going to bust in there and have us all arrested?"

Brady blinked in surprise. "Can he do that?"

"Julian already knows that Caitlin is a meta. I can deny it as much as I want, but he knows she's a meta. He knows she works here. It's only a matter of time until he decides to give the police a head's up and everything falls apart. Most of us would be arrested for vigilantism, and then we'd probably be charged for neglect and child endangerment in your case." Barry shook his head. "There's a _lot_ that could go wrong if things are found out. That's why…with Julian, we have to…we have to do things differently."

"How?"

"I don't know."

"Oh."

Brady ate a bite of his food. Looked around the restaurant. There were enough people sitting around, smiling, that it made him realize how long it'd been since he'd seen any of his friends and family actually have some downtime. He was at STAR Labs nearly every day, working hard to gain strength and work on his powers on top of going to school every day, doing hours of homework, and soccer practice. He could only imagine how much stress Barry was under, being the leader of the team and everything slipping into every area of his life.

"Hey Barry?" Brady waited until Barry looked directly at him. "How come you're telling me all this?" He asked. Barry's face screwed up. "When you came back from Flashpoint you told me how you were freaking out. And now you're telling me this. How come?"

Barry sat up straight, dropping his hands to his lap. "Because I trust you, Brady."

"Do you not trust mom or Caitlin or Cisco?"

"I trust them, too. With my life. But sometimes, it's easier to talk to someone who you know will truly get it. I've seen how you've been progressing with your training. You learn things very fast and you expand on them each time you're out in the field. You still have a little ways to go to realize why we're holding you back when we feel the time is right. You'll get it. But you still have some ways to go. You're a smart kid, Brady. You remind me a lot of myself. And I'm not saying that to stroke my ego, I'm saying it because it's true. You remind me a lot of me and I'm afraid that one day soon you'll have to start making the same hard decisions I've had to make."

"I don't get it," Brady said.

Barry sucked in a long breath through his nose and let it out, chest swelling as he did so. "But you will. One day, sooner or later, something's going to happen to me. Or your mom. Or Caitlin and Cisco. And I have a lot of faith in knowing you could handle whatever comes your way if and when that happens." Brady curled his fingers around his phone and pulled it closer to him. _Does he know what Conner and I are doing?_ "I'm really proud of what you've managed to achieve so far."

Now Brady's entire face screwed up. "Are you dying?" He blurted, making Barry chuckle. "Because, if you are, that's probably something you should tell other people."

"No, I'm not dying. I just wanted you to know how proud of you I am."

Brady lowered his gaze and nodded. He got it. What Barry was trying to say. And he felt the same way. Still, he couldn't help but ask again, "Are you sure you're not dying?"

Barry threw his head back and laughed.

* * *

Maya's hands shook as she handed the papers Tess had given to her back across the desk. Tess took them and set it aside. She looked up at Harrison, who stood beside her, watching Maya's face closely. He lowered his chin and said, "I know this is really hard for you to hear, Maya. Knowing we kept it from you for so long."

"No, it's not that," Maya whispered. She cleared her throat and folded her arms, pulling her purse tighter against her body. "I understand how…how you guys needed to operate. Things had to be kept a secret. For…for our safety." She took in a shuddering breath. "Just as…as I'm sure Kent understood considering he kept his illness a secret. I just can't help but think—"

"—Had you known sooner you may have treaded lightly?" Harrison asked. "How you would've made different decisions. Done your best not to isolate and keep others away? I understand how all that feels as they're decisions I've made and have continued to make as the years tick by. Sometimes I feel it's something that I'd change if I had the ability to go back in time but I can't. And we've seen what's happened once Barry has done the same. Who knows how our future would've been impacted."

Maya took in another deep breath. "How did it happen?"

Tess reached out her hand and placed it atop of Harrison's wrist. The small, peculiar smile never left his face as he took in a breath and revealed the truth. "Eobard Thawne, just like he'd done to Barry Allen, made Cadence a metahuman long before she was to be one. Tess and I were to have made STAR Labs years in the future, where Barry would've become struck by lightning and become The Flash in his thirties. That same wave of dark matter would've been released and caused Cadence to turn into a metahuman. Instead, Eobard Thawne traveled back in time, inhabited my body, and made it so that STAR Labs was built sooner, thus making Barry a speedster sooner. However, he'd known there was another metahuman that would be as much of a formidable foe in the future."

"Cadence?" Maya asked. Her eyes darted towards the papers she'd relinquished her grip on. She didn't know much about science but DNA images direct from STAR Labs's database didn't lie.

Tess nodded.

"So much so that he deemed to also make her a metahuman long before she was meant to be. He forced me to inject her with dark matter to supplement her with the powers that would then change her DNA. Thus making it so that any children she bore would have the metahuman gene as well."

"Why?" Maya asked.

Harrison took a deep breath. "Because of Breathtaker."

* * *

 **A/N:** So, what'd you think of the start of the new arc? I freaking loved writing it. Especially showing Brady more in the field. Writing the way he handles things (which I feel is a good mixture of Barry and Cadence) and how he's learning to be more of a hero is just so much fun and I'm glad the series is finally in a place where it can happen. Especially with his relationship with Barry. I don't show it a lot so having a chapter completely focus on it was fun.

 _And_ now we know for sure how Cade turned into a meta. But what does that mean in terms of what the team has learned about Savitar, Alchemy, and Julian as well? Guesses? Thoughts? With the start of this new arc it means we'll see more of White Hot, Black Blade, Savitar, Alchemy, Wally, and Jesse.

Please remember to review; any feedback helps me become a better writer and motivates me to write more. I respond to every review, even anonymous ones.

 **Cheers,**

 **-Riley**

 **Review Replies**

 **Ethan:** Cade definitely will try to get them together. She just wants her friends to be happy and she thinks they'll be happy together.

 **DarkHelm145:** The Savitar stuff is going to come pretty quickly in this story. His motives and the way the storyline progresses will be largely different from the show considering it took way too damn long there and I thought it could be cooler.

 **PowerHero432:** I actually had to move the scenes with Jay into the next chapter. It won't make much sense now but in terms of how things are re-worked, when you see why I re-ordered it, it will. Lol. Just trust me. I'm sure Deity has a pretty interesting idea of what Maya is like now. Everyone around Maya tends to be caught up in her cyclone and Deity wouldn't be immune.

 **Yummers:** More with that coming soon.

 **Guest:** Glad you did and continue to enjoy everything!


	20. Expect The Unexpected

**20**

 _Expect The Unexpected  
_

* * *

 _Wallace!_

 _Wallace…_

 _Find me._

 _Find me and become whole._

 _Find me…_

"Wally! Wake _up!"_

Wally's eyes shot open. Lightning crackled in his eyes. In a flash, he was on the other side of his bedroom. His chest heaved up and down, back pressed against the wall as a sheen of sweat dripped over his body. His eyes darted back and forth, looking for the source of the sound, the source of the dry words whispered in his ears. But he didn't find it. Instead, he found Jesse standing by his bed. Her hand was still extended as she had shaken his shoulder.

Her eyes, which were trained towards him, body still frozen in her original position, were wide as she took in his sudden movement. The two stared at each other for a long moment, a long, silent, tense moment. Wally's harsh breathing was the only sound between them, ragged, still filled with fear. That voice hadn't been Jesse's, no, it was in his head. Hers was sweet, melodic, one that always made his heart race with passion.

His was now racing with fear. Not just because of the disembodied voice, but now because of his powers. He'd waited and waited for Barry or Jesse to say something. Waited for them to call him out on how quickly he'd managed to run across the street when saving that citizen, handling Frankie. Neither of them had said anything. Maybe they hadn't noticed, maybe they'd moved so fast to stop him that they didn't see his abilities.

Now Jesse and Wally continued to stare at each other. Wally swallowed hard, broke the silence so he was the first one to speak. "Jesse? What are you doing here?" He asked. Then he blushed, suddenly realizing he was only in his pajama bottoms. And that there was a good chance Joe and Iris were still around. He didn't have his first class until noon, wanted to sleep in, Joe rarely let that happen. "If you've got time to sleep, you've got time to get some work done," Joe had said when he explained the rules of staying there when Wally first moved in.

Iris nodded in agreement. "Dad always told me and Barry that if we stayed up too late, it was our fault, not his. And that he still expected us to get our work done."

"Right," Wally said, hesitating only slightly. "Okay."

He agreed to it at the time, now it was one of the more dangerous things he could've done. Powers aside. Jesse seemed not to notice—or completely forget that had Harry been there, he would've killed them both—and pointed at Wally. "How'd you do that?" She asked. "How'd you get there so fast.? When did you get powers? Wally, you're a speedster!"

"Shh!" Wally brought his fingers to his lips, shushing her harshly. "They'll hear you."

"Wally—"

"—Yes, I have powers, okay?" Wally interrupted. He let out a long sigh and pressed his back further against the back wall. It was cool to the touch, slowly allowing him to calm down. He stopped sweating, already the heat that'd encircled his body through his nightmare had dissipated. "I'm…I'm a speedster."

He couldn't help the smile that came to his face, it felt so good saying it out loud. Finally. Everything he knew was true. He was a speedster. As if to prove it to himself, to Jesse, he held up his hand as it rapidly vibrated. Jesse gasped, taking a step back. She straightened herself and stared at him, looking him up and down. Then she smiled a small smile, moving closer to him. She reached out and grabbed onto his hand, letting out a laugh of surprise when she felt an electrical tingle moving through her hand. She'd felt it once before but…thought it was nothing short of the Speed Force in her body.

Now she knew. It was that Wally was a speedster, too. She should've seen it coming, if she were being honest. But he'd delayed in showing his powers for so long. Jesse closed her eyes, feeling the electricity flow back and forth between them. Remembered how it had been when they were facing Zoom in the first place.

 _"What are the rules?" Barry asked._

 _Zoom lifted his hand, waving it over the Magnetar. "One lap inside of this loop will produce 1 gigawatt of energy and I need 500+ to do the job. Once it's full, I win." His eyes roved, almost lovingly over the Magnetar. His adoration for the machine was nearly palpable. "There's just no stopping it."_

 _Barry followed Zoom's gaze. Looked up at the machine that was to determine what was going to happen to Central City, to himself, to his team. "So all I have to do to beat you…is to stop that from happening." Simple. Yet so complicated._

 _"Right." Zoom shrugged. He reached up, pulling his hair from his forehead with the nonchalance that only a model could. "But if you decide that you want to stop racing before it's done, then father number 2 will die." He wiggled his fingers towards his team. "And so will your fan club."_

 _"They're not my fan club," Barry replied with a proud smile. "They're my family. They're the reason I'm running. Why I'm going to beat you."_

 _Zoom snorted. "Let's see what you're made of, Flash." He reached up and pulled his mask down over his face. Barry followed suit and the two got into position, lowering themselves into a crouch. For a few, long, tense seconds, the two waited quietly. Then Zoom spoke. "Run, Barry, run." And with that they streaked into the Magnetar, going in circles faster than their friends could see._

 _And Cadence waited. Waited for her cue, waited for that moment she would go in to help Barry stop Zoom once and for all. Along with her friends and family, her head shifted back and forth, watching the lightning streaks zip all around the Magnetar, the circular tube over and over twenty times within seconds._

 _And still, she waited._

 _Waited for the right moment._

 _Barry raced after Zoom, pushing himself to the limit. Every time he came close to the evil speedster, he'd knock Zoom in the side, hoping to jostle him off balance. But Zoom would recover, doubling back a few paces, then would continue along, chugging his arms even faster. Around and around they went, zig-zagging across the surface of the Magnetar in the circular pattern, powering up the core as they went along. White lightning struck from the energy they created, slowly beaming up into the sky. Central City became illuminated in the glow of the pillar of light._

 _"Come on Barry," Cisco whispered, bringing his hand up to his mouth to chew his nails. "Catch up."_

 _The beam continued to streak into the sky, causing a red electrical storm to appear. Lightning crackled back and forth over the clouds that started to form. Thunder rumbled in the background as it continued to increase in strength. The team flinched as a bolt of lightning struck the ground nearby, making them move to shield their faces._

 _And still Barry continued to run. Fast, fast, fast, fast. Faster and faster. Until his entire body vibrated, vibrated until it felt like he was splitting in two. Felt his fingers slowly start to split apart, his footsteps stumble as his feet shifted to the side. Suddenly, was a jolt of light and he found himself looking at a split version of himself. The other version looked back at him and nodded, eyes flashing with understanding. Barry nodded back. Then there was another flash of light as the two Flashes split up. One went down to release Joe from his restraints, taking him out to his family and friends who waited nearby._

 _"Barry?" Joe's eyes widened, twisting to look at the sphere above him. He could've sworn he'd just seen his son running along the Magnetar and now he was here…? Joe looked at Barry once more, eyes roving over the young man's face, hoping what he was seeing was true. "What? I don't—"_

 _"I'll explain later," Barry interrupted. He vibrated his hands and ripped Joe from his restraints, working hard to move as fast as possible. He glanced up towards the Magnetar as he ran Joe to safety._

 _Zoom, noticing what happened, growled and turned to the other Barry, tackling him out of the Magnetar and to the ground. He wasn't going to be fooled so easily. "A time remnant," Zoom hissed, visibly shaking with fury. "You stole my trick. But you're too late."_

 _A white lightning bolt streaked upwards and illuminated the sky._

 _Time-Remnant Barry continued to run around the Magnetar while Barry flipped to his feet and attacked Zoom with everything he had. Every punch, every kick, every blitz as he moved from one direction to the other to keep Zoom on his toes. All the while Time-Remnant Barry continued to sprint as fast as he could go._

 _"What's he doing?" Brady asked, watching the fight intently._

 _For a moment, Cisco was stumped. Then he figured it out as quickly as the lights that shot up intot eh sky. "He's creating his own pulse," Cisco realized._

 _"Why would he do that?" Jesse asked._

 _"It'll counteract the pulse of the magnetar," Harry said._

 _"But his body can't handle it," Tess insisted._

 _"What's going to happen to him?" Brady asked._

 _"He'll die," Harrison said._

 _"No," Caitlin whispered._

 _As the words escaped Harrison's lips, the Time-Remnant Barry slowly started to deteriorate in front of them, breaking apart into particles of dust as the lightning energy he created shot up into the sky along with the original pulse. Once it reached the electrical field that opened there was a pulse of energy that rained down around them. The pulse swirled through the industrial park, threatening everyone to pitch over, though Jesse and Wally were the only ones who fell._

 _Then the pulse blinked out. Leaving the sky as inky-black as it had been before. Even the stars that lit up the sky were nothing in comparison to the light that had been showing before. Like a dimmer switch had immediately and abruptly cut off._

 _"No!" Zoom shouted. He whipped around and grasped Barry by the head. He made sure to dig his talons into the speedster's skin before he ran. And as he ran, he flung Barry like a ragdoll. Back and forth. Slamming him into the ground and the sides of the Magnetar so hard the thuds echoed around the open space. And Barry took the beating, took in the anger that Zoom had been unable to hold any longer._

 _But Barry broke free and immediately took the offensive back against Zoom. The two speedsters elicited a flurry of attacks to each other that was only visible to the others in small bursts of light. Finally, Barry pinned Zoom to the ground, holding a vibrating hand over him. Barry glared into Zoom's face while Zoom merely smirked back at him._

 _"You're a hero, Barry," he taunted. "If you couldn't kill me before, you won't kill me now."_

 _Barry smirked back. "I don't have to." He looked over. "Now, Flare!"_

 _Cadence nodded back and ran a few steps before teleporting. Zoom looked up as Cadence teleported over him. Zoom knocked Barry off him and flipped to his feet, started to attack Cadence. Cadence flipped and twisted around Zoom, blocking the punches and grabs he tried to hit her with. But Zoom was still fast enough to grab Cadence by the arm and throw her towards the Magnetar. She fell hard to the ground and spun back to her feet, just in time for Zoom to get a hold of her._

 _He'd taken down Barry and now could take down Cadence as well. And he gave her the toughest thrashing of her life. Back and forth, across the industrial area, Zoom threw, punched, kicked, throttled, maimed, and attacked Cadence while she fought back as shard as she could. Every time she was knocked down she continued to get back up, but slower and slower each time._

 _"Ugh!" Cadence felt her back crack as she smacked against the Magnetar when he threw her again. She fell to the ground and spat blood out of her mouth. Her face burned, body ached, and her arms quivered as she tried to bring herself back to her feet._

 _"She's not healing," Ryder muttered from where he watched. "Why isn't he healing?"_

 _"She's exhausted," Tess remarked. "Without the energy to heal…"_

 _Cadence stood up, swaying so much the threat of a gust of wind could knock her over. And even with one eye swollen shut, a gash across her forehead, a bruised jaw, bruised and broken ribs, and scratches all up her arms Cadence stood, waiting for Zoom. "What's the matter?" She rasped. "Burned out?"_

 _Zoom's eyes widened behind his mask. He made a show of cracking his knuckles before racing towards her once more._

Wally still remembered the way the electricity had coursed through his body as he was hit with the wave of dark matter. How his body arched, pressing his chest up into the air, his body becoming tightened as each muscle was affected. His fingers had clenched together, toes curled so hard his feet ached for days afterward. His jaw was stuck together so tightly he couldn't let out even the slightest groan. This feeling, the feeling of the speed force moving between their hands was incomparable in the best way possible.

"Wow," Wally breathed.

Jesse smiled back at him. Then her smile washed-out, and she looked at him seriously. "Wally, how long has this been going on?" She asked.

"Not long," Wally hedged. He saw Jesse's eyes search his face for any insecurity. He added earnestly, "I'm still trying to figure everything out."

In surprise, Jesse dropped her hand, but didn't disconnect it from his. If anything, Wally tightened his grasp around hers. He needed it. Needed that lifeline to stay grounded. If not, he felt like he was losing everything. He needed to stay grounded. "You haven't told anyone," she realized. "No one else knows you're a Speedster."

Wally felt his irritation skyrocket. "Some team," he mumbled. "They act like they don't keep things from each other and know everything. But the moment they get the chance, they try to figure things out on their own. They don't let me do anything. Every time a meta come around, I'm being relegated to the sidelines."

"You didn't have any powers—"

"—I _do_ have powers."

"Now."

"Always! Just like you! I just…I hadn't been able to tap into it before." Jesse shook her head. Wally dropped his hand from hers, backed away from her. She didn't get it. "What are you doing here, anyway? Did you come here to rub in how everyone is so in love with Jesse Quick?" It wasn't like he could ignore the newspaper articles that heralded her aiding Flash and Flare with Frankie.

"I came here to see what you were doing today," Jesse replied, placing her hands on her hips. She frowned at him in a way that was very similar to how Harry would frown at Cisco. It made Wall shiver. "To spend some time with you. I didn't think I'd come in to see you freaking out over your powers." Then her face dropped. "It looked like you were having a nightmare."

The sudden change of topic made Wally blink in surprise. "Yeah," he said. He ran a hand over his face. "Yeah, yeah, I was." It was the voices again. He'd heard them more and more lately. Not just when he was sleeping, but when he was awake, when walking around campus. He'd hear the voice calling to him and he'd stop in his tracks. Sometimes, he'd be in class and would jolt to the side, knock his books to the ground, because of the abrupt voice in his head. It was getting worse, he knew it.

And he knew it was Alchemy. What he couldn't understand was _why_ Alchemy was coming after him. Not until he remembered what Barry had said about him; Alchemy was giving powers to those that had them in Flashpoint. If that were the case…then Barry had been keeping it from them. Not that he was surprised, Wally realized with a bitter frown. Barry was the leader of the Team, he _was_ the Flash. He could do whatever he wanted; be a hypocrite any way he wanted. And the others just had to live with that.

Wally was tired of living with it.

"What was it?" Jesse whispered.

"Nothing." Wally hated the way Jesse was looking at him. Like she could see through him. She probably could. With her speed everything he did was in slow motion. She could probably see everything in his face he was able to skillfully hide from everyone else. _Not like they'd even care to know if Barry's not involved._ "I…I didn't see anything."

"Wally."

"It's nothing."

Jesse stepped forward and grasped Wally's face in her hands. She gave him a kiss that immediately made him relax, shoulders slumping so quickly his muscles ached. Had he really been that tense for so long? She pulled back and looked him in the eye. "If we're going to make this…whatever it is…work then you have to be honest with me."

A wry smile came to Wally's face. "You've been watching a lot of Lifetime movies here, haven't you?"

"We don't have Lifetime on my Earth," Jesse agreed.

Wally chuckled. He wrapped his arms around her waist. He sighed through his nose. "I…I keep hearing this voice calling to me. And I'm not sure what it is, I think it might be Alchemy—"

"—Alchemy?"

He immediately sensed her panic. "I said 'I think' Jesse. I don't know for sure."

"But if it is—"

The two froze as soon as they heard a rapid knock on the door. Joe's voice was then heard saying, "Wally? Is everything okay, son?" Wally didn't get the chance to respond. With his powers, he could raced forward and slapped the door shut. Could've raced forward and knocked Joe away from his room. Could've gotten as far away as California before Joe had even realized what'd happened. Jesse could've done the same.

Their mutual shock caught them both by surprise. Not so much more that Joe and Iris, who both poked their heads around the door as Joe opened the door to the room. Wally's eyes met theirs at the same time Joe's head jerked back in surprise. Iris's lips curled into a smirk as she folded her arms, in only the way a sister could when she caught her brother doing something wrong.

Wally closed his eyes, dropping his hands from Jesse's waist. He could only imagine what they thought. "Um," he started weakly. "It's not what it looks like." He reached up to scratch his chest then blushed even harder, further realizing what the situation looked like.

"Um, I, uh," Joe stammered. Then he cleared his throat and looked at Wally sharply. "You, _do_ remember the rules we have around here?" He asked pointedly.

Of course Wally remembered. He didn't know any other twenty-year-old that had such harsh rules about having people over. Then again, Barry and Iris hadn't given him much space for leniency, not since the infamous 'crashing the new car' incident.

"Hey Jesse," Iris greeted. Her smile widened. Clearly, she was enjoying his. "What are you doing here so early?"

"Uh—" Wally hesitated.

"Wally has powers," Jesse blurted. Her eyes shifted over Iris's and Joe's faces. "He's a speedster."

Wally watched as Iris and Joe both reacted similarly to the news. Their eyes widened, jaws dropped before expressions of anger and frustration at his deception was clear on their faces. "What?" They asked, voices filled with varying degrees of disbelief.

So much so that Wally wished they only thought he had a girl in his room.

* * *

"And for homework tonight you have to read chapters six and seven. Make sure you pay attention. I'll be asking you some questions for reading comprehension and I want you to be prepared."

Brady nodded and quickly wrote down the assignment in his notebook. When finished, he shoved his books into his backpack, throwing his pen in along with it. He hurried from the room and to his locker, looking at his phone as he went. The same message he'd been sent ages ago, when he was desperate for answers. And now was the time to get some.

Stopping by his locker, Brady grabbed his other books for homework as well as his soccer ball. A good excuse for anyone who might come across them. So he'd miss one soccer practice. It wasn't the end of the world. And besides, so long as they got some answers and he made it back in time for the housewarming party, things would be fine. _Especially_ if they got answers.

"Hi." Leah walked up to him, tightly holding the straps of her backpack. She rocked forward and back from her toes to her heels. "Are you ready to go?"

Brady nodded, closing his locker door with the flat of his palm. "You look nervous."

"Aren't you?" Leah's eyebrows rose in surprise. "We're going to meet a guy who says he wants to train you, but may actually try to kill you." She tilted her head. "Doesn't that worry you a little?"

Brady's face screwed up in thought. "Not as much as being trained by Oliver manages to worry everyone else. I mean, they're acting like he's going to shoot an arrow through my heart or something." He shrugged. "I wouldn't put it past him, but I'm not worried about it happening."

Leah laughed. It was then Brady noticed her hands shaking. "I don't know, I still think, maybe, we should get some help with this." Brady tried to keep his face as neutral as possible. "I know you don't like Alicia at all."

"I like her just fine. Sort of."

"But she does have the best chance to getting the information we don't already have." Leah turned on her heel and the two started towards the front doors of the school. "You said you weren't getting much out of STAR Labs, right?"

Brady shrugged. "Can't get much information of people you don't know," he pointed out. "We don't even have surveillance for that meta we saw at the game." He kicked the soccer ball up in his hands and spun it around. A meta that could control glass. It wasn't something they could ignore. He had gotten away and hadn't reappeared since. Let alone leaving any sort of DNA evidence for them to lead up on. Any broken glass was swept away with the meta.

"All the more reason to ask Alicia for help."

"But—"

Leah gave him a pointed look. Despite the warm smile on her face and the pleasantry in her voice, she was serious when she said, "That wasn't a question." With that, she grabbed Brady's wrist and dragged him around the corner to the locker bay that held the other half of lockers for their grade.

Standing at her locker, Alicia leaned into the mirror that hung on her locker door and pursed her lips, rubbing lipstick onto them. Then she flipped her hair back over her shoulders with a few swipes of her hands, making sure it was in place. She must've spotted them coming behind her, for she closed the door and whipped around to face them. "What brings you to this side of the school?" She asked with a light laugh. "It definitely can't be the lightning." She pulled out her phone and leaned back and forth, studying her expression. "Can't take a good picture."

Leah laughed. "I'm sure your dad wouldn't mind having a lower phone bill."

"You're right." Alicia laughed as well. She placed her hands on her hips and looked back and forth between the two. "What's up? It looks like I'm interrupting some sort of outing." The lift to her voice made it evident what she was implying.

Leah and Brady both recoiled at the thought. "Ew!" "No."

Alicia giggled, moving her hand up over her mouth. "I'm just teasing. What's going on?"

With a thump of Leah's elbow in his side, Brady said, "We…need your help." Alicia motioned for him to continue. "Your dad's the chief of police. And every now and then my mom and Barry—"

"—Barry Allen, the CSI?" Alicia asked.

Brady nodded. Seemed that Barry's reputation was growing by the day. "They do some cases with metahumans sometimes. We know your dad doesn't really like metas, but we thought there'd be a way you can get some information from him that they can't."

Alicia frowned, her eyes shifting towards the ground as if she were contemplating it. "What sort of stuff."

"Files on who they may be. You heard about that meta that attacked during the soccer game?" Brady pressed. Alicia nodded. "Well, we're trying to figure out who that may be. There was no DNA evidence left that we know of."

"-And this other meta named Black Blade," Leah broke in. Brady shot her a confused look. They already knew enough about Black Blade. His name, his metahuman name, his abilities. The only thing they didn't know was what he truly wanted. That wasn't something she expected to get from a police file. "And White Hot."

"Maybe even something on Breathtaker or Savitar, too," Brady added.

Alicia held up her hands and took a few steps back. "Whoa, one at a time. I'm not asking for your dinner order." She folded her arms. "You're acting like I can get this stuff. Some of it, maybe. But everything else?"

Brady couldn't help the sarcasm that came to his voice as he asked, "Daddy's little princess can't wrap her father around his finger?"

Alicia smirked back, not taking the bait. "That's the easy part." Then her smile faded. "The hard part is, like, he talks about some of his cases but, like, not the big ones. This stuff would be classified. Like, under a SWAT team classified."

"So you can't help us?' Leah asked.

"I didn't say that," Alicia said quickly. "It's like Brady said, I've got my dad wrapped around my finger. He let's me do whatever I want. Still, this is, like, the police. I'll do my best but, I can't promise anything." She tapped her finger against her lips. "Now, what is it I want in return?"

"It's not like we can pay you," Brady pointed out. He motioned toward his pockets. "I'm on allowance and I've already spent it."

"Same here," Leah agreed.

"I don't think money's going to be a problem," Alicia pointed out dryly. She flipped her hair behind her shoulders once more. "I'll let you know when I figure something out." She wiggled her phone back and forth. "ASAP."

"Thanks!" Leah stepped forward and squeezed her friend's arm. "This really does help a lot. I'll call you later tonight, okay?" Alicia nodded in response and flung her purse—she didn't carry a backpack—over her shoulder and walked away as the hallways cleared out. Then Leah grabbed Brady's wrist once more and the two left the school at a fast-paced walk.

They went along in silence for ten minutes with Brady reading directions off his phone. They avoided any areas of the city where they could hear sirens or screams emanating. The last thing they needed was for Barry or Cadence to catch sight of and stop them. Dropping his soccer ball to his feet, Brady rolled it in front of him, lost in thought.

 _So far Black Blade hasn't shown that he's dangerous,_ Brady thought. _But he hasn't completely shown he's trustworthy either. This may be a trap we're walking right into._

Brady kicked his soccer ball into his hands as he and Leach came up to the street corner. He glanced up at the light that signaled for them to wait then let out a short sigh, pressing his palms into the ball as hard as he could. Anything to relieve himself from the nerves that threatened to take over his body. Make him shake like a leaf. He wondered if that's how his mother felt when she was about to go out into the field.

Leah shifted at his side, moving her weight from foot to foot. Her fingers fluttered at her sides before she folded her arms, obviously as nervous as he was. "Okay, so we have to figure out why Black Blade wants to train you." Leah pursed her lips as she thought. She looked up as the light changed and the two started across the street. "Maybe he's from the future?"

"I think we've had enough people that can run through time to deal with already," Brady muttered. He dropped his soccer ball to the ground and started to rhythmically kick it with the toes of each foot, watching intently as the ball rolled back toward him so he could do it all again. "We know he's not a speedster, so I'm not sure how he'd be from the future."

Leah nodded in agreement. She reached up, pulled her hair behind her ears. "Maybe he's you." She looked at Brady for his reaction.

His face screwed up and he paused in his steps. The soccer ball moved back towards him and he popped it up to his hands. "Huh?"

"From another Earth."

That made Brady snort loudly. "Do I look Japanese to you?" Then again, his mother did have some sort of Asian ethnicity in her, coming somewhere from back in Harrison's or Tess's family, it was evident from looking at her. Though as far as Brady was concerned, not many Asian men had silver hair and blue eyes either. _And aliens exist so who knows what he really looks like,_ he reminded himself.

Leah rolled her eyes. "I'm just saying there's a lot of things it could be." She reached out and shoved Brady on the shoulder, jostling him. He was sure she used part of her powers to give herself more force against him. "You don't have to shoot down all my ideas if you don't have any, you know."

"I'm not."

"You are."

"I'm just…" Brady sucked his lips into his mouth. "I'm just trying think of things logically. Like Caitlin and Cisco and Barry would do." It was all he could do, and how hard could it be? He'd been around them long enough, eyes bouncing back and forth as they speed of their conversation rapidly increased as ideas were thrown back and forth. He'd been around STAR Labs long enough to slowly start to understand their technical jargon as well.

"Well, what do they think?" Leah's eyes widened as Brady grinned. "You haven't told them?"

"I don't want them to worry."

"Have you met these people? I don't know them that well and even I can tell that they tend to worry even if you plan on just going across the city."

Brady's smile widened, knowing it was true. "Well, what can I say, they're family, they worry." His frown then replaced his smile as the two stopped in front of a dilapidated building. They were at the crossroads of the city, where the poorer side met the richer side. "This is it. Worst comes to worse, I can phase us out of there in a second."

"And I can hold him still," Leah added. Silence stretched between them for a moment. "You ready?"

"Yeah." Brady glanced at the screen once more, reading the instructions that had been sent him. He sucked in a deep breath and made his way into the building, trying not to look too freaked out when what looked to be a regular hotel lobby greeted them. Brady and Leah ducked their heads as they walked by the curious gaze of the man at the front desk and hurried to the elevator. It wasn't until they were inside and Brady jabbed his thumb into the correct button of the floor they were to stop on that he said, "So stranger danger is a thing, but we're willingly going to this guy's hotel room?"

Leah burst out laughing, easing the tension around them.

Finally, the elevator doors dinged open and the two went to the correct room. Brady reached up and knocked on the door. He stepped back and glanced at Leah, who nodded back, subtly pulling her fingers into her palm. She was ready in case he decided to catch them by surprise and attacked.

However, Black Blade—or Ryuto, as Brady remembered him introducing himself—gave them a warm smile as he opened the door. "You made it," he remarked before pressing his hands to his sides and leaned forward in a bow. Brady and Leah exchanged a glance and mimicked him, then hesitated and started to bow again. "You only have to do it once," he reassured them before taking a step back to let them in. "Thank you for coming on such short notice."

"We didn't have anything else to do," Leah said, casting a dismissive glance at Brady's soccer ball. He shot her an exasperated look in response, making her stick out her tongue. "And what you said was kind of important."

"You said you wanted to train me," Brady said, getting right to the point. "Why?"

Black Blade's blue eyes narrowed for a moment. "To make sure you can live up to your potential."

"Are you from the future?"

He smiled. "No."

"Can you _see_ into the future?"

"No."

"Then why?"

"I'm from Earth-2," Black Blade explained, to Brady's surprise. "I was brought over with White Hot when Zoom opened the breach to this Earth. I've been unable to return to m Earth."

"So that's what you want to do?" Leah asked. "You want to go home?"

Black Blade shook his head. "I don't want to return to my Earth until I'm sure it's reverted back to the peace it had been before." Brady frowned. "And that can't happen until Breathtaker and Savitar are both defeated."

* * *

Barry fastened a bowtie around his neck with rapid movements of his hand. He stood in the mirror, twisted back and forth, then frowned before unfastening it to replace it with another one. After a few minutes, he went through all the bowties that sat in his dresser drawer before giving it up completely. With a frustrated sigh, he placed his hands on his hips and turned away from the mirror to find Cadence sitting at her vanity, tilting her head to the side as she put in an earring.

"I never knew you cared so much about the way you looked, Tholly," she teased.

Lifting his gaze, Barry locked eyes with her reflection through the mirror. He managed a small smile, noticing the teasing one that graced her lips. "It's not that," he defended himself. "Just excess energy."

"You know, I've always wondered what happened if you didn't run during the day." Cadence tilted her head the other way to put in her other earring. "And now I know it's excess energy and the want to look good." She leaned back and turned her head upside down, her hair falling from her face. "You haven't thought of modeling before, have you?"

"Haha." Barry leaned over and pressed a kiss to her lips, which she eagerly returned, before angling her head back up. "No, I'm just thinking about Wally," he said.

"You're not the only one," Cadence agreed. Her eyebrows came together. "There's so many of us that have powers now."

"Yeah, but not all of them are metas because of you. Caitlin, Wally, and Jesse wouldn't be one if it weren't for me." Cadence lifted an eyebrow. Barry quickly explained, knowing he was only so far away from getting another lecture. "The only thing we can do now is train them like we do everyone else. Jesse's going to be going home soon and I'll just repeat the training I did with her with Wally."

"I meant thinking of how many targets Savitar and Alchemy have now," Cadence said gently. She spun in her chair to face Barry fully, crossing her legs at the knee. "And I'm sure it doesn't help much now that Wally knows about Alchemy and what happened in Flashpoint."

Barry sucked in a deep breath, nodding in agreement. How stupid had he been, to think that they'd been able to keep it a secret. To keep that Wally was Kid Flash away from Wally, Joe, and Iris. He'd meant to tell them earlier, he swore he did. Yet there never seemed to be a good time. Especially when he saw the thunderous look on Joe's face when he stormed into the practice room that morning. Iris and Wally followed behind him, both with lowered heads. Barry'd been so surprised at their sudden arrival he received a punch upside the head that sent stars twirling before his eyes, a punch he usually could've evaded with ease.

"Sorry," Cadence had quickly apologized.

"Not your fault," Barry replied. He rubbed his jaw, turning to Joe, who stood seething before him. His gaze shifted to Iris behind him, hoping for some warning, but she merely shrugged in response. "Uh, what's up, Joe?"

"You tell me," Joe replied. He sucked a deep breath in through his nose. "Seems that there's something about Wally that you never planned on telling us." Barry's eyes narrowed, heart ramming into his throat. "Like how Alchemy has been targeting him because in Flashpoint, he was a speedster!"

Barry's jaw dropped. He glanced at Iris once more, who lifted her chin and shot him an apologetic gaze before Barry turned his full attention back to Joe. "Look, I'm sorry, Joe. I know I should've told you sooner." Joe made a scoffing sound and turned away, running a hand over his head. "But I wanted to keep him safe. I didn't think there was anything that would happen. Wally had never shown any signs of being a speedster, I didn't think—"

"I _know_ you didn't think!" Joe snapped back. He quaked with fury, the only kind of fury Barry had seen from Joe once before. The first time he ran away from home when his mother died. He'd gotten so far to Iron Heights without anyone stopping him, Joe had been so angry. By the time he caught up to Barry he yelled and screamed every threat and grounding he could before breaking down into tears, showing how worried he was. "If you had, you would've told us sooner and we could've been sure Wally was okay. Now he's being targeted by a madman that's giving metas their powers."

"But he didn't get his powers from Alchemy, dad," Iris reminded him. "He got them the same way Jesse did, when the Magnetar blew up and sent out that wave of dark matter."

"Does that mean I'm going to turn into a meta, too?" Joe demanded. Iris lowered her chin, unsure of how to answer. "Are you? What about Harrison or Tess or even Harry? Maybe over on Earth-2 he's managed to become a meta and we just don't know it. Are the rest of us going to be targeted, too?"

"Look, I'm sorry, Joe!" Barry cried. His voice echoed around the walls of the practice room. "But there's nothing we can do about this now. You should've seen him in Flashpoint. He was a hero. He was the Kid Flash! And Iris worked alongside with him." Iris perked up at the mention of her name, exchanging a glance with Wally that Joe didn't see. One of curiosity and excitement. "They were a brother-sister crime fighting team that really helped me when I was over there. They helped me get home and Wally was amazing. Joe, if he's a speedster, then the Speed Force is in him. It chose him for a reason. Just like it chose me."

Joe seethed quietly, watching Barry throughout every word he spoke. Barry licked his lips, took a step forward. He placed his hand on Joe's shoulder. "I should've told you. I'm sorry. But now that Wally's a speedster, it gives us a better chance to stop Savitar. Three speedsters are better than two and two are better than one. If he's as good as he was in Flashpoint, he'll be amazing over here."

"Wow." Wally rubbed his arm, not used to the praise from his pseudo-brother. "Thanks, Barry."

Barry nodded back. He looked at Joe earnestly, who had softened within the last few seconds. Relaxing, Barry squeezed Joe's shoulder and shook him back and forth. It was going to take some time for Joe to understand why he did what he did, but at least he could be watched now. Able to use his powers freely rather than trying to hide it on his own.

"So," Cadence's voice broke through the tension. Her eyes shifted over each West's face, a small, mischievous smile coming to her lips. "How fast can he go?"

As they found out, Wally was faster than Barry had been at that point in his training. And Wally didn't enjoy anything more than being able to run as fast and as freely as he could. Barry and Jesse joined in with him as they raced around the speed lab, their top speed clocking in at different variables. But it couldn't be denied, Cisco said as he and Caitlin and HR watched the readings on the tablets. Wally was indeed at an amazing top speed for his start as a speedster.

Barry and Jesse came to a stop, prompting Wally to do the same. He nearly fell over with the speed he put on the brakes, but there was nothing that could wipe the smile from his face. Not even knowing how many speed tests Caitlin would put him through.

"Okay, okay, anything." Wally rubbed his hands together, unable to keep the eager smile from his face. "But when do I get to go out in the field with you guys."

"Not for a while, I hope," Joe said. It took most of the day, but Joe finally had been able to wrap his head around the truth. Wally was a speedster and there was no way for his powers to be taken away. Barry was glad it gave Joe enough time to stop being so angry at him.

Now all they needed was to figure out when and where Alchemy would show up next. Especially now that Wally was revealed to be a speedster. He'd gone after Frankie long enough and considering the voices they heard were similar. _We may not have a lot of time,_ Barry thought. _If Savitar knows—_ Barry groaned as Cadence suddenly pushed back in her seat, sending it into his stomach.

"Could you zip me up?" She asked, turning her back to him. Barry nodded and did as he was told, grabbing the zipper in his hand. "Or maybe it's a good thing that they know about Flashpoint. Joe seemed to be pretty excited about things by the time we were done with practice."

"Yeah, but you don't know Joe as well as I do," Barry agreed. "There's always a storm brewing under that calm. You think he took it lightly when Iris and I took his car for a joyride?"

"No parent would, Tholly. I hope you know that."

"Didn't you do the same thing?"

"No, I took _my_ motorcycle that _they_ grounded me from."

"And what happened?"

Cadence smiled sheepishly. "I crashed it."

"Exactly." Barry took a step back from Cadence and folded his arms. "I'm just a little worried. It's my default mood now." He ran a hand through his hair. "It's starting to become annoying, honestly."

"Mm." Cadence mimicked his stance. "You sure that's the only mood you're in?" She asked. Barry shrugged and nodded. The fire metahuman lifted her hand and pointed with her thumb towards her back. "Because I asked you to help me zip up, not zip it further down."

Barry blushed and laughed. "Yeah, well, you know how hard it is to turn my brain off, sometimes. I guess I'm a bit more distracted than I thought." He zipped her dress up and pressed a kiss to the side of her head. "What about you? Are you okay?"

"Yeah," Cadence replied, her eyebrows coming together. She gave him a funny look as she left their room, carefully grabbing the railing so not to fall down the stairs in her heels. "Why?"

"It's just…" Barry pressed his lips together, thinking of the best way to bring it up. "It's just…even before Deity left you've been acting kind of funny." Cadence lifted her eyebrows. "Distracted. And kind of distant. You seem to be driving yourself crazy with this whole housewarming thing. I mean, I know your mom kind of pushed it on you—"

"—Then you understand why I'm a bit distracted," Cadence interrupted. She shrugged. "And, like you, I kind of have my mind on an evil meta who wants nothing more than to see me dead, so that can be a bit difficult to wrap my head around at times, you know?" Barry did know. Still, he watched in concern as Cadence went into the kitchen, pacing back and forth as she talked to herself. "Plus, everything we learned from Brady about Black Blade today—"

"—I don't like the way he did it either, but you have to admit it was some good information."

"I can admit that, I just wish things were easier. We've always had to do the hard work and for what? To still have things be unfair? Geez." Cadence scratched the back of her head before reaching around to repeatedly drum her fingers against her fingertips, eyes shifting back and forth. "Do you think I should've gotten some of that jazz music mom offered?"

"Is that a Metropolis thing? Having to have such upscale…" Barry waved his hands around, indicating the china plates, soft lighting, and massive spread of food. "Everything?"

"This is Metropolis on a miniature scale, Tholly." She jumped topics again. "Okay, the quiche is in the oven, the beer and wine are in the fridge and the candles are on the table."

"You forgot to light them," Brady pointed out from where he sat at the table, looking at his phone. He sat up as Cadence rolled her eyes. "Oh, come on, it's always so cool."

"So, you decided to go and blow them all out?" Barry asked.

Brady gave him a look before slouching in his seat. "If she sneezed, they would've gone out anyway." Cadence smiled and ruffled his hair as she passed him. "And dad's done fixing the window, by the way."

"Thanks," Cadence said, to which Brady lifted his hand in a wave to say 'you're welcome.'. "I nearly forgot." Then her eyes widened, and she pressed the sides of her head. "But I forgot the ice."

"I'm on it." Barry raced from the apartment in a gust of wind that knocked out the rest of the candles. Brady huffed loudly as his hair shifted from his face and he had to use both hands to fix it and said, "Sometimes, I hate it when he does that."

"Join the club," Cadence agreed. She walked to the living room where Ryder finished rolling up the sleeves of his button down and dusted off his hands. "Wow, you really _did_ fix the window," she remarked, looking at it. "You'd never know a fire extinguisher went through there."

Ryder smiled, one half of his mouth turning up. "That's my job, Cadey." His eyes squinted. "And something tells me that I don't want to know why a fire extinguisher went through a window."

Cadence shrugged, brushing her hair behind her ears. "Something with a meta and an alien who were trying to make dinner."

Ryder stared at her so long Cadence wasn't quite sure he'd heard her at first. She made a face, lifting a hand to wave in front of his eyes, then, finally, he blinked and shook his head, closing his tool box. "That's a terrible set up to a joke."

"It'd be funnier if it weren't true."

"Such is life."

The two smiled, closing their eyes against the blast of wind that shot back through the apartment when Barry reappeared. He grinned, clutching a large bag of ice against his chest. "Here you go."

"Thank you, you're a lifesaver." Cadence grabbed the bag and walked it to the sink before she could melt it on accident. She passed Brady, who knelt on his chair over a candle and barked, "Brady, stop messing with the candles."

"Well, if _you're_ not going to light them…"

Ryder noticed the look of intense irritation on Cadence's face and went to his son, lifting his hands to ease the tension that was slowly building. He patted Barry on the shoulder as he passed. Barry nodded back then watched as Cadence dumped the ice into the sink, being careful to plug the drain before doing so. Barry's eyebrows came together.

Finally, he couldn't keep himself from asking, "Hey, how're you doing?" He saw Cadence's shoulders tense, making him lower his voice even further. "For real, are you okay? You seem really tense."

Like a bobblehead, Cadence nodded. "Yep." She popped the 'p' on the word. "I'm fine." With a hand, she pulled her hair back from her face and watched Barry watching her. She knew him well enough by that point to know he wasn't going to let it go.

"Because if you're not, you can talk to me." He pressed, eyes searching hers. "You know that, right?"

"I know."

"Because you've always been able to. No matter what, that's not going to change."

"I know."

Silence stretched between them and Barry continued to watch her. He wasn't quite sure what it was, but he knew there was something she wasn't saying. He wished she had her sense of perception, it was the only advantage she had—that he could see—from being in the Assassination Bureau. Being able to read people so clearly, so easily. Nevertheless, Barry nodded and let it go. He had to do what he always did and trust her to come to him when the time came.

He jumped when the doorbell rang. Cadence's expression immediately changed to mirth—with a hint of nervousness, he noted, before she wiped her palms off on the sides of her dress. Barry held up his hands and went to answer the door. Cadence, resting a hand on her hip, turned towards the remaining candles that still needed to be lit and winked, immediately setting them ablaze to Brady's delight. The smile on Barry's face was genuine as he greeted his friends and teammates who had arrived promptly. They filed in one by one with, all holding a housewarming gift. Wally smiled as he greeted the two with a small plant in his hands, of which Jesse explained was one the two spent a few hours deciding to pick out.

HR, however, stole the show with a glass bowl filled with a tiny turtle. "On my Earth, we give reptiles," he explained to Barry's stunned surprise. "I present to you…McSnurtle The Turtle." He lovingly patted his hand atop the opening of the bowl. "Be careful, she bites."

Barry blinked rapidly as he took the bowl. He turned it this way and that, studying the small reptile that sat inside. "This is for me?" He asked, unable to keep the smile working onto his face. He used to have fish, a long time ago. Remembering how much time and care he put into them. It'd been so long since he had a pet.

"Cool!" Brady reached up and grabbed the bowl from Barry's hands, peering into it as he walked it to the dining room table where Caitlin and Cisco crowded around. Barry's rapid blinking turned to his wounded puppy expression as he regarded Cadence who simply shrugged and said with a smile, "It's Brady's now. He's been begging me for a dog for years, maybe this will be better."

"Wow," Cisco said as he twisted around. He whistled appreciatively and exchanged glances. Caitlin nodded as she shifted a large bouquet up into her arms. "You guys did a great job here; this place is nice!"

"Thanks," Cadence beamed. She waved a hand around the living room. "Barry picked out the place, but I did most of the decorating."

"I knew you said you were into interior design, but this is amazing," Caitlin said. She handed the flowers over to Cadence, who shifted them to her left arm so that she could give her best friend a proper hug. "It must've taken you a long time to get everything together. It's a lot of space."

"Interior design was one of my pregnancy projects," Cadence explained. She chuckled. "I also got a little bit into plumbing and mechanics. Nothing more than being able to do basic maintenance. Let me tell you, when they say you get into a nesting phase, they're not kidding."

"This is the girl who decided that the entire nursery needed to be rearranged top to bottom when she was going into labor," Maya said, coming up to her daughter and placing a kiss on the side of her head.

"It didn't look right," Cadence defended herself. She smiled and hugged her mom tightly. A welcome change from the way she was around her mother before. "Thanks for coming, mom."

"I wouldn't miss it," Maya replied. "I'd love to get to know your little friends even more. And you know me, I'm not one to miss out on a party." She waved to Harrison and Tess, who arrived holding onto a large bottle of wine. Then her eyes shifted towards Jay as he walked into the room behind them.

Barry and Cadence exchanged worried glances. They hadn't gone so far into the explanation of alternate Earths to Maya despite seeing Harrison and Harry for herself and meeting Jesse. Nevertheless, she seemed to have understood for she quickly patted her hair and practically purred, "And who's that handsome—"

"Don't!" Barry and Cadence barked in unison, making Maya jump and widen her eyes innocently.

"I was just asking a question."

Barry laughed along with his friends before excusing himself to go to the kitchen to get something to drink. He noticed Joe sitting at the counter with two tumblers of wine sitting in front of him. His hand sat near the left tumbler, which was already half empty.

"Is that for me?" Barry asked, nodding towards the other tumbler. He took it and gratefully poured it all down his throat when Joe nodded. He couldn't get drunk, but sometimes he needed to at least try. Anything to act even a little bit normal. "Thanks."

Joe nodded in response. He lifted his gaze to rove around the expansive kitchen. "This place is incredible, Bare."

"Thanks."

Joe was pensive for a moment, but Barry continued to watch him. He passed his tumbler back and forth between his hands, waiting for what Joe had to say. "You know, I miss you around the house," he said slowly. Then he let out a long breath, turning his attention to Wally, who sat on the couch, wrapped in each other's arms and nodding to something Tess was telling them. "But Wally keeps me plenty occupied."

"Yeah…" Barry slowly smiled. "Iris told me about you guys finding him with Jesse this morning." He couldn't help but laugh when he noticed Joe's dark cheeks darken even further. "Did you go as postal as you did with me and Becky."

"I never had to worry about Becky," Joe reminded Barry. "You were too nervous to even sit next to her." Barry's smile immediately faded, making Joe laugh. "Well, except that _one_ time."

"We don't need to talk about that."

Joe laughed even harder, knowing he got to Barry even further. Then he sighed and said, "But now with him being a speedster…"

"Look, I know you don't like it." Barry rolled his eyes. Not liking it was an understatement. Joe hated practically everything meta related since Barry had first become The Flash, mostly due to the shock of new metas and his heart being unable to take it. "Honestly, I'm not so happy about it, either. But…there's nothing we can do about it now." Barry watched Joe's face as he continued. "Wally's always had that drive to be a hero, to help people and now…maybe he can do that. Be the best hero he can be."

"Well, I can't say it'd be too bad to have both of my sons as heroes," Joe said.

Barry smiled and clinked his tumbler against Joe's. Then he tilted his head and looked longingly into his empty glance. "Sometimes I wish I could celebrate like a true hero. That whole needing a glass to wind down thing hasn't felt any more amazing than right now."

"Be careful with that," Jay said, walking over. "I hear alcohol and speedsters never really mix."

"I didn't think speedsters could get drunk," Joe reminded him.

A wry smile came to Jay's face. "You learn a few tricks when you're desperate enough," he said. He took a glance around the kitchen and said, "It looks like you've decided to follow my advice." Barry squinted. "To slow down and let things happen naturally. I've been watching you for a while, kid and you've been starting to run yourself ragged."

"I could've told you that," Joe remarked.

"Just like another speedster I know, who doesn't know when to give up their heroics." Jay's eyebrows twitched upwards as he grabbed his shoulder and rubbed at his neck. "There's plenty going on, on my Earth to keep this old man busy."

Barry shook his head. "You're not old."

Ja laughed. "You probably can't tell just by looking at me. Speedsters tend to age a bit slower. But I'm certainly older than many would give me credit for. It's flattering up until I remember that my bones don't work the way they used to. Hence, my need to slow down."

"And why you keep reminding me," Barry realized.

"That and because I don't want to see you give up your entire life to be a speedster. You may be the Flash, but you're still Barry Allen. The more you remember that, the better off you'll be."

"But Flashpoint—"

"Flashpoint…" Jay briefly closed his eyes. "Flashpoint was a mistake, yes. A mistake that has had some disastrous consequences. However, some good has come out of it as well. You've got another speedster on your side, a team that's growing bigger by the day. It's only a matter of time until you've got everything you need to take down Savitar. And until then, it's better to relax and live in the moment." He looked around the apartment. "And right now, I see there's plenty to live for."

Joe pointed towards Jay. "Couldn't have said it better myself. Are you sure you're not _my_ doppelganger?"

"I've seen your doppelganger on my Earth before," Jay replied. He sucked in a breath between his teeth. "That's something I'm not sure you want to know about.

Barry laughed at the expression of horror that came to Joe's face at the implication. Then he looked up at the sound of soft clinking on glass. For a moment, he wondered if someone had managed to break already then found HR standing in the middle of the living room, holding a drumstick in one hand and a tumbler in the other. Barry turned to shoot Cadence a questioning look, she gave him a shrug in response

With HR it was hard to predict anything he was going to do.

"So I've asked myself to say a few words," HR said once all eyes were on him. He smiled at each and every face turned his way before continuing. "um, on his occasion. I hope you don't mind, it's only a few words and then we can get back to this party at this gorgeous home. A home, it's more than bricks and mortar or a turtle." Barry rolled his eyes. "It's a feeling. A feeling of belonging. Of love of hope, for the future." He smiled, waving with his drumstick back and forth between Barry and Cadence. "I don't know if I have ever met two people who are more suited to one another than you two." Barry smiled as he felt Cadence wrap her arm around his waist, making Barry instinctively move his arm around her shoulders. "To know they're partners in and out of the field; it's very rare, very lovely when able to experience it yourself. I'm sure everyone here can say it's something we all aspire to have in life." He lifted his glass. "To Barry and Cadence."

"To Barry and Cadence," came the unanimous response as glasses were raised.

Barry looked down at Cadence, who beamed back at him. "To us," they said in unison.

* * *

Julian pushed himself back from his microscope, letting out a quiet sigh. He turned around to Savitar, who sat on the windowsill of the lab, looking down at the city below. The scarred side of his face was pointed Julian's way, the eye, which should've been blinded, hidden beneath the worn skin, fluttered at Julian's movement.

"Why haven't we attacked yet?" Julian asked, Alchemy's voice coming from his mouth as his lips moved. "We're running out of time."

"Patience," Savitar said. His eyes flashed as he passed the Philosopher's Stone back and for the between his hands. "They deserve some time to themselves." He tossed the Philosopher's Stone into the air and caught it again. "I've learned over time, the best time to strike is when they lease expect it." He grinned, the scarred side of his face moving upwards. "And I know them well enough to know the perfect time to strike."

* * *

 **A/N:** And now Team Flash know about Wally. And so does Alchemy and Savitar. I told you there'd be a lot of answers within this arc (though some more questions are coming in as well). What do you think about these cliffhangers, guys? There's plenty more action/fight scenes coming up, I know these last few chapters have been a bit light on them.

Please remember to review; any feedback helps me become a better writer and motivates me to write more. I respond to every review, even anonymous ones. I update my story every Wednesday, if there's a time that I won't it will be posted on our twitter: DarkElements10.

 **Cheers,**

 **-Riley**

 **Review Replies**

 **Ethan:** No, Cadence doesn't know what Harrison and Tess told Maya. Cisco had questioned her about it, to ask Harrison to be sure, but she'd refused to know, just in case it was Harrison who had actually done it. It was said back in _Fuel to the Fire_ that she didn't want to know the truth. But who knows now that Maya knows, how long it'll be kept a secret.

 **DarkHelm145:** So I hope the rest of the sneak peek as to your liking. Besides, cliffhangers are fun for me. There's always something that can be done to hold people's attention and with some more of the answers that need to be given-as well as increasing the pacing for teh story-there's bound to be a lot of them as the story goes on.

 **yummers:** Thanks! I'm glad you enjoyed it. I guess I've been torturing Cadence a bit too much. There are happy moments with her coming up, especially one _big_ one. ;)

 **Guest:** I hope things continue like that, where people don't see what I have planned coming. Lol.


	21. Taking Control

**21**

 _Taking Control_

* * *

Barry leaned back in his seat, doing his best not to roll his eyes. Looking across the room, he found Captain Singh did the same, folding his arms over his chest as he stood behind Chief Paulson, who continued his presentation in front of the entirety of the CCPD. Resting his cheek on his upraised palm, Barry looked around at the others crammed into the conference room.

Joe sat slouched in his seat, clearly looking at his phone beneath the desk, something was making him smile every few seconds. Detective Patterson stood at the back of the room, leaning against the wall behind him, doing his best to keep his head up. Every few seconds his chin fell towards his chest before his head were shoot back up, his eyes growing wide each time. It'd only take a few seconds before he'd do it all again. Cadence sat across from him, writing something in a notebook that Barry couldn't quite read from upside down.

Julian was the only one who wasn't trying to hide he wasn't paying attention to Chief Paulson. No, he had his head bent over his own notebook, frantically scribbling away as if unable to focus on anything else. Then, just as long, he'd sit up and focus on Chief Paulson. Nevertheless, Barry couldn't help but feel a sense of tension coming from Julian since he arrived at work that morning. Barry tried to play the good guy, wanted to keep things calm between the two and said a quick, "Hey" when he arrived.

Julian didn't respond. He kept his eyes glued to the microscope on his desk, shifting every few seconds to mark something down in his notebook. He put his pen down and went straight back to looking through the notebook.

Clearing his throat, Barry stood by Julian's desk, suddenly wondering why he even bothered to be nice to him. But if they were going to be working together…and if he knew about Caitlin's identity, then he needed to play nice. And do everything he could to figure out how to talk Julian out of what he already knew. The CSI wasn't stupid, and Barry knew it'd take some time to figure out what it would be to get him to understand how dire it was that Caitlin's name be kept out of his mouth.

"I, uh, I stopped by Jitters on my way to work and got you a drink," Barry said. He continued to stand by Julian's desk, holding onto the two steaming cups of coffee. He could feel the heat starting to burn through the containers and into his palms. With Julian's attention on the microscope, Barry took the opportunity to rapidly vibrate his hands so that the drinks cooled down. "I didn't know what you actually liked so I thought I'd just get some tea."

"Is that some sort of a jab against my upbringing?" Julian murmured, still hunched forward.

Barry thought for a moment then his eyes widened. Of course he knew Julian hailed from England; the accent was a dead giveaway. But it was something else he'd thought about even further since Julian had explained his past with the Philosopher's Stone. It all linked together in some way. He just had to find out how.

"No, no," Barry said quickly. "Of course not. Th-that's not what I meant at all. I mean, I was just seeing, I mean, you looked like you could use something to drink. And Jitters is on my way to work—"

"—Jitters is not on your way to work," Julian murmured. "Considering where it is you've moved to as of late. Jitters is a bit out of your reach, to the point that it makes it peculiar how you managed to get here at your same amount of tardiness despite it being so far out of your way." He leaned back in his seat, rubbing his eyes as they disconnected from the microscope and looked Barry in the eye. "And I can't imagine that tea you brought me is of good will, mate."

Barry did his best not to grit his teeth. There were many important things to worry about; namely Alchemy, Savitar, and Caitlin being targeted by the CCPD. Julian's attitude was not one of them, no matter how badly Barry wanted it to stop.

"Look, man, I just wanted to clear the air between us a little—"

"Clear the air?" Julian snorted. For a moment, he turned his gaze away from Barry, almost as if he saw something Barry couldn't. Then he locked eyes on Barry once more, his eyes darkening. "That possibility sailed out the window the day you visited me in the hospital."

Finally, Barry dropped the drinks into the trash can. He no longer wanted The Flash, the drink he got every morning. The drink that at least let him know the city rallied behind him. Even if there were others that wanted nothing more than for him to reveal himself. Others still wanted metas condemned, though it'd been a while since he'd seen a 'Death to Metas' tag on the side of a building. "Look, man, I don't know what else you want me to say—"

"I want you to tell me the truth," Julian said. He continued to look at Barry so closely, he may as well have been looking right through him. Barry stayed rooted to the spot, looking back at him. "I want you to tell me that your mate, Caitlin Snow, is a metahuman."

Barry had started to shake his head as Julian started speaking. Continued to shake his head, realizing Julian wasn't going to let it go. He thought he'd knocked Julian off the trail when he visited him as The Flash, got the information he needed about the Philosopher's Stone. He should've known it'd take more time to get Julian to stop obsessing. Especially considering his name plate, Metahuman CSI Expert, was staring Barry in the face. Julian was never going to give it up unless he had some substantial proof of being correct or incorrect about Caitlin.

In response, Barry just shook his head and turned away. Not having a response seemed to have spurned Julian even further. As Barry went to his desk, the CSI Metahuman Expert said, "Have I struck a nerve? You seem to want to leave the conversation."

"Only because it's a conversation you don't want to leave alone," Barry said.

"Is it because she's a meta?"

"She's _not_ a meta, Julian."

At that moment, Barry wasn't sure if Julian had suddenly developed powers of his own. Smoke practically blew from his nostrils, his entire body shaking. Barry shrank back in his seat when Julian clamped his hands down on the arms of his chair. Barry's eyebrows furrowed, watching the metal bend under his hands. He hadn't expected Julian to be that strong, that angry.

"Then explain to me what I saw?" He growled, voice suddenly taking on a low, raspy tone. "Explain to me how I saw her shooting ice from her hands."

Barry opened and closed his mouth. Then he sat up straight and cleared his throat. His voice was strong as he said, "You were hit really hard."

"Yes." Julian sneered. "The Flash decided to punch me across the face. How heroic of him." He rolled his eyes. "Please don't insult my intelligence, I had seen her long before The Flash decided to go rogue. She _kidnapped_ me, remember. Decided to use me and my expertise to find…someone or something."

 _The Philosopher's Stone._ Barry knew that now. The connection before had been something they weren't sure of. If Caitlin—or Killer Frost—had thought of it then, the memory must've been something she'd found out and had been buried in the back of Caitlin's mind when turning back to Caitlin.

"I had been awake long enough to see the powers she could exhibit." Julian held up his arm where a bandage was wrapped from his wrist to the middle of his forearm. "I wouldn't have wound up in the hospital, now would I?" Barry sucked in a deep breath through his nose but stayed silent. "You can try to talk me out of this as much as you want, but I know what I saw. I know what I heard. I know you're trying to protect your friend. I know The Flash is trying to protect her. What I don't know, what I don't understand, is how you're able to do so when also being able to continue representing the law."

Barry gritted his teeth even harder. Hard enough that a dull ache started to throb in the hinges of his jaw. It was one thing to say he was trying to save his friend, that part was true. But to take a jab at the way he did his job? That was where he drew the line. Barry took pride in his work at the CCPD, it'd become his life in many good and bad ways.

"I don't know what your problem is—" he started.

"Why don't you go ask your friend The Flash?" Julian interrupted. He stood up and moved in front of Barry, folding his arms. "You work alongside STAR Labs on some of your cases I'm sure you've seen the,"—Julian raised his hands to do air quotes—"'Scarlett Speedster' around there every now and then. I mean, if he hadn't been running too fast." Barry sucked in a deep breath through his nose, his chest rising as he did so. "Like I've said to him, it's his work that's made people here lazy. We can't do our jobs the way we're supposed to because of what he does, and everyone here has become complacent. But as for you, I know you know more than you're letting on and there's nothing more than I want than for you to tell the truth. About everything."

The two stared at each other. Silence stretched between them so long that Barry could hear bubbles popping in the boiling water of their hot plate on the other side of the expansive lab. Julian's lips pulled back in a smirk before he nodded. "Well, the silence just says it all, doesn't it?" He said. "I hope Captain Singh or even Chief Paulson finds it interesting of your connection to Caitlin Snow."

Fear stabbed at Barry's heart. "Julian—"

"— _And_ that you came to my hospital room to try to talk me out of naming her," Julian continued, as if not hearing Barry in the first place. "And, of course, after that, the Flash came to try the same thing. How would he feel if he knew you were abusing your power at the police department to use the Flash for personal use?"

Barry's hands started to shake with fury. He could feel the power of the speed force gather through him and knew he was only seconds away from lightning flashing through his eyes. It was the worst thing he could do, but Julian made him so angry sometimes…

"Albert! Allen!" Captain Singh stormed into the lab, his forehead pinched with frustration. "What are you two still doing up here?" Barry took the opportunity to take a step back, forcing himself to calm down. "The mandatory meeting is starting in a few minutes." His eyes shifted to Barry. "I know you have a tendency to be late so I made sure to personally escort you there myself. Though it appears that Albert has had the same idea."

"Yes," Julian hissed, eyes still on Barry. He hadn't taken his eyes off him even when Captain Singh entered the lab. "I wanted to keep my eye on him."

Now through the meeting it appeared Julian still wanted to do the same. Barry did his best not to look over at Julian but could feel his eyes on him every time. Barry let out a frustrated breath, rubbing his forehead. Some of the people that made him the most nervous as of late, were in the room with him and there was nothing he could do about it. Chief Paulson wanted to get rid of metahumans and was his boss's boss, Captain Singh always had his eyes on him, and Julian wanted to do nothing more than ruin Barry's life. How could anyone keep calm with that?

"And with these new measures put in place, the city shall be safer," Chief Paulson said. He took in a deep breath, chest swelling. He clasped his hands behind his back. "It is against my judgement to work so closely with STAR Labs but considering what has been created to help us over the years, it's not anything we can ignore. The protective shields created to deter Captain Cold and Heat Wave have provided the CCPD with the means to deter any elemental attacks. The BOOT—as was named by a Cisco Ramon—also handles the deflection of a meta's powers to aid in the transportation to Iron Heights."

Barry felt a gentle kick to his leg and looked over to Cadence, who he shared a smile with. Cisco would've blown a gasket of happiness for the recognition he was getting for his work. Though it was a good thing he wasn't there, Barry realized. Julian would have a field day questioning him about Caitlin's whereabouts and what he knew about her powers.

"Next week we're to team up with The Flash and Flare to visit local school groups to teach them safety around metas, school lockdowns, and what to do when seeing a meta."

Barry's eyes widened with horror while Cadence sat up straight. "What?!" They cried in unison, unable to keep themselves quiet. Barry racked his brains, trying to remember when he'd agreed to anything like that. They must've said something at some point, there was so much going on he didn't remember.

Captain Singh let out a heavy sigh and rolled his eyes. "Apparently you don't pay attention to the department wide meetings we have, Allen. Remember the last time we were here when we had that conference of what to do when The Flash moves you suddenly?"

Right. The one Barry had rolled his eyes through. He was The Flash, why did he have to listen to the CCPD tell him what to do when suddenly moved if he as the one that was moving them? He probably should've paid more attention.

Julian, of course, didn't miss the opportunity to make a snide remark to Barry. "Just goes to show you the amount of respect you give this job, Allen." As if to punctuate his remark, he closed his notebook with the palm of his hand, emitting a low _thump_ as he did so.

Barry glared but didn't respond. But Cadence did for him. Her eyes flashed as she turned to face Julian herself. "Did you show any respect for my job or my case when you decided to out Frankie Kane?" She demanded. Julian glared back at her. "You ruined my case."

"She was a meta," Julian replied. He thumped the table with the tip of his finger. "And as the CSI Metahuman Expert, it is my duty to follow and finish cases where metas are present. And Frankie Kane turned out to be a meta, I was doing my job."

"Your job is to use the forensic information you can find to determine their role in a case—"

"—And was she not the reason her father ended up in the hospital, mate?"

"Her _foster_ father!" Cadence practically snarled. "The same foster father who was beating her up as long as I could remember. I would've been able to get her to trust the CCPD and what I could do to help her."

"As a meta, she managed to not only destroy public property, but she nearly managed to put her father—"

"— _foster father—"_

"—on the brink of death. She put a street light through his bloody window! She attacked Officer Ramirez when he was arriving back at the station and may have died if The Flash hadn't been there to catch him from a car that was thrown. Not only that, but she managed to put the entire city in danger with the vortex of shrapnel she created. I don't think she's innocent, do you Miss. Nash."

Fire blazed through Cadence's eyes. She opened her mouth to respond but Captain Singh cut her off with a slap of his palm against the table. "Argue about this on your own time!" He snapped. "There are procedures and protocols we all follow and if you want, we can go through it later. Right now, we need to give all our attention to Chief Paulson and the…" he stood up straight, adjusting his tie. "Ideas he has to have our precinct continue to run smoothly."

"That's alright, Captain Singh," Chief Paulson said, holding up his hand. "It's good to see initiative within those that are trying to protect our city." He cleared his throat, narrowed eyes shifting over everyone in the room. "With metahumans' presence in Central City the way the police department operates must change and those changes will not be easy. Thank you for your time. If there are any worries, please bring them to me or Captain Singh."

 _That's exactly the opening Julian's been waiting for,_ Barry thought. All the muscles in his body tensed as he looked to the man who was making his work life miserable. Julian sat back in his seat, arms folded tightly across his chest, an expression like that of a bulldog on his face; lower jaw jutting out, And yet, his eyes sparkled as if he'd just been promised a promotion.

"And my office door is always open," Captain Singh agreed. He removed a hand from behind his back and looked at his watch. He lifted his chin and said, "You're dismissed." He addressed everyone with a nod, prompting everyone to get up from their seats. "Detective West, may I have word with you?"

Joe immediately put his phone away and nodded to his boss. With a grin, Barry looked over and said, "Oooh, looks like someone's in trouble."

Joe lifted an eyebrow and pointed directly into Barry's face. "Keep it up and we'll see who can still be ground even if you don't live with me anymore."

Barry's smile immediately faded. His eyes widened in horror. "For real?" He asked. If there was anything Joe West was good at, it was instilling fear in people when that fear needed to be made.

"For real," Joe agreed, raising his eyebrows. "Seems to me that Julian's already doing that for me. The grounding I mean." He snorted when Barry rolled his eyes. "I know you don't like each other, but it seems to be getting worse lately."

"Yeah, I guess my visiting him as The Flash didn't help too much," Barry agreed, lowering his voice so not to be overheard. He noticed Julian get up from his seat and practically shove his way through the crowd of officers trying to leave the room. He was close behind Captain Singh. "I don't like it, Joe. He's starting to get too close. He knows there's a link between me and Caitlin and the Flash."

Joe gave him a look. "Let's be honest, Barry, there's not much that's keeping you away from The Flash. STAR Labs has been helping us out ever since you woke up from your coma. And you're very close friends with Caitlin and Cisco."

 _As Barry watched, eyes shifting in confusion, the fire started to die down all on its own. When it was out nothing remained other than a scorch on some of the tougher logs and branches. Ashes littered the vegetation that couldn't withstand the heat. Turning around, Barry noticed a brunette standing behind him, fire flickering at her fingertips. Her eyes shifted down to the watch that rested on her left wrist. "It's about time you got here, I expected you long before it got this big."_

 _"Barry, who's that with you?"_

 _Pressing his lips together, Barry continued to stare at Cadence. His chest heaved up and down, heart beating rapidly. Faster than it had when he was in that coma. No. He was nervous. Someone had just found out his identity. How could he have let his guard down like that? Thinking there wouldn't be anyone around? The existence of the metahumans, the two he had already encountered not including himself, was enough he should've expected it._

 _Cadence smiled as she walked over, hugging her overcoat tighter to her body. "Then again, you can only run so fast, right?" Continuing to gawk, Barry licked his lips, taking a step back. Whatever it was—maybe fight or flight instinct increased tenfold—he wasn't going to take any chances. She smiled. "Hi, Barry."_

 _The speedster's head tilted to the side, though it had have looked like a quick twitch as most of his movements were now rapid. "How…do you know my name?"_

 _"Who doesn't know your name at this point?" Cadence inquired. Her eyebrows gently cocked upwards. "You were in a nine-month coma after being struck by lightning when the particle accelerator blew. Coming out of that coma…well, that's very remarkable. Almost a medical miracle." She looked him in the eye. "And after you woke up, there seemed to be a 'red blur' appearing everywhere." As if it were fanfare, Cadence waved her hands, her hazel eyes flashing. The fire slowly dissipated. "I think I'm the only person to have made that connection."_

 _"How do you know so much about me?"_

 _"Newspaper articles and just plain paying attention." She lifted a hand, lips curling up into a smile as a fireball appeared over her hand. Her face glowed against the flickering light. "And you did call me smart earlier so..."_

Barry did his best not to grimace. There had been those who'd questioned the sudden appearance of The Flash in Central City. Other metahumans, like Clyde Mardon, had been using their powers long before he'd awakened. He could admit there had been a few months where he feared his identity being found out. He'd nearly had a nervous breakdown when CCPN had written an article about his remarkable awakening from his coma, and mentioned the Flash in the same article. So much had gone on since then that he hadn't needed to worry. But now…

"I can't stop being friends with them just because of Julian," Barry insisted. "Just like The Flash can't stop working with them, we're Team Flash for a reason."

"I'm not saying you have to," Joe agreed. "Just that you need to be a little more careful. At least until Julian manages to have his obsessive attention put on someone else." He clapped Barry on the shoulder and tilted his head towards the doorway. "Now, I have to talk to Captain Singh. I'm sure it has something to do with the task force."

Barry's eyebrows rose.

"You really _don't_ pay attention to these meetings, do you?" Joe smiled in amusement. "It's nothing to worry about. But if something comes up, I'll let you know. Have a good day and _stay out of trouble."_ He paused and added, "And that goes for Wally, too."

"Is that a threat?" Barry smiled, folding his arms.

"I did say I'd ground you even if you don't live with me anymore, didn't I? I can make it happen."

"Aye aye, Detective." Barry brought his hand up to his forehead and gave a salute to Joe. Then something occurred to him and he asked, "Wait a minute, you've never outright threatened me like that before? How did you know it was going to work?"

Not it was Joe's turn to smile. "I know, but I've been on a roll lately. I had to lay down the law to Wally about being a speedster now, that he still had to follow the house rules we have set for him, even if he can get in and out in seconds. I just thought I'd give it a shot, it was bound to work sometime. The whole being a concerned and helpful parent thing has to go by the wayside sometimes. I'm surprised it's worked so far but you've always been like a teenage girl." He looked over his shoulder as Captain Singh called him once more. He waved his hand in a gesture of parting and walked to his boss and oldest friend.

"I'm not a teenage girl," Barry murmured to himself with a roll of his eyes. He left the conference room as well, looking for Julian as he went. Part of him wanted to continue working on Julian so that he could convince Julian that things around him were normal. Unfortunately, he didn't find Julian in the bullpen and could only assume he'd gone back to their lab. Deciding to speak to him later, Barry went to Cadence's office and knocked on the door.

"Come in!" Cadence barked in response.

Barry opened the door to slip inside then immediately started coughing. A thin haze of smoke filled the air, making his eyes water and lungs slam together. He coughed and coughed on the acrid haze and peered through the smoke to find Cadence sitting on the edge of her desk, arms folded tightly across her chest, eyes closed to the cloud of smoke that literally poured from her ears.

"Cay!" Barry called, waving a hand in front of his face. "I think if you open your eyes you'll find new meaning to the phrase 'dragon breath'," he said. Cadence did as she was told and glanced around the office with an air of disinterest. In response, Barry stretched out his arms and neck before spinning his arms, sucking the smoke from the room. When the air was clear, Barry asked, "Does that always happen?"

"Only when I'm angry enough," Cadence replied. "Believe me, that was hard to explain the time Ryder and I had our first fight." She let out a heavy sigh, dropping her hands to her lap. "I don't hate Julian, but the fact that he can't see what he did to ruin my case…and almost ruined Frankie's life. I can't get over that. She could've ended up killing someone or herself when losing control of her powers. They were connected to her emotions, you know."

"Yeah, yeah, I know," Barry agreed. He went further into the office and rested his hands on her shoulders. "And I'm glad someone else besides me at least tried to put him in his place."

"Well, if you tried, Barry, it'd probably just make you look like someone who has a vendetta against him."

"Like he has against me?" Cadence tilted her head and raised an eyebrow in a 'I-think-we've-heard-about-this-already' way that made Barry's frustration surge slightly. He let out a deep breath. "It's bigger than him just hating me, Cade. He's told me to my face—"

"—you mean to the Flash's face—"

Barry ignored her. "That he doesn't like me because he can't trust me. And he doesn't trust me because I'm constantly running out and doing things as the Flash. But he doesn't trust the Flash because he says the Flash makes everyone at the CCPD lazy and incompetent. Oh, and because he doesn't like metahumans all together."

"So, what do you plan to do?"

"Sleep with an eye open and expect the metahuman task force to bust down our door while we're sleeping." At Cadence's skeptical glance Barry said. "I know. Joe wouldn't let that happen. But this is Julian we're talking about, he's hated me since we met. And he hates the Flash and Caitlin. It's not going to take long for him to make the connection about us. I'm just trying to limit the fallout."

"I'm assuming from the way you two sulked into the conference room that it has something to do with that. I mean…" Cadence pulled her hair back from her face. "I know looks that could kill and you guys nearly murdered everyone in the conference room. Though, that's not to say losing Chief Paulson wouldn't be so bad." She rolled her eyes. "Considering everything he's trying to do with metas. Rumor has it he's been speaking to Lex Luthor."

"And that's something else we have to worry about." Barry brought his hands up to rest on his head. Everyone knew Lex Luthor was not someone you'd want to cross in any way. He had too much money, too much power, and a family name that was synonymous with pure evil. He tilted his head back and looked at the ceiling. "I'm _really_ starting to think Flashpoint wasn't about me changing things here, it's about the universe deciding to get back at me because I decided to do it."

"Barry." Cadence reached out and placed her hands on Barry's shoulders, gently shaking him. "You really need to give yourself a break. The rest of us already have. And you stewing in your own frustration is doing nothing more than stopping you from being the happy, plucky Barry Allen we all know and love." His lips curled into a smile and Barry let out a long breath, leaning forward to press his forehead against hers. "Sounds like you need that date more than I do."

"You have no idea," Barry agreed. "No metas, no fighting, no worries. Nothing."

"I think that's a bit of a tall order, Tholly. I mean, I'm good, but not _that_ good." She flashed him an evil smile. "if I was, I'd very slowly drive him crazy with his work spontaneously combusting."

Barry laughed. "I'd love to see that." He lowered his head, nose brushing against Cadence's, and gave her a soft kiss. Cadence returned it and wrapped her arms around his neck, holding him tightly in a hug. It was the same thing his father would've done had he still been around, knowing just what to do to comfort his son.

And at that moment in time, a hug was definitely what he needed.

* * *

Caitlin ducked her head as she passed the bullpen. The last thing she needed was for Joe, Barry, or Cadence to see her and talk her out of her plan. She just couldn't take it anymore and if there was going to be any change, it would only happen if she talked to Julian herself. She was the one he was targeting and using Barry—and by extension, the Flash—to do it. If she could protect Barry, then she'd do that, especially if she could protect herself as well.

Once she made it past the bullpen and to the stairs that led from the lobby, she lifted the baseball cap tucked lose over her forehead and shoved it into the back pocket of her jeans. Even if anyone recognized her, no one would question her appearance there. She was always visiting Barry and Cadence for one reason or another; Caitlin under the cover of being Barry's personal physician and going out to lunch with Cadence. She just didn't need any of them to see and stop her. It was risky, she knew that, but having answers was better than being left in the dark.

It was why she couldn't fault Brady for having gone to see Black Blade with Leah. She, Cisco, Barry, and Cadence had all been worried and angrily concerned when he explained where he'd been and what he'd learned. Mostly due to having gone behind their backs to do so, but Caitlin also understood why he'd done it. Not having answers with mounting questions was making it harder to move forward. What was the point of having the best minds in the world work together when they couldn't work together to figure out how to move forward? HR was the one who quickly jumped forward and said it was smart and proactive of 'young Bradley' to do what the others were afraid to do.

"HR, stop helping," Cisco said through gritted teeth. "It's just making things worse."

"Sorry, I call it like I see it," HR said, holding his hands up to protect himself. "Everyone has their place here, everyone has something their good at, something they bring to the team. And I,"—he tapped himself on his chest with his drumstick—"I see the potential in people and I exploit it. Harness it and make the best of every situation."

Caitlin had merely shaken her head and exchanged a skeptical glance with Cisco. It sounded weird at the time, an excuse to keep himself involved with the workings of the team. But it had been stuck in her head ever since. There was plenty of potential to have her powers revealed, to have Julian on her tail for the rest of her life, for him to exploit it. She was going to get to it first. Caitlin was tired of hiding. Tired of having Barry and Cadence constantly saving her whenever she was in some sort of trouble. She had her own powers, she was stronger now, she could save herself. She'd only told Cisco what she planned to do and he'd begged to go along with her. Not only to see the look on Julian's face when she proved how strong she was, but to protect her as well. Caitlin thought it was sweet, and greatly appreciated his offer, but still had to say 'no'. It was her life, her problem, she could handle it.

Taking in a deep breath, Caitlin walked up the few flights of stairs that led to Julian's and Barry's office. She stood in the doorway for a few moments, watching as Julian sat at his desk, doing something she couldn't see. He constantly leaned back and forth from a notebook, or was it a textbook, to a set of beakers set up next to him. Some of the liquid inside bubbled, the others spewing out a white vapor.

Caitlin briefly closed her eyes to steel herself, then reached out to knock on the doorframe of the lab. Her hand missed, she knocked on air. Embarrassed, she clasped her hands together, twisted her fingers, chewed her lower lip. She took a few tentative steps into the lab, subconsciously trying to keep her footsteps as light as possible. She made it halfway in before Julian noticed her.

She could see her reflection in a mirror that sat atop a nearby filing cabinet. Julian's gaze shifted and, in the mirror, locked on with hers. For a moment, Caitlin noticed his hands still, before his gaze dropped. Julian turned away from his microscope, using his feet to propel himself around to face her.

He dropped his hands to his lap and twisted his mouth to the side. He cast a sweeping glance over her, looking her up and down. Caitlin blushed, suddenly feeling utterly exposed under his gaze despite being dressed in her uniform of sorts—a pencil skirt, heels, and smart blouse. Caitlin took a step back, but didn't move away from the lab. _Stand your ground, Caitlin. You're doing this as much for Barry and Cade as you are for yourself._

Finally, Julian spoke. "Hello, you," he said to her in an eerily conversational tone. Even his eyes were clear with a friendly glint to them.

It was then Caitlin's turn to eye him closely. She watched for a moment as he blinked back at her. A warning was going off in her head, but she couldn't quite tell what it was. "Hi," Caitlin replied.

"Am I in for another kidnapping?" A smirk pulled at Julian's lips. Despite that, his words were humorless. Caitlin watched as his eyes turned flat, almost flinty as he did so. Right. He was still angry about what happened in the warehouse, when she'd kidnapped him. Where _Killer Frost_ had kidnapped him. She still wasn't sure why she'd gone after Julian specifically.

"Okay, I deserved that," Caitlin said slowly. She watched as Julian reacted with surprise. As she'd expected him to. She twisted her fingers together, felt the blood starting to pulse at her fingertips. "I think."

"If you don't believe so, what are you doing here?"

"I came to check on you," Caitlin said. She flipped her hair back from her face with a quick shake of her shoulders. Rolled her shoulders back to steel herself. "I'm a doctor—"

"—You're a bioengineer," Julian interrupted, all but rolling his eyes. His voice took on a smug tone. "You're as much of a doctor as I am." He thought for a minute the recited, "Bioengineering; the use of artificial tissues, organs, or organ components to replace damaged or absent parts of the body, such as artificial limbs and heart pacemakers." Sounding as if he were reading from a book, or a page held in front of his face. His voice was flat.

"Do you make it a habit to know the basis of everyone's jobs?"

"No. That's merely a side effect of having a PHD and make it your life's work to do research," Julian said, his voice dripping with sarcasm. "And as it is, my research has told me that being a bioengineer means you're the one who creates the technology that can increase the value of life but not actually perform any of the surgeries. Ergo, you're not a doctor."

"Be that as it may, I've done a lot of studies myself," Caitlin agreed.

"Yes, you have three doctorates if I'm not mistaken," Julian remarked. At the rise of Caitlin's eyebrows he explained, "I like to make it a habit to know everything about the people I associate myself with. Or, rather, the people my colleague associates himself with." His eyes roved over Caitlin once more. "And Allen seems to be very fond of you, though with your frosty demeanor, I can't say I see why."

"Barry is a good friend," Caitlin said. "I've been taking care of him since he was struck by lightning."

"Yes, struck by lightning from the Particle Accelerator you and your colleagues turned on." Julian tapped his finger against the side of his jaw. "And then STAR Labs has been watching him ever since. I must say it's peculiar considering how little Barry speaks about STAR labs."

"Well, we try to keep our work lives as separate as possible," Caitlin explained, trying to keep her composure. "I've been appointed to look after Barry since his coma due to the lightning psychosis he's shown since then."

"Lightning psychosis?"

"Yes. Lightning psychosis. When he was stuck by lightning, there've been a lot of side-effects we've seen exhibited from him. Memory issues, spastic muscles, time management issues—"

"—Time management? Allen? This is the man who continuously forgets to turn off his stove to leave the apartment every day. You're telling me it's all from Lightning Psychosis?" Julian shook his head. "There're a lot of things I can believe, but that…? Not so much." Julian blinked and tilted his head. "I don't believe you visited to talk about Allen. What was the meaning of your visit?"

"I came to see how you were doing," Caitlin said. She did her best not to grit her teeth in annoyance. She was starting to understand why Barry hated Julian so much. "Since returning from the hospital, I mean." Her gaze moved to his forearm, trying to see if there was any mark from her freezing him.

"Well, that's very sweet of you." Julian held a frozen smile on his face, snapping off his gloves. "I'm doing well, thank you." He waved a hand towards her. "And you can go away now."

Caitlin pursed her lips. She let out a breath and looked away from Julian. Her eyes landed on the pill bottle hidden on a shelf nearby. She'd noticed it since she'd arrived at the lab. It wasn't her business, she knew that, but it was a tactic she knew would prove to work. It worked on Cisco all the time when she wanted to confront him about whether he'd eaten her food. Comin to the conversation from a different angle. "Is that why you've been taking Zolpdem?" She asked. "You've been having any trouble sleeping?"

Julian's eyes narrowed into a glare. He got up from his chair and stalked across the room in a few angry strides. Standing in front of Caitlin, he snapped the bottle of pills off the shelf and shoved them into the pocket of his slacks. He sucked in a deep breath and folded his arms. He took another step towards Caitlin, but she held her ground. "Let's stop playing games, Dr. Snow and you tell me why you came here," he growled, warm breath floating over her face. He was that close. "Rather than accuse me of having insomnia."

Caitlin sucked in a deep breath, closed her eyes, and admitted, "I need your help."

"And how can _I_ help you? You're the one with powers."

This time Caitlin took a shuddery breath. Her heart hammered against her ribcage. She did her best to stay calm, knowing the big risk she was taking. "You're the world's foremost specialist on metahumans," she murmured.

"Yes, this much is true," Julian said.

"And…" _Do it, Caitlin. You have to._ "I need you to help me get rid of my powers." She hurried to keep going before Julian could recover from her admission. "I've tried everything. I've run every test; blood, DNA…and I can't reverse this. I need to get rid of my powers before—"

"—Before what?" Julian demanded. "Before you hurt someone else?"

Caitlin nodded. She continued to keep her gaze lowered, away from Julian's eyes. "The way I hurt you," she agreed. Finally, she lifted her gaze and looked him in the eye, silently pleading for him to help her. She just admitted it, admitted everything he needed to know. Everything he suspected. She'd attacked him, she'd been the one to attack him. She had powers and was the one who could really hurt other people if she didn't get any help.

"And what makes you think I can help you?" Julian asked.

Caitlin chewed her lower lip. She'd expected that response, expected he'd be hesitant. "There…there's a reason I tried to find you. That I—"

"—kidnapped me." Julian took a few steps away from her.

"Yes. Something had to have drawn me to you," Caitlin explained. "Something I thought you could help me with. Now, I know, it must be because you knew about the Philosopher's Stone. Alchemy is using it to give people their powers, maybe he can help me take them away. Maybe _you_ can help me. Julian…I don't want my powers. I don't want to hurt anyone else. I want my powers _gone!"_ Her voice broke on the last word, betraying the emotion she showed.

Julian looked at her, much closer that time, hearing the emotional strain in her voice. Caitlin chewed her lip as she watched him back. He walked closer to her, reached out a hand to grasp her hair in his hand, pushed it back behind her ear. For a moment, Caitlin felt his hand on her cheek, his face still close to hers. Then he stepped back and glared at her.

"I don't cure metahumans," Julian said. "I put them in prison." He dropped his hand from her cheek. "You're on your own, my friend." He turned and walked back to his desk, sitting down without a backwards glance. "Please close the door on your way out."

Caitlin's jaw dropped. Then she closed her mouth, nodded, and turned on her heel. She left the lab quicker than she came, mentally kicking herself as she did so. What was she thinking? Why in the world did she think Julian would've helped her when he disliked metas so much? Caitlin made it halfway back down to the lobby when she spotted Barry across the bullpen. He listened to something Joe said then the two turned and started towards Joe's desk. Barry held onto a thick folder of papers in his hand as he went, he glanced over them for a few seconds then lifted his gaze, as if hearing someone call his name.

His gaze locked with Caitlin's and from where Caitlin stood, she could see his eyebrows furrow in concern. Then his lips moved. _What are you doing here?_ Caitlin lowered her eyes. _Messing things up,_ she thought.

Caitlin gasped as there was a sudden, strong gust of wind. Much stronger than what Barry could create when he ran. A cyclone shot through CCPD, wreaking havoc as it went. Computers crashed to the ground, papers strew about, and officers were knocked off their feet. Some were flung into the ceiling, others were knocked aside, and the rest were slammed to the ground. In seconds, Caitlin saw Cadence teleport into the bullpen, dressed in her suit. Her head whipped around as she tried to follow the source of the light.

"What's going on?" Caitlin looked aside and saw Julian had joined at her side, watching the chaos unfold with wide eyes. Then he turned a narrowed gaze to her. "Do you have something to do with this?"

"What? No!" Caitlin looked down into the bullpen once more. She saw Barry's eyes flicker with lightning as he looked around, his moving as fast as Cadence's, following the light quicker than Cadence could.

All at once there was a flash of light, a swoop of a shadow, and Barry was dragged out of the CCPD.

"BARRY!" Joe shouted after him, voice echoing amongst the stunned silence of the precinct, loose papers fluttering to the ground.

* * *

 **A/N:** Wow, Caitlin went ahead and told Julian about her powers. That can't be good. And now Savitar has Barry. And Julian knows about Savitar's identity. I can't even begin to imagine how badly that would go. At least she was working to take control of what's been happening to her. She's on her way to becoming a hero. I hope you guys liked it!

Oh, and whomever gets review 150 will get a sneak peek at the next corresponding chapter when that review comes in.

Please remember to review; any feedback helps me become a better writer and motivates me to write more. I respond to every review, even anonymous ones. I update my story every Wednesday, if there's a time that I won't it will be posted on our twitter: DarkElements10.

 **Cheers,**

 **-Riley**

 **Review Replies**

 **Ethan:** Apparently Star City is only 600 miles away from Central City. But even that number has to be a bit off considering how easily they could travel to see each other let alone issues of continuity. Though I do have a reason as to why Oliver, Felicity, Thea, etc. aren't there.

 **DarkHelm145:** The rest of Black Blade's scenes are going to be more than introduction stuff, but I do need to get more into Brady's plot points as he's moved to being more of a key player in everything rather than the young hero who's begging to be brought into things.

 **PowerHero432:** And now things are going back to a bit of a faster pace. Especially with the way some of the plots have been changed.

 **babyj:** Hope it was enough for you here. But now that Caitlin's revealed her powers to Julian, it means the dynamic has changed a bit, making it more difficult for Team Flash to keep moving forward the way they have.


	22. Savitar vs Team Flash

**22**

 _Savitar vs. Team Flash_

* * *

 **A/N:** Warning, slight descriptions of gore in this chapter.

* * *

The moment Cadence saw the wind blowing through the CCPD, she had a feeling she knew what was going on. It wasn't just that it was a speedster, that much was obvious by the way things suddenly moved. She didn't have a sense of Flash Time—or speedster perception—as they were calling it, but everything seemed to move in slow motion when the wind blew around her. Then she noticed the color of the flash of light that shot by her. She'd been around Barry long enough to become a master of everything speedster. (Especially, having her hair whipped out of her face enough times to almost permanently tie her hair back when she was around him). She was so in-tune with everything speedster that her eyes became trained to every slight movement, every slight thing out of place in every room she was in.

The color of the flash of light was out of place. Barry's was yellow, the Reverse-Flash's was red, Trajectory's was blue, bordering on white, Zoom's was blue, Jesse's was an orange-yellow, Wally's was yellow, the Rival's was red. As far as she knew, no one else had a lighting streak a pure white. (There also weren't any green, purple, or black as far as she knew—save for the Black Flash, depending on whether he was considered alive). It was that first thought that came to her head, trying to decipher what she was—or rather _wasn't_ —seeing. Her second thought was an immediate need or help.

If whatever metahuman was able to move that fast, able to grab Barry without anyone seeing, they were going to need help. Intuitively, she knew it was Savitar. It was the same scenario she'd seen before. When she and Brady were saying goodbye to Conner. Savitar had grabbed him then, they should've known he'd come back sooner than they'd expected.

Within the few seconds of those thoughts, Cadence turned on her heel and teleported. She streaked after Barry's wiggling form. Held up in thin air, a wobbly marionette trying to break from its strings. Every now and then she used her powers as a means of jet propulsion to get ahead of the thing that was carrying Barry around. She couldn't see what it was, but knew it was large, taking up a lot of space. Nevertheless, it wasn't too big to knock down any of the cars it blasted between as they raced down the streets. A man but taller.

Cadence teleported ahead of Barry's body and spun in a quick arc. The ground cracked open, and a wave of magma shot out from the ground and back towards the direction Barry came. As if his strings were jerked, Barry was suddenly tossed high into the air before being caught again.

"Fuck!" Cadence murmured under her breath.

She landed on the ground and arched herself around, following as Barry was dragged away again. Finally, whatever had a hold of Barry stopped at the waterside plaza and flung him to the ground. Nearby citizens looked up and screamed as they saw him picked up once more and held high above the ground. They didn't know what it was, couldn't see what was attacking, but knew if it looked weird, a meta had to be behind it. They didn't want to be around when a meta was attacking.

Barry gasped in pain, bringing his hands up to release the pressure on his throat. Anger and humiliation bore through him. Again. Again, Savitar was making a fool of him. He could run at incredible speeds and wiggle Barry around like a worm on a hook. He wasn't going to let that happen, not when he'd been through it twice. First with the Reverse-Flash and then with Zoom. Both speedsters had given him a thrashing he hadn't seen coming, hadn't been able to fight back against as they took away the only tings that were closest to him.

This time, he wouldn't let it happen.

Lightning flashed trough Barry's eyes. Still, he gasped, trying to keep his throat from closing completely. Focusing, Barry phased, dropping from Savitar's grasp to the ground. Savitar chuckled, dropping his hand to his side, not moving to stop him. Barry super speeded backwards, collapsing at Cadence's feet as she grabbed his shoulders.

"Are you okay?" She asked, taking a protective stance over him.

Still coughing, Barry nodded. His chest, lungs burned with effort for peace. A calm washed over him, and Barry was back on his feet, he healed fast. His anger, his determination to stop Savitar drove him faster. Barry clenched his hands into fists and glanced at Cadence. She nodded back and the two started towards Savitar once more.

A brilliant blue beam shot out and struck them in the chest, knocking the two to the ground. Cadence gasped as landed hard on her back, hard enough that her legs flew up and her body folded over, threatening to knock her heels overhead. Her feet slammed hard to the ground and she followed the momentum to sit up once more.

Alchemy stood in front of Savitar, holding up a gloved hand from beneath his cloak, the Philosopher's Stone glowing brightly in hand. "That was a grave mistake," Alchemy hissed, lowering his hand to his side. Savitar stood behind him, chest plate heaving up and down as he breathed. Otherwise, completely still.

"It's over, Alchemy," Cadence said, taking a step forward. Barry glanced at her. Did she not see the monster towering behind him as well?

"Over?" Alchemy let out a wheezing laugh, slowly lowering his hand. He shook his head, the long-beaked mask he wore catching the light of the sun that shone on them. "Poor, pitiful fools…" He lowered his chin, voice deepening as he did so. "You have no idea, what's about to begin."

Savitar lifted his foot and stomped it hard to the ground. The ground rumbled, threatening to pitch Barry and Cadence over. At that exact moment, Alchemy lifted his arm, swishing his cloak as he did so. Within that flurry of movement, Alchemy disappeared in the glow from the Philosopher's Stone. Savitar used that moment to start running once more. He ran in rapid circles around Barry. Instead of allowing himself to be sucked into chasing after him again, Barry tried a new tactic. He tried to follow Savitar's movements. Each time Barry moved his head, it had to be a violent, quick jerk of his head. His eyes weren't fast enough, even with the added perception. The flashes of light as they moved around. Moving faster, much faster than he'd ever managed before—

Savitar appeared in front of him, charged towards him. Arms pumping, he ran directly in front of Barry, a beeline to take the speedster down. Then Barry noticed, too late, when Savitar moved, started to race towards him, that he was charging up a lightning throw. Barry's eyes drifted down, seeing the lightning gather around Savitar's hands that increased in size as the seconds passed. When Savitar was close enough, he threw his arms forward.

There was what looked like an explosion in front of him. Then Barry felt his body completely stiffen, like a board. His arms clamped to his sides, teeth clenched so hard he was sure they'd crack, he lost all cognizant thought. A guttural scream escaped his lips. Suddenly, he was back in his lab, sulking as he missed the Particle Accelerator explosion. He was back in the lab, holding a metal chain in his hand, a conductive property, looking skyward as there was a loud _boom_ of thunder. He was back screaming in pain, hand clamping down around the metal chain link, unsure of what he could do to make it end.

Then, just as what happened years before, the energy became too great and Barry was blasted off his feet, to the ground. Savitar quickly advanced on him and crouched, pressing his palm against Barry's chest. In his weakened state, Barry could feel his bones creak with the force of pressure. Barry's eyes shifted towards Cadence, who stood next to him, gaping in shocked surprise as the speed of which Barry had been hurt.

Barry's body slammed to the ground, unable to move his arms to break his fall. He felt and heard his head crack against the ground, knowing he was going to be in for a doozy of a concussion before his healing kicked in. Barry lay on the ground, sore all over, mentally demanding himself to get to his feet and fight off Savitar. He knew it was impossible. It was the second time he'd been struck by lightning, this one even more horrifying and real, coming from a speedster hell bent on killing him.

"Attack him," Barry gasped. Finally gaining control of his body once more, Barry rolled to his side, grabbing his arms in his hands. He violently shook, body seizing as his muscles clenched and unclenched, working hard to stave off the electricity that continued to course through his veins. "Flare, attack at him."

"I don't see…" Cadence started. Then she shook her head and thrust her arms forward. Fire encircled her arms in a brilliant display and enveloped the space in front of Barry. It wrapped around something, something invisible. A man's shape. "What?"

Cadence shrieked as she was grabbed by the back of the head, neck held firmly in place. She lifted her hands, struggling to reach what the grasp that had her. Her legs rapidly kicked back at forth, running on an invisible treadmill. Grunts escaped her lips; she lifted her legs in front of her and threw them down as hard as she could, a move like what Oliver working his way up the Salmon Ladder. Savitar tightened his grasp around Cadence's head, drawing blood from each puncture wound his clawed fingers created.

The fire metahuman immediately stopped moving at the feeling of blood. Her wounds couldn't heal with the claws in the way. Blood slowly trickled down her skin. She stifled the painful cry that threatened to break from her, but Barry could see it in her eyes. Could feel it in his heart, the utmost fear he'd ever felt in his entire life. His greatest fear, being the Flash, was people he loved being taken from him, their lives cut too short all because of him.

It'd happened twice before. It was happening again.

Savitar's face wasn't visible, but Barry could tell the speedster was smirking as he wagged Cadence back and forth. Much like dangling a treat in front of a dog. "Had enough?" He taunted.

Barry pushed back to his feet. "Not even close," he said. Then he was up and running, chugging his arms and legs, propelling himself to run as fast as he could. He had to catch Savitar off-guard. Had to find a way to be faster than him. But Savitar was faster. Every step Barry took, Savitar moved right in front of him. Savitar stopped Barry cold with a solid punch to the chest. Barry fell backwards and as he fell, Savitar shifted behind him and kicked him hard in the spine.

 _Thwack!_

"Aaah!" Barry fell to his knees, writhing in pain. Something snapped, he could hear it, feel the lick of pain as it burned up his spine. On the verge of blacking out, Barry sucked in sharp breaths between his teeth. Hyperventilated. His lungs wouldn't fill up, he was choking. Savitar slowly walked towards him, continuing to keep his arm outstretched. Barry's eyes locked with Cadence. Her arms were still up, hands frantically clutching the invisible grasp behind her. Barry could see she her hands, flames flickering beneath her fingertips. They had no effect on the speedster's suit, wicking away within seconds. Then he saw her face.

Saw the intense fear she struggled—and failed—not to show. Saw the resignation. Understood in that moment she knew she was going to die and it filled her with more fear she could ever imagine. They'd been through many other skirmishes against metas and criminals without batting an eye. Not even Zoom had made her come to a complete stop.

No.

Sucking in a deep, heart wrenching breath, Barry stretched his hand out to her. He started to vibrate rapidly. If there was anything he could he could do—

A punch to the side of his head sent him reeling to the ground. Everything became muted, muffled, swayed and swirled as Barry fell. Darkness swirled around him to the ground. Savitar laughed a similar wheezing laugh Alchemy had before, tone for tone, the same lilt.

"Still alive down there?" Savitar taunted. He tightened his grasp around Cadence, making her cry out in pain. Barry was utterly helpless as he looked up at Savitar. "You are only a shadow beneath my throne, you are the past where as I…I am the future, flash."

* * *

 _Teachers and staff, get your students to safety. This is not a drill. There are reports of a dangerous metahuman nearby. At this moment, the school is on lockdown. Take your students and get them away from windows and doors. Do no open the door for anyone until the all clear is given._

Brady looked up from his school book. Despite how happy he was to _finally_ stop listening to Cheryl Ladd's not-so-modest explanation of how she didn't deserve a 'D' on her last math test and that their teacher was stupid, he frowned. Their school never had lockdowns before. Not even when their school had been attacked by metas. Though they'd done enough fire drills to last him a lifetime.

It must've been something new they added to the school. Between Leah being controlled by Grodd and students suddenly awakening to their powers, there weren't many opportunities for the school board to make any more mistakes with their students. Not to mention how many times they'd had to rebuild parts of the school. The school board must've worked over the summer—or the months he'd been gone—to put the lockdown in place, he realized. His second thought, was that if there was a lockdown for a nearby meta, it had to be something big.

Exchanging a glance with Leah, who stood nearby at her locker, Brady made a quick decision. Teachers from nearby classrooms waved their hands, trying to get their students' attention to get them into their classrooms. The hallways were so crowded with passing students that no attention was paid to the teachers. Students weren't panicking yet, but there were enough of them that pulled out their phones, trying to figure out what was going on.

Brady took his time, throwing his books into his locker and slamming the door shut. His mindset quickly shifted from Brady the student's to Shadowhunter's. He needed to get out to whatever threat was going on and help Barry and his mom stop them. And he needed to do it when the best opportunity arose. If he knew anything about lockdown drills, they worked the same way. It was only a matter of time until the lights flipped off, then he could use it to make his escape.

"What are we going to do?" Leah asked, sidling up to Brady's side, making her way through slow moving students.

Brady glanced at her over his shoulder? "We?" he repeated.

"We're working together, right?" Leah asked earnestly.

 _"What was that?" Leah asked. She pulled her hair behind her ear and glanced at Brady, who walked over to the area they had just fought in. He grimaced, seeing the person sized dent in the car door that stood ajar._

 _He ran his hand over his mouth, wiping away sweat. He shook his head. "I have no idea" Brady finally replied. "A meta, obviously but…what kind of meta?"_

 _Leah shrugged, folding her arms. "A glass meta? They can control all kinds of glass to their whim?" It was a pretty good guess, but Brady didn't think so for sure. If he was a glass meta, he would've done something else to prove it. Create his own glass, manipulate all the glass in the area. Fix the car so that it didn't appear to be broken before he let? From what Brady could see, looking around at the other cars, all the sideview mirrors were broken._

 _No, that couldn't be it. "But he didn't control it, just used it to transport himself," Brady murmured. He scratched the back of his neck. "At least he's gone, I can tell Barry and my mom about it later." He glanced towards the soccer game, realizing there wasn't much time for him to get back. "Thanks for having my back."_

 _"Of course," Leah replied as if it were obvious. As if she were saying, 'who else is going to have it?'. Then her face fell for a moment. "If we're going to keep watch of everything, then we have to look out for each other, right? Besides, if it weren't for you, I probably would've been thrown in the pipeline by now. Or…" she sighed. "Kicked out or something."_

 _Brady nodded. "You going to be okay?"_

 _"Yeah. I'll be fine." She regarded the cuts on her hands and knees. "Nothing that can't easily be fixed._

"Right," he agreed. "First, we need to figure out what sort of meta they're going up against." He blinked when Leah practically flattened his nose with how quickly she shoved her phone into his face. Breaking news. For a moment, Brady read it, then whipped his own phone out. No. No way. It only took his internet tab opening to see the breaking news coming straight from Central City. A CCPD CSI had been kidnapped from the precinct in a flash of light, by an invisible abductor. And Flare, going to save the CSI, was now being thrashed by the same invisible force.

Brady had seen it happen once before and it was the same entity they were constantly worrying about. Savitar. Fear stabbed through him so quickly, Brady wondered if it was how Barry and his mother felt every time they went into the field. Bravely, he pushed her phone away and said. "Let's go. We'll go to STAR Labs and see if they have any ideas."

"Of how to stop a speedster?" Leah asked. "Isn't that what the cold gun was for?"

"Yeah, but with this speedster, we'll need something more than that."

The lights snapped off. Students screamed and started to run. Brady too that opportunity to start running in the opposite direction of the students, Leah close behind him. "What are we supposed to say when we get back?"

"That we were in the nurse's office," Brady replied. He skidded around a corner and flattened himself against a wall as more students streamed by, pushing each other into nearby classrooms. "Or in the bathroom. It doesn't matter as long as it's believable."

Leah frowned. "This is what we need Conner for."

"Tell me about it."

Brady grabbed Leah's wrist and blended the two into the shadows of the darkened hallway before phasing through the wall.

* * *

Caitlin hesitated only for a second before she raced back in the direction she came. Julian nearly ran into her, coming from his office. He grabbed her shoulders, stopping short of knocking her to the ground.

His eyes searched hers. "What's going on? What'd you do?"

Caitlin's mouth opened and closed, but she didn't respond. Couldn't. Fear and trepidation took her over. It was Savitar. Savitar was attacking, and he'd gotten Barry. There was nothing they could do but wait. Waiting was the hardest game to play. Then she zeroed in on what Julian had demanded.

What did you do?

"I…I…"

Julian's grasp tightened on Caitlin's shoulders. "Speak, you bloody meta!" He spat.

She heard that loud and clear. He really thought she'd done something to her best friend. He really thought she was someone who would willingly want to hurt someone. She couldn't blame him, honestly, but to take it _that_ far? No, she wasn't going to have it. Caitlin lifted her hands and grasped Julian's wrists. She didn't use her powers or an excess of force against him. Nevertheless, she could see the fear in his eyes when she grabbed him.

"Let go," she said slowly, quietly. She wasn't sure if Killer Frost's voice had come from her mouth, but the way Julian released her meant she had done something. Or else he understood how serious she was. The moment his hands left her shoulders, Julian side-stepped her and raced toward the bullpen and into the chaos of the officers racing to get together to save Barry.

Caitlin, in turn, went to Julian's office and whipped out her phone. She speed-dialed Cisco and barked into the phone as soon as he answered. "Open a breach! Get me back to STAR Labs."

"What? Why? What's going on?"

" _Now,_ Cisco!"

The second she hung up, a breach opened in the lab and Cisco leapt through, grabbed her, and the two leapt back to STAR Labs. The second they landed, she went to the computers and dropped into a chair, pulling her hair back behind her ears. "Savitar's got Barry," She explained, rapidly throwing her fingers across the keyboard keys.

"What?" Cisco gasped.

Caitlin nodded. "Cade's gone after him. We need to track them down before something happens to them." She pulled up a chart to lock on Cadence's GPS settled in her suit. She and Cisco watched as Cadence rapidly followed something back and forth across the city before coming to a sudden stop. "This isn't good."

"Let me bring up a surveillance," Cisco said. He sat next to Caitlin and leaned over his own computer screen. It took only a few moments to tap into the surveillance cameras around the arena. A low murmur escaped his lips when he saw Barry get kicked to the ground by something invisible, then punched hard across the face. "Oh God, it has to be Savitar."

Caitlin shook her head. "I still can't see anything."

"Neither can I."

"Just because you can't see it doesn't mean it's not there," HR's voice behind them made them jump. Caitlin leaned forward, placing her face in her hands while Cisco whirled around to yell at him for scaring them. HR lifted his eyebrows curiously, holding a mug tightly in his grasp. "Sorry, I couldn't resist. I really wanted to go for that mysterious mentor vibe thing. But it appears that I need to work on my timing a bit more." Cisco continued to stare at him. "What?"

"We're a little busy here, HR!" Cisco pointed out. "Our friends are probably going to be killed and you're just trying to act like our mentor?"

"Well, Harrison—your real mentor, not that Eobard Thawne fellow—and his lovely wife Tess have seemed to leave everything in STAR Labs up to you guys. And, as a team member who is trying to figure out the best place on this team, I felt it was time for me to step into the rightful place as a mentor." HR lifted his finger. "And, in doing that, I got you guys some help." With that, there were two streaks of light as Wally and Jesse suddenly appeared at his side. "Whoa!" HR's eyes blue eye shone with mirth. "Wow, I…I didn't plan that. We…did not have that planned but it worked out perfectly!"

"What's going on?" Wally asked as he and Jesse hurried to Caitlin's and Cisco's sides.

"HR paged us," Jesse added. "We came as soon as we could."

Continuing to bask in his glory, HR motioned to the two with his drumstick. "There's that's great timing again. I mean, you can't plan something like this!"

"HR!" Caitlin and Cisco cried in unison, making the older man jump and fall silent. Caitlin took a breath and addressed the speedsters as calmly as she could. "There's something attacking Barry. We can't see him, only speedsters can. You have to go out there and stop it."

"What _is_ it?" Wally asked.

"Savitar," Caitlin said. She explained everything she'd seen at the CCPD when Barry was taken. Then, she squeezed her eyes shut, hearing Jesse ask the question she was dreading. 'What was she doing at the CCPD?'. Under everyone's curious gaze, Caitlin knew she had to tell the truth. She couldn't live with herself if something happened because of her actions.

She couldn't keep secrets. Not from her friends. Not form the people she loved. Not from her family. There weren't many people who enjoyed being around her. She'd been called cold, frosty, smug, arrogant, better than other people, thought of as an ice princess, a jerk, a loner, more than she could ever imagine was possible to be misread. Her mother had thought the same of her, even when she had gone back to see her, when asking for help in understanding her powers. Her _true_ family, Team Flash, knew differently.

They would understand.

They wouldn't hold it over her.

"I went to the CCPD to see Julian," Caitlin explained slowly, keeping her eyes lowered. Cisco looked at her so intensely that Caitlin was sure the right side of her face had burst into flames. "I went to ask him if he could help me."

"Help you how?" Jesse's eyebrows came together. She folded her arms over her chest. "What does he even have to do with anything? I thought Barry hated that guy."

"Hate is a very strong and accurate word," Cisco said with a tilt to his head. He spoke to Jesse but continued to keep his eyes on Caitlin. "He's not part of the team or anyone that we really talk to."

"Then I don't understand," Wally said slowly. "Why would Caitlin go see him?"

"Yes, Caitlin, why would you go see him?"

Caitlin lowered her gaze even further. "I thought he could help me get rid of my powers. So…I told him I was a meta." Shame and guilt filled her, and Caitlin shook her head. "I know it was stupid, Cisco, but I'm desperate. I need these powers gone. And, I thought he could help me."

"You thought _Julian Albert_ who wants nothing more than to throw you in _prison_ could help you?" Cisco repeated. He clenched his teeth. "If we weren't dealing with a homicidal speedster right now, I'd have some _words_ for you, young lady!" Despite his humorous words making her smile, Caitlin knew he was furious.

She started to apologize once more, then stopped as Brady and Leah phased through the ground to stand in the middle of the Cortex. "Brady! What—?"

"We saw it was Savitar attacking and had to get here as fast as we could," Leah explained.

"If Barry couldn't stop him last time, we have to help him this time," Brady added.

Caitlin started to protest, but Jesse held up her hands. "We don't have time to argue about this."

"Jessica is correct," HR said, making Jesse make a face. "At the risk of being snapped at again, the only plan has to go into place. Right now, it looks like it's two against one," HR explained. "Or rather, considering Cadence's incapacitated state, one against one. But what if it was eight against one. Even three speedsters against one mega speedster should be enough, right? If Barry and Cadence are in as much danger as you said they are, you have to go now."

"Okay," Cisco said through gritted teeth, absolutely hating to admit anything HR said was right. "I'll open a breach." He reached for his goggles and slapped them onto his face. "But it may take some time before I get it right. Be patient with me."

* * *

Barry watched in dismay as Savitar edged closer to him. He wasn't sure how much more he could take. How much more he could watch Cadence dangled in front of him, how much more he could take being punched at kicked at blinding speeds. His healing made it easy to bounce back, much easier than anyone else would. If it were anyone else struck by him, one punch would kill them. Barry's healing made him experience every excruciating step leading up to death without dying.

Savitar seemed to be growing bored with his torture of Barry. He hadn't punched or kicked him within the last few minutes. No, instead he grabbed Barry, shook him around, then threw him as hard as he could, all the while laughing under his breath as he did so. When Barry would gain enough strength to attack Savitar once more, he would be knocked down. As if Savitar knew everything Barry was going to do before he did it. No matter what Barry tried, he found himself pummeled within the next few seconds.

"Do you give up, Flash?" Savitar asked, walking in a large circle around Barry. "Are you ready to admit defeat?"

Barry, kneeling on his hands and knees, shook his head. Blood dripped from his mouth and to the ground below him. He wasn't going to give up, not when there were too many people at stake. He had another trick up his sleeve. He'd only shown it once and hoped it'd work now. Barry eyed Savitar as he came closer to him each time he made a revolution. It _had_ to work. "Not even close," Barry whispered, then spat on the ground.

Savitar stopped and looked at him. "Then let's speed things up a bit."

Lightning flashed through Barry's eyes. "I was hoping you'd say that." He got to his feet and started to run. Savitar charged after him. Barry ran in tight circles as fast as he could, with Savitar chasing right behind him. Fast enough to stay on Barry's heels, but not close enough to catch him. He watched, waiting to see what Barry was going to do.

And as Barry ran, he vibrated. He vibrated fast enough to make create speed mirages. As they ran, they created electricity as they did so, crackling, twisting, and turning up their bodies as they went. Savitar growled but continued to run after Barry. At the right moment, Barry skidded to a stop and threw a lightning bolt. The speed mirages did the same before sliding back into Barry. The lightning bolt struck Savitar, jolting through the metal of his suit, the other two bolts arching around the god-like speedster, striking the nearby light poles.

There was a low humming sound before Savitar was yanked off his feet and flung through the air. He moved so fast he lost his grasp on Cadence, dropping her hard to the ground. Savitar slammed into the light poles behind him, the excess magnetism causing the poles to bend around Savitar's suit, pinning him in place. Gasping for air, Barry grabbed Cadence's arm, hauled her to her feet.

"You okay?" He asked.

Cadence nodded. "Does being extremely angry count as being 'okay'?" she replied. Barry smiled a little. "I can't see this guy, but direct me where to go and I've got something ready for him." Flames flickered at her feet before swirling up her body until she was completely engulfed in flames. Barry directed her towards the bent light poles and took a large step back.

With her left hand, Cadence created a fire whip that she thrust forward to wrap around Savitar's neck, holding his head back, as he had done to her moments before. With the other hand, she clenched her hand into a shaking fist. A wisp of fire swirled off the fire whip and pinwheeled, creating a large circle of fire that continued to increase in size and intensity as the seconds passed. Finally, when it was at its biggest and brightest, she grasped the wheel in her hand, leaned back and lifted her feet off the ground. The force of the whip pulling back shot her forward faster than her jet propulsion or teleportation would bring her.

Twisting to the side, Cadence followed with the rest of her body and threw the flame wheel as hard as she could. It shot through the air and struck Savitar in the chest. Barry watched as his body arched from the strike, with Cadence following it up by driving her enflamed self into the spot with a solid ram of her shoulder. The force of the hit sent her flying backwards where she landed on her feet, shoulders heaving as she gasped for air, energy depleted from the strength of the attack.

And still, Barry watched as Savitar, covered in flames, writhed as he screamed. Guttural, mechanical, monstrous screams. His body jerked back and forth as the flames licked over his body, melting the light poles around him. Savitar dropped to the ground when the metal melted to a liquid, his growls slowly fading away. Barry's smile slowly faded as the color within Savitar's suit turned from a brilliant blue to a sunset orange.

"What?" Cadence asked, seeing the look on Barry's face. She continued to gasp for air, the fire previously surrounding her body gone.

It took a few seconds for Barry to figure out what was happening. His stomach dropped, his eyes widened with fear when he figured it out. It occurred to him just as Savitar lifted his head and trained his glowing orange eyes on the speedster and fire metahuman. He'd taken on Cadence's fire power to charge up his speed.

Barry started to shout a warning but didn't get the chance to take a breath. With even more blinding speed, Barry was slammed so hard to the ground with Cadence next to him, that he hadn't immediately noticed he'd been stabbed. It was Cadence's scream of pain that'd alerted him to it. He looked over to find her on her back, holding onto a piece of metal that stuck out her side. Hands slippery with blood, she tried to pull it out to heal, but was unable to move it too far. Barry then looked down at his own leg and found that he'd bene stabbed as well. The adrenaline must have dampened his pain sensors—he noticed he'd been stabbed the same place Caitlin had struck him before—he didn't feel any pain.

But he knew it would keep him incapacitated longer than he'd hoped. It took him hours to regrow the tendon last time, with the scar tissue surrounding it now, he wouldn't be able to run. The two were sitting ducks. Savitar's laugh of triumph proved he knew it was true as he grabbed Barry by the front of his sweater and hefted him up to his knees.

"I was hoping for a better fight," Savitar growled. He pulled his arm back, a spike sliding out the top of his hand with a low _shlink_ sound. It extended up to Barry's Adam's apple, lightly pricking the front of his throat. One wrong move… "Say goodbye, Flash."

Barry closed his eyes, waiting for it. Savitar was impossible to stop. He had a counter for everything Barry could come up with. He lost.

A breach opened and Cisco, Caitlin, Brady, Leah, Wally, and Jesse all leapt out. Caitlin gasped as she looked around, finding Barry kneeling on the ground, teetering back and forth as if something were holding him up and Cadence lying on her side, continuously screaming in pain as she tried, in vain, to rip out the rebar form her stomach.

"Barry!" Cisco shouted. He teetered back and forth, holding the sides of his head. Having brought himself and a large group of people through a breach meant he needed to make a breach even larger than he had before lest he accidentally send someone to another Earth. All that excess power usage, of which he wasn't used to, hurt more than he thought. "God!" Blood started to trickle form his nose.

"I don't see anything," Caitlin fretted, eyes still scanning the area Barry was being held. She pulled back her hands and thrust them forward, covering the area with as wide of a sweep as she could make. Condensation twisted and flowed from her like clawing hands, looking for something to hold onto.

"Neither do I," Brady agreed. He threated his slingshot and let loose a light ammo. It illuminated the are once it hit the ground, but still didn't how what was holding onto Barry. It didn't show him specifically, but Brady couldn't help but gasp at the towering shadow illuminated from the speedster. "Does he have the power to make himself invisible?"

"Only invisible to those that aren't fast enough to see him," Cisco said. He looked to Caitlin. "Remember; Barry's powers make it that if he moves fast enough, he's unable to be seen. This guy must be moving twice or even three times as fast if only a speedster can see him."

"I see him," Wally gasped. Beside him, Jesse nodded. Her eyes were wide with fright. He swallowed hard, watching as Savitar's figure snapped his head up and glared at the new group that had arrived. "It's a speedster… a big one."

"Distract him, then!" Cisco barked, still grasping the sides of his head. "Get him away from Barry!"

"Yo!" Wally called. He brought his hands up to the sides of his mouth, making his voice project even further. "Metal mouth!" Savitar whipped around to face the two new speedsters.

"Hasn't anyone ever told you to pick on someone your own size?" Jesse called, bravely stepping up to Wally's side. "Or rather, your own speed?"

Savitar growled. "Speedsters," he mumbled. He clenched his hands into fists. "Jesse Quick and Kid Flash."

Wally held up his finger, dissatisfaction flashing over his face. "Okay, I'm not really liking Kid Flash. I mean, I just got my powers, don't we should have some time to come up with a nickname?"

Savitar ignored him. He lumbered towards the two before coming to an abrupt halt, the rush of wind threatening to knock the ground over. "You'll never win!" He sneered. "Bow to your God!" Savitar demanded.

Jesse and Wally looked at each other before racing towards Savitar. Unfortunately, Savitar saw it coming and charged towards them without hesitation. He moved faster than they expected, throwing Jesse and Wally around like rag dolls. He threw Jesse hard to the ground then turned back to Wally.

Wally tried to go forward but was caught around the throat by Savitar's tight grasp. Savitar threw Wally so hard to the ground that he created a crater that collapsed atop of him, sending dirt into the hole. Savitar then turned his attention back to Jesse, advancing on her. Suddenly, _THWAM!_ Savitar fell face first to the ground, his sense of gravity suddenly increasing. Leah gritted her teeth as she worked hard to hold him down. Savitar's suit grinded together as he struggled to push himself upright.

Seeing her opening, Caitlin directed her attention to the human shaped depression in the ground and sent an icy wave over it. She gasped in surprise, seeing Savitar as her ice slowly formed against him. It crackled and hardened as the seconds passed, taking on his form. It didn't last, Savitar vibrated, shattering ice off him in seconds. With Savitar down, Brady pressed his hands together then pulled them apart, a glowing black orb shimmering between his hands.

Bringing his arm back, he threw the ball as hard as he could. It arched through the air towards Savitar. With a feat of strength, Savitar rolled onto his back then pressed himself back to his front. The darkened ball of energy connected with the ground he'd just been and swallowed it up. As the seconds passed, the energy ball became opaque before disappearing, revealing a hole in the ground so perfectly symmetrical it appeared to be carved out by an ice cream scooper. Savitar then flung out his arms, creating two large spikes that protruded from the top of his fists.

Leah gasped and clenched her fists even tighter, fingernails drawing blood. Savitar's arms slammed to the ground so hard the ground shook and yet he started to slither his way across the ground, working to get up. Wally and Jesse used their window of opportunity to throw themselves into running tight circles around Savitar. Coming to a stop, they threw lightning towards the god-like speedster, proving to hit him with correct aim.

Savitar laughed a malicious guttural laugh as he absorbed the electricity that was given to him. He lifted his arms from the ground, steadily got to his feet. He turned and lunged towards Leah, extending his spiked arm. Brady flung up his hands and created a protective barrier around the two as Leah screamed and turned her head away. With her concentration broken, Savitar's gravity was brought back to normal and he stood up quickly.

Wally and Jesse flung themselves towards Savitar, but he grabbed them, spun once, and slammed them back to the ground. Savitar walked towards them, each footstep shaking the ground as he went.

"Caitlin!" Cisco shouted. "Shoot him!"

Caitlin shook her head. "I can't! It didn't work last time!" She watched helplessly as Savitar continued to walk towards the speedsters, who lay prone on the ground. She looked down at her shaking hands. Fear consumed her. But fear consumed her friends, too. Every day they pushed that fear aside to help people. Too many of them had that been hurt. She couldn't sit back and do nothing. Standing up, Caitlin pulled back her hands and thrust them forward, unleashing a wave of ice so strong it felt as it if came directly from her veins.

The ice encircled Savitar's body, forming his shape, and hardened in seconds. But like he'd done before, Savitar started to vibrate, breaking off large chunks of ice that covered his body. Ice chunks scattered in all directions, knocking down light poles and shattering against the ground. Still, Caitlin continued to send as much ice towards Savitar as she could. The dance continued for a few long, tense minutes. Savitar would break through the hold Caitlin's ice had over him while Savitar would continue to break parts of himself free. Faster as the seconds passed.

Caitlin's knees shook as exhaustion rolled over her body. She could feel herself starting to weaken. She couldn't do it. Then Savitar screamed, twisting in the opposite direction. Caitlin gasped in surprise, watching as Savitar's metal slowly started to shine a molten orange, seconds before rapidly cooling down and become covered in ice once more. Cadence stood on her knees sending waves of fire to Savitar's right side as Caitlin took control of her left.

Savitar burned and froze at the same time, simultaneously slowing down and speeding up his movements in ways that Caitlin had never seen before. Savitar writhed in pain, covered in enough flames that made him frantically move to smother them before he was completely covered in ice, holding him in place. Finally, the two elemental states became too much and there was an explosion. Catlin closed her eyes and turned away to shield her face from the explosion. She felt her body lift and flung aside from the shockwave.

She landed hard on the ground, skidding a few feet, the legs of her jeans ripping, stones and gravel digging into her skin as she went. When she stopped moving, Caitlin waited a few seconds before opening her eyes. All her friends were scattered around, slowly pulling themselves off the ground. Barry, however, was the last one to move. Even from where Caitlin lay, she could see him shivering, slowly bringing his hands up to his shoulders.

Cisco groaned quietly as he sat up. He ran a hand through his hair, picking out small pieces of rubble as he did so. "Oh God…" He rubbed his forehead. "We're all going to feel this tomorrow." Caitlin hurried to her feet. She went to Cisco and grabbed his arm, hauling him to his feet. His legs nearly buckled beneath him and she threw her arms around him, holding him up. "Ow! I'm going to feel this, too. I'm okay, Caitlin." And yet, he wrapped his arms around her waist, squeezing her just as tightly as the two shook.

"Mom?"

Caitlin heard Brady's small voice and looked over to see the fire metahuman was standing, her goggled pulled down around her neck. She stood over Brady and Leah, checking their faces, arms, and legs for any injuries. "I'm okay, baby," she replied, the wounds on her face already healing. With that in mind, she took a step back and grabbed the rebar, pulling it out in on fell swoop, blood splattering to the ground as the wound immediately slid shut.

Pulling back from Cisco's grasp, Caitlin went and took stock of Jesse and Wally. They were okay as well, their metahuman abilities healing them quickly. The group when went to Barry, who continued to lie on the ground. Caitlin knelt by his side, pressing her fingers to his neck. A good, strong pulse.

Relief washed over her. Still, she had to ask, "Are you okay?"

"Yeah," Barry shivered. His eyes shifted over the faces in front of him, Caitlin could see him mentally count all of them before his body visible relax. He nodded, swallowed hard and said, "Just cold."

* * *

"So, after all that, we still don't know anything about Savitar," Cisco said, bringing his hair back behind him in a ponytail. He let out a large yawn. "But we know that using my powers on a large scale like that will nearly kill me, that Savitar can also siphon energy from a fire metahuman, and that, no matter what, he's going to kick our asses." He dropped into his seat at the computer desk and dropped his cheek into his upraised palm. "All in all, we still have no way to beat him."

"I guess the only thing we can do is just get faster," Wally said with a shrug. "There's only so fast he can be, right?"

"With the Philosopher's Stone, as far as we know, it can make him faster," Barry said. He lounged in his seat, gently twisting himself back and forth. "If he was able to give other people powers then he can probably make his better as well."

"So, what are we going to do?" Jesse asked.

"We'll have to wait," Cadence said. Perched on Barry's lap, with an arm around his shoulders, she rubbed her tired, burning eyes. It didn't help that the lights from the computer monitors seemed to be searing into her eyes as well. Even after healing from the fight, she had a major headache. She must've used more energy than she thought. "There's nothing else we can do. None of our equipment is fast enough to track down his movements."

"So, we just wait for him to come back and strike us down?" Brady asked, eyebrows furrowing together. "He's done that twice now, are we supposed to wait for him to do a third or fourth?" He gestured towards Caitlin and Cisco. "Can't you find some of his DNA or something? Maybe he left something on mom or Barry? Or where we fought."

Caitlin shook her head but remained silent. Cisco opted to take up the explanation. "His suit was sealed tight. If there was anything I could use to vibe, I'd do it. But we have nothing. We don't have the philosopher's stone, we don't have a piece of his suit, we don't even have anything of Alchemy."

"Well, what about Wally?" Leah suggested. "Alchemy was talking to him, right? What if you vibed through him?"

Now Cisco shook his head. "When I vibe through other people, I can only see things that pertains to them and, potentially, their future. Maybe, sometimes, their past. I can't vibe him through Wally. Just like I couldn't vibe Zoom through Barry or Barry trough Zoom when he was on Earth-2."

Brady's shoulders slumped in frustration. Barry noticed and said, "Guys, don't worry about it. Everything's going to be okay. We'll figure this stuff out, it's just going to take longer than we thought."

"We should be getting you back to school anyway," Cadence said. She stood up, dropping her arm from around Barry's neck. "I'll think of a good excuse on the way. Something tells me that they won't believe me when I say they were out fighting that meta that put them on lockdown." She held out her arm, motioning for Leah and Brady to follow her.

Barry leaned forward in his seat, resting his elbows on his knees. "Hey, I know you guys really meant well to help. But I don't want you to leave school whenever any of this happens," he said. "I don't want you to be in any more danger than needed to handle these guys."

"We really helped you today," Brady protested.

"You did," Barry agreed. "You helped us a lot. But with Savitar and Alchemy out there, it's not safe for you guys to get in the middle of this. Your school is already watching you guys carefully and then there's the city lockdown."

Brady turned on his heel and looked Barry in the eye. "You're not my dad, Barry," he said slowly, firmly. Then, with a shake of his head he backed away and said, "…and at this rate you'll never be."

Barry started to follow him then stopped. He looked at Cadence who shook her head. "I'll talk to him," she promised. "He's just upset about this whole thing; first being told he still needs training then not to help. Try not to take it too personally."

 _Easy for you to say,_ Barry thought. She only had one thought as to why Brady would suddenly be averse to taking Barry's advice. Why the comment he'd made stung so much. Nevertheless, he knew Brady was right. He really had been dragging his heels lately. Barry watched them leave before addressing Caitlin, who had been very quiet since returning. Cisco had told him what she said.

"We understand why you did it, Caitlin," he quietly reassured her. "The rest of us…had we thought we had no other options, we might've done the same thing."

Caitlin shook her head. "No, you wouldn't. You've had your powers for years now. You've embraced them." Her words lowered to a whisper. "I just can't."

"I know you didn't have powers before I created Flashpoint. That none of these guys had powers before I created Flashpoint." He motioned to Wally and Jesse, then laser-guided his focus onto her once more. Made sure he kept her gaze. "But you had to have known there was a chance. You were here when the Particle Accelerator went off. You had the same amount of dark matter in you as everyone else and had the chance to change. Maybe, there's a reason you got these powers?"

"To become evil?"

"Being evil is a choice, Caitlin. It's not your future, I know it's not." Barry squeezed her hand then stood up, stretching his arms. "I'm going to go on a run, clear my head a little. Maybe figure something out while I'm out there."

"Are you sure?" Cisco asked with a lift of his eyebrow. "You just got wrung around like Ragdoll today. Are you sure you want to go out there again? What if he's targeting you? Waiting for it to happen?"

"Do you want us to come with you?" Jesse asked.

"Yeah, maybe get some training in?" Wally added eagerly.

"No, you guys definitely got a lot of training done today," Barry said. "I'll be fine. You guys just stay here, and I'll be back in twenty minutes." He stretched his arms. "And it's not like you can't track me wherever I'm going. And if I head up to Canada I'll bring you guys back some maple sugar candy." With that, he lifted his foot and when he placed it on the ground, he zoomed out of STAR Labs like a bolt of lightning.

And for the next twenty minutes, Barry ran at a leisurely pace. At just the right speed that would make his mind go blank, that'd give him the chance to just enjoy running for what it was. Turn for turn he slowly went faster and faster. He chugged along, just making it to Canada and turned around, heading back to Central City when it happened.

A breach opened in front of him and, before he could slow down or stop, Barry charged inside. He skidded to a stop, twisting around when he saw he was back in Central City. _That's impossible,_ Barry thought. _I wasn't moving fast enough._ He'd gone through a breach. He had to be on a different Earth. Maybe Earth-2. No, nothing had a golden hue to it like he'd seen before. But, it was still Central City.

 _In other legal news, the highly publicized trial of Jared Marillo, aka Plunder, has come to a close._ Barry followed the newscaster's voice to the Live CCPN feed box that had been set up the year before. A woman looked seriously at the screen as she continued with her newscast. _Marillo was found guilty of grand theft and aggravated assault after he was caught by the Flash robbing the Central City Museum earlier this year._

"Don't!"

Barry heard a voice scream. It echoed around the alleyway he stood in. Lifting his eyes, Barry took notice of the street sign he stood under; the sign reading in bold letters INFANTINO STREET. He heard the voice scream again and recognized it immediately. It was his voice. Eyebrows furrowing, Barry followed the scream, moving at a fast-paced jog, running towards the front of the plaza. He stopped short, seeing the sight in front of him, seeing _himself_ in front of him.

He, dressed in his Flash suit, slowly inched towards Savitar, who had a tight grasp on Iris's shoulder. Beside him, Killer Frost stood with an icicle pointed directly towards Cadence's—who was in her suit—heart, Flare holding onto a flaming sword pointed at Killer Frost as well.

"It's time to choose," Savitar growled. He tilted his head back and forth between Cadence and Iris. "Who will be saved?"

"No, no!" Flash cried, hand outstretched. He continued to inch towards Savitar. Barry watched, mouth dropping open as he inched closer as well. His eyes darted around the arena, seeing only Savitar, Iris, Killer Frost, and Cadence. He looked closer at Killer Frost, noticing the blank look to her face. "Please, I'm begging you."

"Make your choice," Savitar declared.

"Don't do it, Barry," Iris bravely warned. Tears slid down her cheeks, but she fought to keep her voice calm. Steady. "Don't worry about me."

"Please," Barry continued.

"Choose!"

"I can't!"

Savitar pulled his arm back. "You already have." And he thrust his arm forward, driving the spike directly through Iris's heart. Blood gathered on the tip of the blade and dripped to the ground as Iris's head lolled forward, her body falling limp. Savitar lifted his spike and flung his arm to the side, Iris's body slid off and dumped to the ground.

"No!" Barry yelled, squeezing his eyes shut. He turned, finding Killer Frost and Flare coming to their demise at that exact moment. He watched as the ice metahuman and fire metahuman shot forward at the same time. Both finding just the right opening. He watched as the spear of ice and the tip of the flame sword slid through each other like butter. Blood sprayed the air, in a wide sprinkler arc as the two made low groans and slumped over.

" _ **NO**_!" The Flash raced over, kneeling over Killer Frost—Caitlin—pressing his violently shaking fingers to her neck. Dead. No pulse. Not even a chance. Then he moved to Cadence, hearing her gurgle and cough, blood spraying over her lips and chin. The Flash grabbed her and cradled her in his arms, tears sliding down his cheeks.

"No, no, no," he whispered, wheezed, gasping for air. "Cay. Cay! Stay with me." Barry shook her, Cadence's head lolling back and forth. Her eyelids fluttered, before her eyes focused on him. Barely focused. She didn't seem to recognize him for a second. Nevertheless, Barry managed a small smile despite noticing her healing not kicking in. "It's going to be okay," he whispered to her, voice hoarse. "You're going to be okay. We'll get you back to STAR Labs and…and…" his words died on his lips as he glanced at Killer Frost. Then he looked back at Cadence, whose breathing started to slow.

"Cay!" The Flash brought up his hand and ripped off his glove with his teeth. He ripped it off and gently stroked her cheek with his fingertips. "I love you, c'mon." He sucked in a deep breath, tears gathering on his chin, dripping onto her face. Washing away the blood. "Don't do this." He felt her body growing colder. "Don't do this, Cay. Please." He grabbed her hand and held it tightly in his before moving it to press against his cheek. Hoping it'd start their joint power. Maybe he could heal her. Maybe…

Her hand slid from his cheek and dropped heavily to the ground.

" Cay…don't…"

The Flash bent forward, howling in only the way a man could when he lost everything, his body violently racking with sobs.

Then Barry felt something on his shoulders, a hard tug, and he was suddenly back in the Cortex. Gasping for air, Barry frantically batted his hands towards whomever was attacking him. Then he heard Jay's voice demanding he calm down, that everything was okay. Barry sucked in a deep breath, fought to control himself. He looked up into Jay's calm, kind eyes, patiently waiting for his partner to regain composure.

"What…?" Barry gasped, bringing his hand up to his chest, surprised to find the chest of his shirt was wet, cheeks and chin dripping with tears. "W-What was that?"

Jay drew himself to his full height. Placed his hands on his hips. Took in a deep breath so slowly that Barry was able to count the time it took for him to exhale. Then, finally, he said with the utmost resignation, "That was the future, Barry."

* * *

 **A/N:** I had so much fun with this chapter, you have no idea. Lol. Hope you guys enjoyed it as much. I mean, the entirety (sort of) of Team Flash went against Savitar and he _still_ managed to thrash them! And considering what we and Julian know about Savitar, that certainly means something.

Please remember to review; any feedback helps me become a better writer and motivates me to write more. I respond to every review, even anonymous ones. I update my story every Wednesday, if there's a time that I won't, a message will be posted on our twitter: DarkElements10. But also check out our tumblr: purple-and-red-ribbons.

 **Cheers,**

 **-Riley**

 **Review Replies**

 **Ethan:** I don't think killing Julian with kindness would ever work, honestly. He just had too much baggage and even when he's being nice, he's not used to it as much, so it ends up coming out wrong. Lol. Just a teeny bit early of the reveal of Savitar to Barry. But it won't be as long as the show, I promise.

 **DarkHelm145:** A lot closer than you probably thought, honestly. ;)

 **Yummers:** Caitlin will be okay, she just needs some time. Though in a different way I think she'll come to regret going to Julian for help.

 **Guest:** I'm glad you're enjoying it. It's just going to get better as the story goes on. **  
**


	23. Will You?

**23**

 _Will You?_

* * *

Cadence's eyes fluttered open seconds before a splitting headache came to her. With a groan, she reached up and pressed her fingers against her temples. Weren't her healing powers supposed to make it that she didn't get a hangover? _Or at least make my life easier._ The second the thought crossed her mind, she felt her headache slowly starting to fade away, making her sigh in relief, hand dropping to the mattress beneath her.

It was then she heard a low chuckle. Cadence flipped over and noticed Barry propped up on his side of the bed, glasses perched atop his nose. He turned a page of _Ready Player One_ and read for a few moments. Then his eyes shifted aside, noticing his girlfriend's glare. "I'm, uh, I'm just laughing at the book," he explained, gently shaking it to prove his point. "It's really funny. Uh, the main character, Wade—he reminds me a bit of Cisco actually, and he—"

A snort escaped Cadence's lips. "You know I can always tell when you're being less than truthful."

"Can you always tell when I'm about to laugh, too?" Barry managed to get out before laughing loudly. Cadence winced and turned her head away. Her powers hadn't cured her from being completely hungover yet, and his laughter being that loud that close made her want to smother him. Finally regaining his composure, Barry marked his spot in the book and faced her completely. "I'm sorry, Cay." He leaned over and pressed a kiss to her bare shoulder. "How're you feeling?" He asked the question with the right amount of sympathy to his voice. Cadence, however, still wanted to smack him, hearing the laughter that rumbled just beneath the sympathy.

Just because he couldn't get drunk…

"I'll feel like a million bucks once I get over this hangover," Cadence replied. She reached up to rub the sleep from her eyes. Finally, she sat up, holding the covers to her naked skin and said, "I'm assuming this is one of the times you're glad you can't get drunk."

"You have no idea," Barry agreed. The amused smile came back to his face, eyes flashing behind the lenses of his glasses. "Captain Singh got totally plastered. And Joe, too. It's the only time I can remember seeing Joe get drunk." He thought for a moment. "Other than Iris's graduation from high school. But it was great."

"Huh." Cadence brushed her hair from her shoulders. "I didn't think it was possible for Captain Singh to do anything but frown, glare, and bark orders."

"You haven't seen him do karaoke either."

"Aww. I missed that?" Cadence pouted and shoved him on the shoulder. "Sounds like you had a good time."

Barry shrugged, his smile turning playful. He reached out and gently stroked Cadence's cheek, making her smile a smile that lit up her entire face. "I had more fun when I got home."

Cadence's smile turned to a smirk as she gestured to herself. "I think I'm proof of that, Tholly."

"Just a little."

She laughed and turned the other way, grabbing her clothes from the floor. Once dressed, she pulled her hair back. It took a moment for her to notice Barry still watching her. "What?"

"Nothing," he said quickly. "Just…you were tossing and turning a lot. And it didn't seem like it was from the hangover."

Cadence shrugged. "Guess, I didn't sleep very well."

"Did you have the nightmare again?"

She paused, thinking hard about her nightmare. She didn't remember much about it, a lot of darkness and an overwhelming feeling of despair. Nothing too out of the ordinary for a nightmare. The lack of being able to remember it was what worried her the most. "I don't remember," she said finally. She quickly changed the subject. "We had a good time, too." Barry's casual remark of 'I can see that' earned another slap, this time to his chest, making Barry cry out in pain and Cadence to crack up into hysterical laughter at the sound of her hand hitting his bare skin. "I didn't know Rob was so fun. There's always a fun one in every couple and I wasn't quite sure who it was in this one. Rob seemed uptight at first."

Barry lifted an eyebrow. He couldn't imagine anyone thinking Captain Singh being the fun one in a couple. The man he knew and worked with? No. The man he knew for years and could let loose outside of work? Maybe. And from what Barry remembered of Captain Singh's drunken ramblings from the bachelor party, he was more than excited to be able to cheat his diet a little bit—claiming Rob was a bit of a dictator.

"But he was ready and willing to do anything we suggested," Cadence said. She ran a hand through her hair, laughing all over again. "Even to go bowling! It took some time for Caitlin to loosen up, but I think we finally got her there." Barry's eyebrows furrowed in confusion and Cadence quickly explained, "I think it reminded her of what she could've had with Ronnie."

"Oh." With that, Barry reached out and wrapped an arm around Cadence's waist, pulling her over so that she sat between his legs, back pressed against his chest. He rested his chin on her shoulder, lowering his voice to a murmur. "Yeah, I can see how that'd be hard. She seemed okay being invited to go."

"Well, let's be honest." Cadence dropped her hands to lay atop his. "Cisco practically bugged Captain Singh to death to get an invite." She could feel Barry smile behind her. "I mean, STAR Labs has helped on more cases as of late. He can't ignore that, so it's only fair they're invited to go, too."

"But you think it'll be too hard for her? Caitlin, I mean."

"No, I think she's fine, now. She seemed excited when we left last night. But she was as drunk as I was, so that's probably not saying much." Cadence laughed along with Barry, snuggling back against him. She may as well take advantage of the time they had before the whirlwind of the day started. Everyone at the precinct had been gearing up for Captain Singh's wedding the past week; planning his and Rob's bachelor parties, making sure all the reservations were still intact, getting their gifts in, counting down the days.

The CCPD truly was a family and the week leading up to the wedding certainly proved that. Even Captain Singh couldn't handle the excitement, coming into work with a bigger smile as each day passed. Talking about what the couple had planned for the reception; the food, the music, the decorations. (That was when he wasn't constantly asking Joe if he still had the suits safe and sound, Barry if he knew what they were going to do for the Bachelor party, and Cadence to know if the flowers would arrive on time). Of course, the only time his smile faded was when a call came in.

Once the case was finished, Captain Singh was back to smiling. As excited as the CCPD was for Captain Singh, they hoped the smile remained long after the wedding and their honeymoon. He deserved to have a good chunk of time stress free. Though that wasn't to be said for them. With Chief Paulson and Joe substituting his place while he was gone on his honeymoon, things should continue to run smoothly.

 _As smoothly as they can when you know he still hates meta,_ Cadence thought of Chief Paulson. Subconsciously, she tightened her grasp on Barry's hands, not able to imagine what life would be life if they had to register, if, somehow, they were found out and had to be locked away. Not only for her own selfish reasons—that she couldn't imagine any of her friends and family being tortured like that—but of what state the city would be left in, what would happen when their identities were finally revealed for those that didn't know.

For the next hour they enjoyed he quiet time they had with each other; Barry reading _Ready Player One_ aloud to her while she listened quietly. Cadence smiled as she snuggled against Barry, glad he wasn't complaining about the excess body heat she was putting off as he playfully did every now and then. Things had been stressful since the team had fought Savitar and, if she were being honest, she was a little worried about Barry. Something about that battle left him rattled, almost a former shell of himself.

He jumped at sudden, loud sounds and stared off into space longer than usual. Cadence was usually the last one to bed but found her beating him there as he stayed up for hours on end, doing who knows what. Every half hour she'd call out to ask if he were coming to bed nd he'd always say he'd be there in five minutes before the cycle would start all over again. He went on more patrols by himself, trained more, often pushing himself further and harder than he'd ever done before, snapping at HR, Cisco, and Caitlin when they tried to get him to take a break. He'd immediately apologize, but it was evident something had changed with him.

Cadence's thoughts were ripped from Barry's plight when he pressed a gentle kiss to her neck, playing with her fingers. A low hum escaped Cadence's lips and she reached up, running her hand over his face. "You really need to shave, Tholly," She teased. "You know how brides don't want anyone else to wear white to their weddings? I don't think Captain Singh would want anyone else to have as big a beard there, either."

"You weren't complaining about it before," Barry commented, spinning her ring around her pinkie finger, staring intently at it.

"You weren't scratching the hell out of my shoulder before," Cadence said. She pushed his head back and scratched at her reddened skin. "Not to say I don't like it, Tholly. Just that it's not really you. You're more—"

"—Babyfaced?"

"I didn't say that."

"No, I've just been hearing it my entire life. It's like a reflex to think of it first."

"Okay, well think of being in your suit. That cowl's not going to fit very well." Cadence leaned her head back and smiled up at Barry. "I hate to tell you this, but Flash hasn't been looking very good lately."

Barry's eyebrows twitched upwards, eyes flashing with mischief. "Well, I hate to tell you, but I think Flare is a psychopath."

"Oh really?"

"Really." Barry nodded. "And I think it's only a matter of time until she decides to blow herself and STAR Labs up."

The corner of Cadence's mouth turned up. "Well, that wouldn't be too bad. It'd be good incentive for you to fix the roof on the damn place. How many more times do you want it to rain inside? I mean, I don't mind watching Cisco and Caitlin freak out, but that must be getting boring."

"Oh, so you got jokes huh?" Barry started to dig his fingers into her ribs and stomach, using his powers to do it at rapid speeds. Cadence burst out into giggles, making Barry laugh as well before leaning in for a kiss that was more passionate than the others.

They were so lost in each other, taking advantage of the few times they had to themselves, that the only thing to break the moment was Cadence's cell phone ringing out an alarm. She leaned back to reach her phone, giggling once more when Barry leaned with her, not wanting to break the kiss, and picked up her phone. She glanced at the time then sighed.

"You've got to get going or you'll be late to meet Joe and the others," she said, wiggling from his grasp.

Barry let out a grudging sigh and rolled off the bed. He scratched at the large scar on his chest, that ended just above the waistband of his sweats and glanced at her. "Are you still hungover?" He asked her.

"I don't know. Let me see." Cadence pushed the blankets down from her legs and stood up. She bounced a few times in the middle of the bed, before leaping high, throwing her arms overhead, and did a solid back-tuck, landing cleanly on her feet. Using both hands, she pushed her hair back from her face and grinned, throwing a wink. "Yeah, I think I'm good."

"Show off."

"I know." Cadence made a show of throwing her hair over her shoulder as she fluttered her eyelashes. "It's one of my better qualities." Barry held out his hands for her to take to jump down from the bed. Cadence handed them to her, but instead of lowering her to the floor, he draped her arms around his shoulders and angled his head up for another kiss. Cadence turned her head away. "Sorry, Mr. Groomsman, but you're going to be late."

"Mmm." Barry reached out and gently pulled the strap of her tank-top aside to look at her bra. "I can risk it." He leaned in but Cadence leaned back out of the way, holding her hand over his mouth.

"Barry Allen, this wedding is not something I'm going to let you be late for! You need to leave!"

Barry looked amused, pushing her hand away. "Is that an order?" He asked. He folded his arms and looked at her with equal parts curiosity and amusement. "Are you giving me an order?"

"Yes, it is, and yes, I am," Cadence replied. She placed her hands on her hips and leaned toward him, trying to look intimidating without the use of her powers. "You may be the boss of Team Flash but in this relationship, I'm the boss." She pointed to herself then pressed her finger against his forehead. "And I'm telling you to _go_."

Chuckling, Barry ducked his head away from her hand, giving her the chance to run her fingers through her hair before gently caressing his cheek. Barry turned his cheek into her palm, eyes shining with nothing but love. "Yes, ma'am." Barry leaned in and gave her a quick peck. Then another and another before he grabbed the sides of her face and gave her a long kiss.

"Barry," Cadence mumbled against his lips. "You're acting like you're going off to war. _We're_ not the ones getting married. You'll see me before, during, and after the wedding. Now go."

"I love you."

"I love you, too." She placed her hands on his shoulders and pushed him away from her, giving him a slap on the butt when he turned to do as he was told. He blasted through the room to gather his things, took a shower, got dressed, and left the apartment. Cadence hoped down from the bed and descended the steps to go to Brady's room.

She paused at the bottom of the steps, glancing at the kitchen as she went to move past and found it already filled with steaming plates of food. "Barry!" Cadence called in slight exasperation. He was spoiling her a bit too much. Honestly, it was starting to worry her a bit. He showered her with gifts and attention; not that she didn't appreciate it, but he hardly gave her the chance to return the favor. Almost like he were trying to make up for something.

Cadence's lips pursed as a streak of wind shot through the kitchen, a Post-It note being placed in her hand when it passed. She looked down at the note reading _You're Welcome, ;)._ Crumpling it in her fist she called out again, "I didn't say 'thank you'."

She continued to her son's room and knocked on the door before ducking her head inside. "Brady?" She called. A soft snore was the response. Cadence walked inside and over to her son's bed, finding him a large lump under the blankets. "Bud, time to wake up."

Brady made another snoring sound and pulled his blankets tighter over himself muttering, "Go away." Cadence glanced towards the ceiling, knowing she should've just gone straight to waking him up instead of trying to coax him out of it. _Since he hit his growth spurt he's always sleeping_ she thought, leaning over her son. Cadence pulled back his blankets to uncover his head then pressed a finger to his left eyelid, pulling it open. Payback. "C'mon, Brady." Then she pulled the other one open. "Let's go."

She did it a few times before Brady finally stirred, squeezing his eyes shut. "Okay, okay, I'm awake." He ran the heels of his palms over his eyes. "I'm awake. You can stop." With a groan, Brady ducked his head. "I'm awake!" Cadence leaned over and pressed a kiss to the side of his head, making Brady hunch even further. When she leaned back, Brady glared at his mother. "You can be so annoying sometimes."

"I learn from the best, bud."

Brady grabbed his phone and glanced at the time. He dropped back onto his pillow with a roll of his eyes. "Did you have to get me up so early? The wedding isn't until this afternoon."

"We have to patrol the city."

"Why can't Barry do it?" Brady rolled to his back and continued to blink up at his mother, working the sleep away.

"He's a groomsman. He has to help Captain Singh," Cadence explained patiently.

"Oh yeah." Brady's voice was clipped. His eyes shifted aside at the mention of Barry's name. Cadence looked at her son curiously. She thought Barry had been acting funny since the fight with Savitar, but Brady had been as well. She'd noticed his impatience with Barry when he made the comment about not being his dad, but it seemed to grow worse since then.

Cadence took a deep breath. Then immediately hated herself for doing it. What did she have to steady herself for? It wasn't a difficult conversation to have, she and Brady were always open and honest with each other. Admittedly, she didn't always like to hear his honesty just like he didn't always like to hear hers. The times he'd said she hated her never stopped hurting though she knew he only meant it in the moment. But she'd always found the best thing for them was to be honest and open.

"Look, I know you're mad about still having to go through training and not being able to—"

"—I'm not mad at that," Brady interrupted. "I understand why." He shrugged. "Savitar would probably kill me and Alchemy may take my powers away."

"Then you're a lot more mature then you're giving Barry credit for."

"Thanks." Brady smirked.

"What's been bothering you then?" Brady turned away and Cadence reached out her hand to clasp his jaw, forcing him to turn his head back around. "Not so fast, bud. I've known you long enough to know when something's on your mind."

Brady rolled his eyes again. For the second time in the most recent years, Cadence was struck by how much older Brady was getting. He was starting to get into his tween years, acting more like a teen ever day. Things had to be more than confusing, on one hand he was growing up but on the other he was being treated like a child who needed his hand held. _But if he keeps rolling his eyes like that, I'm going to have to knock his eyes from his head._

"You don't have to go the cheese route to get me to talk," he remarked. "It's not you."

"And you clamming up like that isn't you," Cadence added. "Normally I can't get you to stop talking. It's one of the better and more annoying qualities you have." Brady smiled a little at her teasing. Then his smile faded, and he ran a hand through his hair, frowning when blue hair dye came off on his fingers.

"It's just…" Brady sucked in a deep breath. He lowered his chin, looked up at her through his eyelashes. "Do you ever miss the way things used to be?" He asked. "When things were normal?" He tilted his head and looked at his mother, eyes searching hers. Cadence mimicked him and tilted her head, unsure of where his comment was going. "When it was just you and me?"

 _Cadence blew her from her face, working hard to keep sweat from rolling into her eyes. Brady walked in circles around the kitchen, pushing along one of his toy trucks, making vrooming sound as he went. It'd been a long day, getting everything moved into the apartment and washing dishes was the last thing she wanted to do. But it had to be done. Intuitively, Cadence knew moving was going to be hard; going from Metropolis to Central City wasn't an easy feat. Doing it alone and with an almost two-year old was more difficult than she thought it'd be._

 _But she'd finally made enough to get them off the streets, out of a women's shelter, and into their own space. It was a small space, but a space their own. Cadence looked down when she felt something hit her ankle and smiled down at Brady, who smiled up at her._

 _"You having fun?" She asked._

 _Brady's smile widened, dimples appearing in his cheeks. Then there was the sound of the doorbell ringing. Brady looked in the direction of the sound, pointed, and looked up at his mother as he said, "Bingo!"_

 _Chuckling, Cadence removed her hands from the water and dried them off on a nearby dishtowel. "Ding-dong," she corrected him. "It's ding-dong."_

 _"Bingo," Brady repeated, still pointing. He stepped around the car and toddled towards the door. "I get it."_

 _Cadence came up behind him and swung him up into her arms, making him squeal with laughter as she tickled his stomach. "Why don't we both get it?" She walked to the apartment door and peered out the peephole—finding he landlord on the front step—before opening it. "Yes?" She asked._

 _"Your mailbox hasn't been opened yet, but here's the mail that's been forwarded to you," the landlord explained, handing a stack to her._

 _Cadence felt a pang of sadness hit her chest when she recognized her home address. Her former home address. Nevertheless, she took the envelopes and thanked her landlord before closing the door. Brady took them from her hand and started to look through it. Cadence looked at one that sat atop seeing it read Nash Family. A small smile came to her face and she motioned to the name. "You see that?" She asked Brady. He looked up at her. "That's us." Brady smiled. "You don't know what I'm saying, do you?"_

 _In response, Brady pushed all the envelopes to the floor, making Cadence laugh._

Brady flipped his hair out of his face and started to pick at his nails. "I've been thinking about it a lot, lately."

Cadence smiled sadly. She'd had the same thoughts. "Sometimes I miss it. Believe me when I say things were a lot less stressful when it was just us. When we did our homework together, when we learned how to fix the plumbing, when we thought our neighbor was a murderer." Brady laughed at the memory. They spent a little too much time watching their neighbor come and go at all hours of the night, doing weird things, until they realized he worked at night. "But then we wouldn't have the friends we have now, or have even strengthened our powers. There's a lot we would've missed out on." Cadence continued to watch her son carefully. "What brought this up?"

Brady shrugged again. "I can't tell you," he said honestly.

"Why not?"

"Because."

"Because why?"

"Because I can't. I promised I wouldn't." He sighed. His voice lowered to an almost whisper as he admitted, "I just don't want you to be hurt, mom."

"From what? Sharing my life with more people?" She smiled gently when Brady folded his arms and lifted an eyebrow. "I hate to break it to you, bud, but in the grand scheme of things we have a better chance of killing each other than to be killed by anyone else. And I'm not talking about our powers, I mean statistically. You learn a lot of scary things working in CPS." She eyed Brady suspiciously, placing her hands on her hips. "You're not going to club me over the head the next time I take your video games away, are you?"

"Of course not. That'd be too obvious and way too easy to trace back to me," Brady denied, his voice oozing with massive amount of 'duh'. He paused for a second. "I think I'd smother you in your sleep. You're a heavy sleeper."

"Good to know." Cadence climbed off his bed and glanced out the window down at Central City. It seemed calm now, but it was only a matter of time until something happened, and she was itching for some action. "You ready to kick some criminal butt?"

Brady nodded, a familiar glint of mischief coming to his eyes that Cadence had seen many times before. In her own. "You know it." He held out his fist. "Just have them try to stop us." Cadence smiled and bumped his fist in response. "They won't know what hit em'."

* * *

"You can use as much of the space as you want," Tess said. She led Caitlin and Iris over the threshold of the Wells household and into the living room with a sweep of her arm. "So long as you don't get anything on the piano." She gestured towards the covering over the instrument that sat to the side of the living room. "He's really protective of his instruments. Science or otherwise."

"Wow," Iris said as she looked around the spacious house. "This place is _so_ much bigger than I thought." She let out a low whistle as she continued to spin in a slow circle. "It's no wonder STAR Labs had all the fancy technology."

"Actually, a lot of the money we got was from grants," Caitlin explained patiently, clasping her purse in front of her. Her fingers curled over the ends as she looked over the familiar house. "Not to mention partnerships we were able to procure form other technological companies and scientific ventures." She nodded towards Tess. "So far the grant we've gotten from Bruce Wayne has been working very well for us to keep up with our metahuman database as well as Cisco's inventions."

"Is he working on anything new right now?" Tess asked.

"He's working on something that'll make it easier for Barry, Brady, and Cadence to get into their suits," Caitlin explained. "He's making some headway with Brady's, it's easier since he's smaller. His suit uses less fabric and it takes up less space. Barry's and Cadence's are proving to be a bit more difficult with all the added gimmicks to their suits."

"Like the Kryptonite lining in Barry's suit," Iris pointed out.

"Exactly."

Tess chuckled to herself as she left the living room to go into the kitchen. She came back out carrying a few glasses of champagne to hand out to the young women. "I don't mean to laugh," she apologized. "But I couldn't help but notice that you don't talk much about anything but work when you're away from work."

"A lot of our lives does revolve around what we do with STAR Labs," Iris pointed out. She gratefully took the champagne from Tess and sat down on the buttery leather couch, crossing her legs at the knee. Caitlin, on the other hand, grimaced and waved off the glass. Clearly, she was still feeling the effects of Rob's party the night before. "Even working at CCPN most of my stories have to do with Flash and Flare or other metahuman sightings around the city. It's hard to ignore when it's a big part of our everyday lives now."

"People are still feeling the effects of the Particle Accelerator explosion," Caitlin agreed. Her hands shook. She placed her hands in her lap, running them over each other. "There are those that are putting together a lawsuit from the chronic pain they're in. It's not something that's going to be forgotten about anytime soon." She shrugged. "Or ever."

"Right, lawsuits. We've have gotten a few letters of that intent lately," Tess agreed. She didn't appear as concerned as Caitlin was. Then again, Caitlin was the one who had seen firsthand what happened when the machine exploded. Tess hadn't been there. She wondered what it was like for her to hear the news about her husband's accident from across the country with no means to "It's not anything Harrison and I are too worried about. With the work we're in, there's always the chance for it."

"Have you come across anything at the university?" Iris asked. Tess's eyebrows rose to indicate her confusion with the question. "With the metas, I mean?"

Tess sat on the other end of the couch, looking pensive as she crossed her legs, smoothing down the hem of her dress. "There's been a few things," She said slowly. "I've been keeping an eye on my students, to be sure if any of them are metas or have just recently received their powers. I haven't noticed anything out of the ordinary, so far. A few of them have made sure not to look me in the eye when I'm teaching but I'm sure that's more for not wanting to be called on than anything else." She chuckled, taking a sip of her drink. "Otherwise, Harrison and I have been meeting with some people lately to figure out what can be done about the presence of metas in the city."

Caitlin and Iris exchanged a glance. There was something loaded in Tess's words, Caitlin could tell. She'd been around Harrison enough to know when there were double meanings to his words. Hell, she'd been around Cadence long enough to know when there were double meanings to _her_ words—though the knowing grin she'd give afterward always drove the point home. Tess, admittedly, Caitlin didn't know as well, though her own avoidance. "I thought that was already handled. Chief Paulson's bid for the MRA was turned down."

Tess waved her hand. "People like Chief Paulson don't give up that easily." She crossed her legs the other way. "Now, I thought we didn't want to talk about work. Today is supposed to be a momentous occasion. It's not every day you get invited to a wedding as big as this one."

"It should be a lot of fun," Iris said. She smiled excitedly, immediately throwing off the seriousness of the conversation before. "The parties at the precinct are some of the best I've ever been to. Even when I was a little girl I've loved to go. The New Year's party is the best one the CCPD puts on. The Christmas party shortly after that. But weddings are awesome, too. The CCPD has always been a family so going to each other's weddings are the event of the year."

"And it's nice to see Captain Singh finally get his day," Caitlin agreed. She felt her tense muscles relax along with the flow of conversation. However, she kept the information in the back of her mind to bring up to Barry later. "He's been so excited for this."

Iris hesitated for a moment before saying to Caitlin, "I bet you were excited, too. When you and Ronnie were getting your wedding put together." Her eyes shifted. "The first one, I mean."

A wistful smile came to Caitlin's face. It was too bad the others didn't get to know Ronnie back then. To know how absurdly excited he was to marry her. How obvious it'd been since he had popped the question; practically ruining it with a big smile and small giggles whenever he talked to her that day. (Honestly, it wasn't too weird to Caitlin. 'His team' had won the big football game the night before and he always was in an golden mood

"I think Ronnie was more excited than I was," Caitlin said. Tess's smile widened. "Almost every day he'd come up with a new idea for the ceremony or the reception. You wouldn't believe how long it took or us to choose a venue. He kept coming up with such great ideas."

"Where were you going to have it?"

"Well, at first we were going to have it in a church here in Central City since it's where we met."

Tess's eyebrows rose in surprise. "You met in a church?"

"No!" Caitlin laughed. She could never imagine that for them. "We met at work. I meant we met in Central City. We'd been working at STAR Labs for a while without really knowing each other. I mean, I saw him around, but I never thought much of him. We only really started talking when we'd be sent to the same meetings."

Iris gave her a knowing smile, turning away so that Caitlin couldn't see her eyes. She took a sip of champagne. "A little bird told me it was because you had your eye on someone else."

Caitlin felt her cheeks flush. She did her best not to look at Tess while simultaneously wanted to kill Cisco. It was one of the better parts of Harrison and Tess takin a step back from STAR Labs within the last few months. Many times she could forget how she'd, at one point, had feelings for Harrison—who was really Eobard Thawne. But there were other moments where she couldn't quite get over the flashes of embarrassment it gave her. It didn't help that Cisco and Cadence teased her about it from times to time.

But to have it mentioned in front of his wife—who, in her defense, they all thought she'd been dead—was more than mortifying. Tess didn't seem to mind, as it was, her smile widened even further at the mention of it. She looked over as the doorbell rang and lifted a finger to the two before answering it. She came back with Maya walking behind her, dressed in to the nines.

"I'm sorry I'm late," Maya apologized as Tess led her into the living room. "I got a little held up watching the news. It seems that Cadey and Brady already got a head start on their daily activity." She smiled her thanks, taking the champagne Tess handed her. "I never realized how busy you all were."

"Don't be too surprised," Iris said. "The entire city knows that Captain Singh is getting married today and that most of the CCPD will be in attendance. I guess they thought there'd be no one to stop them."

"What about the Flash?"

Caitlin laughed to herself. "At this point I think he's a little preoccupied with keeping Captain Singh calm."

"If he's as tightly wound as he was when I met him, then Barry has a ," Maya agreed. "On my wedding day, Kent passed out a few times." Surprised glances turned her way. She waved her hand, "Locked knees," she explained.

"Ah." Caitlin nodded. "Ronnie was always worried about that. The closer we got to the wedding he would practice his standing at the altar."

Maya's head cocked. "You had your wedding, didn't you?"

Iris's eyes widened in horror while Tess leaned over to whisper in her best friend's ear. Nevertheless, Caitlin couldn't help but smile. She couldn't fault Maya for her somewhat callous statement. She was still learning everything about the world of Team Flash, and even then, Caitlin wasn't offended. She did get her wedding. It may not have been the kind of wedding they'd planned for, but it was still one she'd dream of. It had everything, her family, friends, the dress, and her husband. Sure, they couldn't go on a honeymoon, but she was pledged to Ronnie.

So much so that, sometimes, in her personal life she gave her name as Caitlin Raymond. "I did get my wedding and it was everything I could've hoped for."

"What about you, Iris?" Maya asked, turning away from the bioengineer. "You put any thought into marriage?"

Caitlin waited patiently for Iris's response. She was curious herself. Barry had said, back when they were still working out how to stop the Reverse-Flash, that the newspaper from the future said Iris had been married to Eddie. The last name on the byline reading 'West-Thawne'. She didn't know, however, if Iris had put any thought into it herself.

"Are you kidding?" Iris asked in response. "I've had my wedding planned since I was five. Barbie and Ken got the first run through so things won't be nearly so dramatic when I have my ceremony." She laughed along with the others.

"What about when you were with Eddie?" Tess asked.

"I don't know," Iris said slowly. "I don't know if things were progressing that way. We joked about it from time to time, saying when we were married we'd get a dog. Or that we needed to get married so we could get a tax break. But we never seriously talked about it." She shook her head. "And, besides, I had no idea if my dad would've given him his blessing."

"Eddie would've asked for permission?" Maya asked.

"Oh yeah, he definitely would. I don't know if my dad would've given it, but he was always a bit old-fashioned liked that. You should've seen what he did when we first moved in together."

Caitlin smiled as Iris went on with her story, laughing all the while. Nevertheless, Caitlin's thoughts turned back to Ronnie. It surprised her how much pain shot through her chest. She hadn't thought of him too much as of late, she'd been too busy. The times that hit her the most were when she was working late in her office or if she dwelled too much on how empty her apartment was. Ronnie had never moved in officially, but he'd left enough of her stuff around that she still found a random t-shirt of a pair of shoes.

Feeling sadness wash over her, Caitlin excused herself and went to the spacious kitchen to get some fresh air. If she couldn't handle herself while waiting for the wedding to start, it was going to be nearly impossible in the church. She pressed her back against the cabinets and let out a long breath of air.

"You look like you could use a drink." Caitlin's eyes opened at the sound of Cadence's voice, finding her having just teleported into the kitchen, remnants of smoke wafting away. She lifted her chin and smiled. "But I think you've had enough of that last night." Caitlin smiled gently in response. She lowered her head, hair cascading into her face. Cadence folded her arms and looked closely at her best friend. "What's wrong, Cait?"

"Nothing." Caitlin shook her head. Still didn't lift her chin. "I was just thinking about Ronnie. And what our wedding could have been like." She ran a hand through her hair. Finally looked Cadence in the eye. "I mean, I know we had one, but—"

"—The one you were actually planning?" Cadence interrupted. Caitlin nodded. "I wonder the same thing," she admitted to Caitlin's surprise. "When I was younger, I always thought I'd marry Ryder. Every now and then I wonder what it would've been like." She shrugged. "But I try not to dwell."

"Because of Barry?"

"No, because my mom would run with it. I don't know if you've noticed, but she tends to be very extravagant. I can only imagine what she'd do if she ever found out I was getting married." Cadence rolled her eyes. "I wouldn't be surprised if she has some 'save the dates' sitting somewhere waiting to be used."

Caitlin laughed. "I heard you got a head start on the crime fighting this morning. Glad it didn't make you late."

Cadence grinned and cracked her knuckles. "Yep. A carjacking, a robbery, and potential arsonists." She blew on her knuckles and rubbed them against the front of her dress. "And we didn't even break a sweat. We're just too good."

"Good to know the city will be safe. It'll finally give us time to relax."

"Getting tired of being a hermit?"

Caitlin couldn't help but roll her eyes. It wasn't a wrong assumption. She and Cisco spent so much time in STAR Labs the last week that she ended up sleeping in her office. There was too much to do, too many things to scan, too many tests to run, too much information to find out. Even Cisco had put the utmost care he took of his hair to the backburner. He perpetually kept his hair in a greasy ponytail and allowed bags to form under his eyes. She even noticed they were starting to become a bit pale. (Something of which Cisco vehemently denied until they went outside for fresh air and he shrank away from the light).

"At least today we get some time to relax and dress up a little," Caitlin said.

"If it helps." Cadence put her arm around Caitlin. She smiled at her best friend. "I think you look gorgeous." She placed a kiss on Caitlin's cheek, making her laugh. "And I know I'm not the only one who will."

"What?" Caitlin asked.

Cadence flashed an innocent smile. "Nothing."

* * *

Barry flipped down playing cards onto the table top with a snap. "Gin!"

Cisco stared at him, lowering his own cards. "We're playing _poker_!"

"Oh." Frowning, Barry's eyes shifted over the cards on the table top. He rubbed his neck, shooting Cisco a sheepish smile. "Well, can we play Gin instead?"

With a shake of his head Cisco said, "I'm never playing a card game with you ever again." He dropped his hand onto the table, shoving the cards together. "There's only a few things guys should learn. And one of them is that guy bonding is surrounded by taking their money and—"

"—Uh, Cisco," Joe interrupted, tapping him on the shoulder. Cisco looked over at Barry, whose arms were folded over his chest as he smiled smugly back at him. Cisco's eyes narrowed in response. He glanced at the table and found the cards Barry had put down proved he'd won the hand. "I think you just got played." He held up his hand and Barry slapped his palm against his foster father's.

"This is the last time I'm playing Poker with a speedster," Cisco pouted. He pointed directly at Barry. "I know you cheated somehow."

"I was sitting here the whole time," Barry said. He held up his hands defensively. His eyes shot over to Captain Singh, who paced the perimeter of the room. "Do you really think I'd do something with Captain Singh here?"

"I wouldn't put it past you, BA," HR commented, spinning his drumsticks around his fingers. He stopped and pointed it at Barry. "You know, there are millions of ways to—"

"—Why did we bring him?" Cisco interrupted.

Harrison, who leaned against the wall behind the group, hands tucked into his slacks, said, "Because I didn't trust him alone in STAR Labs." He nodded his head. "And the odds of being able to cheat in poker are actually less than a million. Counting cards being the most popular way to do so." He lowered his voice and said, "Of which, I wouldn't be surprised if, with Barry's speed—"

"—Ixnay on the eed-spay," Joe murmured, tilting his head towards Captain Singh. "David's just right over there."

A smile pulled at the corner of Harrison's lips. "I think he's a little preoccupied to notice, Detective West."

Captain Singh continued to pace the empty room in the back of the church. He clutched an empty tumbler in his hand that had once been filled to the brim with whiskey. As the others fell silent, Captain Singh's murmurings could be heard. The volume of his voice rising as the seconds passed, clearly working himself up more than he should be. Captain Singh ran his fingers across his forehead, over his beard. Wiped them on the sides of his suit jacket, and did it all over again. He looked up when he noticed all eyes turned his way and sucked in a deep breath.

He placed his hands on his hips. "Don't you have anything better to do than to sit around and play poker?" He asked. He paused. "And _stare_ at me?"

"Well, we're _supposed_ to help you calm down, but it doesn't look like that's working out, is it?" Cisco asked. Captain Singh's eyelids lowered in a glare, making Cisco slouch in his seat. "I'm sorry. Please don't take back my invitation. I don't get invited many places."

"That's obvious," Barry commented. He laughed when Cisco glared at him. Standing up, Barry said, "Captain Singh, this isn't anything to be nervous about, okay? You're going to marry Rob, the love of your life. You're going to be happy."

Captain Singh turned his glare to Barry. "Has anyone every told you that your blind optimism can be annoying?"

Barry blinked but managed to keep the smile on his face. "…you've told me many times, Captain." He couldn't hold it against his boss this time. The older man was nervous out of his mind, Barry was surprised he hadn't spontaneously combusted, he was sweating so much. Nevertheless, it was a sigh to see. (Though not as great compared to seeing Captain Singh drunk, that was something he would never forget."

Captain Singh eyed Barry and sighed, his shoulders slumping. "I'm sorry, Allen," he apologized. "I guess I'm a bit more…jittery than I thought."

"That's very common, David," Joe said. He got up and placed his hand on his friend's shoulder. "Even the strongest man in the world would be." He placed his hand on his chest. "Believe me, when I even thought about asking Francine to marry me, I broke out into hives."

A warm smile came to Captain Singh's face. He returned the favor, patted Joe on the arm. "I've seen those hives. You get them every time your performance review comes up." The two old friends started to laugh. "Remember your very first one?"

"Right. Nearly passing out definitely made me memorable."

"You've never had to worry, Joe. There was never a chance for you to get a bad review."

Joe folded his arms. "Yeah, well, as of late I've had more than a few reasons to be worried about my job," he said and not-so-secretly looked at Cisco, who started to whistle, pointedly looking away from the harsh stare of the African-American man.

"David Singh." HR's voice made Barry jump. Barry grimaced as HR threw his arm around Captain Sing's shoulders. "May I call you David?"

"No," Captain Singh said shortly.

HR immediately nodded. "Captain Singh," he recovered. "The funny thing about love is that everyone gets to experience it in some way. Whether it's from our family, friends, people we want to share our lives with. We all continue to experience love. And yet we're continuously terrified of it."

Captain Singh glanced at the others in the room, but they held up their hands, Cisco rolled his eyes. Best to let HR get on with it. _If there's one thing that can be said about HR, it's that he never let anything get to him._ Barry smiled as HR continued.

"And why are we terrified? Because of the unknown? What's the part that we don't know? How much we love the people in our lives? That we may not get it back? That's the _best_ part. The adrenaline inducing part. Allowing yourself to take that risk, allowing yourself to see where life will bring you because you're willing to give all of yourself to that one person that makes you complete." HR shook his head, blue eyes shining as brightly as they could. "If that's not what makes life worth living, I don't know what is."

Captain Singh continued to stare at HR, almost dazed. "Who invited you, again?"

"He, uh," Barry started to stammer. "He-he-he, well, you know, he—"

"He's my cousin," Harrison lied smoothly. He kept his eyes on HR, silently daring him to say anything different. "And he's a little _special_."

"Why thank you." HR tapped himself on the chest. "I think you're pretty darn special yourself."

Cisco snorted and looked at Barry, who tried to hide his smile as well. Not just for Captain Singh's obvious suspicions of HR, but what HR had said as well. HR managed to spurt out a bit of crap but every now and then he came out with a diamond.

Even Captain Singh found himself relaxing at HR's words. He joined the guys for the next few rounds of Poker, winning half of them—making Cisco continue to grit his teeth in frustration as he did so—while Harrison won the other half. Then the pastor poked his head into the room and, with a warm smile, let them know it was time to get going.

The wedding was about to start.

Harrison and HR left the room to let Barry, Joe, and Cisco to finish getting ready. The wedding photographer snapped picture after pictures Joe helped Captain Sing into his suit, fix his hair in the long mirror, and stick a boutonniere in the lapel of his jacket. Then the group filed out of the back room and into the congregation, the pews filled with Captain Singh's and Rob's friends and family.

"Man, can you imagine this many people actually _like_ Captain Singh?" Cisco asked as they walked along, squeezing past those that were making their way to their spots.

"I know he can be rough around the edges—"

"—Barry, _diamonds_ are rough around the edges. This guy is _tan suave_ _como un cactus."_ Barry gave Cisco a look. "As soft as a cactus."

"Ah."

"All I'm saying is…" Cisco trailed off, his gaze shifting to the side. He kept walking, not noticing Barry had stopped, and crashed directly into Barry's back, sending him into Joe, who stumbled into Captain Singh, nearly knocking him over.

Captain Singh glared behind him, making Joe give Barry and incredulous look. "Sorry," Barry quickly apologized. He turned to Cisco, finding him still staring. "Cisco?" He waved a hand in front of his best friend's face. "Cisco? Are you okay?"

Craning his neck, Barry followed Cisco's glance. From the back of the church, to the left side of the audience—Captain Singh and Rob made sure to note that there was no side specific for either of their friends and family—down the aisle where everyone was getting seated and…

Oh.

Barry smiled.

Caitlin waved to some colleagues as she slid into her seat, tucking down the back of her dress as she did so. Barry turned back to Cisco, who continued to stare. Taking a step back, so that he lined up with Cisco, Barry rapidly moved his feet against the floor of the church, glad that the steps he stood on were covered in carpet. Static formed and Barry stuck out his finger, pressing it against Cisco's elbow.

"Ouch!" Cisco jumped. Finally blinked. He tore his gaze from Caitlin and looed over at Barry, who smiled warmly back at him. "What was that for?"

"Oh, I don't know." Barry tried to keep from laughing but failed. "Just seeing if…Killer Frost had frozen you in place."

Cisco's cheeks reddened. He ducked his head, glancing at Caitlin once more. He turned his back to the audience, under the guise of fixing his ponytail as he muttered, "Tell anyone and I'll make it so that you're nothing but pure electricity, pal!"

"I won't say anything." Barry dragged his finger across his heart in a cross. "I promise." And he intended to keep that promise. It was like HR said, being in love—though he wasn't quite sure that's what Cisco felt for Caitlin—was between them and something for only them to experience.

The church continued to fill as the four men moved to their places to stand at the front. Barry stood alongside Joe, who was standing at the right place to be Captain Singh's best man. He held his hands clasped together in front of him, eyes shifting around the church. He saw everyone he'd ever known at the CCPD, those that hadn't fallen victim to the Reverse-Flash or Zoom. They were all dressed in some of their best clothes, far different than the uniforms they wore to work. All sharing in the special ceremony for their boss.

Even Chief Paulson's normally pinched face was relaxed and smooth. Wrinkle free as he smiled. Barry continued to look over the crowd. He saw Alicia sitting next to her father, crossing and re-crossing her legs as the seconds passed. It was obvious she'd been dragged along to the ceremony, probably to keep up appearances for her father. Then he saw Wally and Jesse sitting together, Wally's hand sitting in Jesse's lap and her hand clutching his. They smiled happily at each other, speaking to anyone else they saw they recognized—many of them those that Joe knew from the precinct. Barry craned his neck, seeing Tess next.

She sat with Harrison and Maya, the three easily conversing with each other gave Barry a glimpse into the past. A past where they—along with Kent—had all been best friends. Not knowing how close they were coming to something they'd share that would inevitably split them apart. Said object, their daughter, sat down with Caitlin, looking through the program with Brady by her side. She lifted her head, gently shook it to move fringe from her face and locked eyes with Barry, giving him a finger wave.

Barry discreetly waved back. He took a deep breath, palms filling with sweat. _Calm down,_ he said to himself. _It's not like you're the one who's getting married._

Then everyone stirred as the back of the church opened and Rob walked down the aisle with his parents at his sides. Barry leaned over to look at Captain Singh, seeing the smile on his face. A smile so bright it nearly illuminated the entire church. Tears were already starting to gather in his eyes.

"Dearly beloved…"

Barry swallowed hard.

"We're gathered here today to observe the union of David Singh and Robert Davis in unity."

A hushed silence fell over the church save for the static that could be heard from the ear-pieces of security that was placed at strategic points in the church. Barry turned his attention back to his boss and his boss's fiancé. Watched as they smiled at each other, gripped each other's hands tightly, tuned out everyone around them.

Just like his parents had done years before, and who had continued to love each other up until the end and long after.

"David, do you take Robert to be your lawfully wedded husband…?"

And just like that, the 'I do's' were said, the rings were placed on fingers, Captain Singh and Rob tied he knot, and Barry made his decision.

There was no turning back.

* * *

"I don't get it. Why did they throw their ties for people to catch?"

"Because they didn't have a bouquet and garter to throw."

"What's a garter?"

"Just eat your cake."

Barry laughed to himself as he passed by Brady and Ryder—Ryder looking like he wanted to be anywhere but there and Brady looking more confused as the seconds passed. Alicia, who sat at their table as well, giggled over her piece of cake. Barry patted Ryder on the shoulder as he passed, making Ryder smile and hold up his hand, the two slapping their palms against each other, and continued to weave his way through the crowded reception hall.

He passed by large groups of his colleagues, pushing past them on the dance floor. (He only stopped long enough to watch HR dance—or what looked like to be a cross between the hokey-pokey and the macarena). Finally, Barry came closer to his target and felt his heart race even further with each step he took.

"Barry!" She reached him first, grabbing onto his arm and whisked him onto the dance floor. Thankfully, the music was a big band, jazz number that kept his feet going. He wrapped an arm around Cadence's waist, the other holding onto her hand. "Help me spy on Caitlin and Cisco!"

Barry laughed, noticing how excited she looked. Nevertheless, she gracefully fell instep with his movements as they glided across the dance floor to the upbeat music. They smiled as Barry led her in a series of spins and flashy moves across the dance floor—complete with twirls as they did so. It didn't take long for Barry to notice Cisco and Caitlin dancing nearby, Caitlin clutching her purse in one hand, the other hand in the air as she shook her body to the beat, Cisco, on the other hand, whipped his hair back and forth as he danced.

"What do you think they're talking about?" Cadence asked, bringing Barry's attention back to her.

"How should I know?"

"I don't know. Don't you, like, have super hearing or something?"

"I can read lips very fast, but I can't hear very fast, Cade. My powers don't work like that." Barry extended his arm and spun Cadence back into him, her back resting against his chest. He gently rotated the two around in a circle then held up his arm, allowing her to duck under it so she could face him again.

"Smooth," Cadence remarked. She looped her arms around his neck, stepping closer to him.

Barry gave a playful bat of his eyelashes, resting his hands on her waist. "I try. I've told you before, I'm an excellent slow dancer."

"But you weren't bragging."

"Not at all." Barry grasped her hand and twirled her a few times before holding onto Cadence as he dipped her toward the floor. Her eyes shone with mirth when he propped her back up. "I'm not bragging about that either."

"And you stopped going to my classes because?" She asked. Barry's eyes shifted over her shoulder towards Captain Singh and Rob as they danced close to each other. They'd always done their first dance as a couple, but the two hadn't left the dance floor since then. Hadn't stopped looking in each other's eyes. "Barry?"

Barry's eyes jerked to hers. He took a deep breath and smiled. "You know; saving the city, making sure I still have my job. It's on a daily basis, I don't have much time to spare. How do you handle it?" He didn't care for her answer, really. Just needed to nudge the conversation in the right direction.

"Oh, you know." Cadence shrugged. "I have excess energy to burn." The two laughed at her joke. She was the first to stop laughing, noticing how hollow Barry's was. "Is everything alright, Tholly?"

"Yeah," Barry replied. "Yeah, I just. I just have something I need to talk to you about."

"Right now?" Cadence's eyebrows nearly left her forehead they shot up so fast.

Barry nodded. "Right now." He gripped her tighter, pulling her flush against him, pressing his forehead against hers. Cadence's lips parted, she stared to say something, but Barry ran. He zig-zagged through the streets of Central City before coming to a stop at the tallest building in Central City.

The moment he stopped, Cadence turned to looked over at the view that suddenly surrounded her. "What?" The word escaped her lips, more than a whisper, less than a murmur. "Barry?" She turned back to her boyfriend, watching him suspiciously.

"I remember you told me, you showed me that this is one of your favorite places in Central City," Barry explained to her. "Because it let you see everything in the city. It makes you feel that you're in control." He shoved his hands into the pockets of his slacks. "I haven't been in control of much in my life since getting my powers, since meeting you. If I were in control, then I'd be able to take down everything that came my way without having to put all my friends and family in danger. I could go out, take down whatever threat comes my way, and be back in time to keep Captain Singh from noticing I was gone and act normal. But I haven't been able to do that, because I'm never in control. But that's what excites me."

Cadence watched him carefully.

"I like not knowing what's going to come our way. I like not knowing how we're going to stop whatever meta or criminal it is we're up against because it means we really have to work together. And we work, Cade. Ever since we met, we've worked together. Through you trying to kill me, through me trying to kill you—"

"—you were whammied," Cadence pointed out.

But Barry was on a roll now and didn't seem to notice her interruption. "We just work, and I can't even begin to imagine what'd happen if you hadn't been there for me. Or if our powers didn't work together. Or if we didn't understand each other. I can't imagine a future that Flash and Flare didn't exist. That Barry and Cadence didn't exist. And I don't want to go a day further without knowing for sure that you're by my side, Cade because I love you so much. And it'd kill me to not have you there." He removed his hand from his pocket. He stepped towards her, eyes still on her face. "Because I can't say how the days will unfold and I can't change what the future may hold. But I want you in it, every hour, every minute."

Cadence blinked at him. "What?" She asked again. This time her voice quivered, as if she was finally starting to understand what was happening. A smile ever so slowly came to her face.

Barry slid to his knee, keeping his eyes locked onto Cadence's. She continued to smile down at him, tears gathering at her eyelashes and slipping down her cheeks. Barry lifted his hand, a dazzling ring pinched tightly between his fingertips.

"Cadence Nash, will you marry me?"

* * *

I needed a nice, happy chapter to counterbalance the last one. And this one really was a happy one. Not just for Barry and Cadence, but also for Captain Singh, Joe, Iris, Wally, Jesse, Cisco, Caitlin, Harrison, and Tess. There were a lot of characters in this one and still even a few questions that were brought up .

Please remember to review; any feedback helps me become a better writer and motivates me to write more. I respond to every review, even anonymous ones. I update my story every Wednesday, if there's a time that I won't it will be posted on our twitter: DarkElements10.

 **Cheers,**

 **-Riley**

 **Review Replies**

 **This one is for everyone:** Thank you so much for the response to the cliffhanger I had at the end of the last chapter. (If anyone was confused, there was a time skip between the last chapter and this one. Not long, just a week). I'm really enthused with the arrange of responses I've gotten for it. Yes, all three important girls are the ones to die and yes, it had to happen that way. Though it was not an easy decision to make.

At first it was Cadence that was going to die, but then I figured that it would've just made Cade immediately take Iris's place and it seemed kind of predictable and blah, especially as Cade would've had a bit of a blasé response to it the full way through. Then I realized a better way to have the look into the future go and here it is. (I'd say more but it'd spoil a lot, though I'm not above spoiling it for people if they ask). Again, thank you for your responses, I hope you enjoyed this one as well.


	24. Confrontations (1)

**24**

 _Confrontations  
_

* * *

Barry stretched his arms overhead, then ran his hands over his face as she stood outside CC Jitters. He didn't have to look at his reflection to know he had dark circles under his eyes. Bags. Lines, anything else that a night without any sleep could do. It was frustrating, really. There were some nights his mind moved too quickly for him to get a restful night.

Other times he could push it all away and sleep like a baby. Nights after a wedding were ones he should've known would be restless. Not just because of the excitement of the day, but because of how many people would come out of the woodwork to get some mischief in. He should've see it coming, honestly. A police officer's wedding. They were fools if they thought nothing was going to happen. At least it seemed no one wanted to intrude on Captain Singh's perfect day.

You could only ask for small favors.

Barry rubbed his eyes and shuffled into Jitters. He saw Cisco wave a hand overhead and headed towards the table. Their table. The specific table in the back corner of Jitters, strategically placed where they could see the front door and everyone coming in and going out. Strategically placed so that no one would overhear them as they talked about whatever meta related things came their way. Let alone any private conversations in general. It was the best place where they could race off to STAR Labs and their suits without a second thought.

Arriving at the table, Barry slid into the open seat next to Caitlin, taking the cup of coffee Cisco slid across the table to him. Barry glanced at the foam on top, smiling when he saw his own emblem atop. The Flash. Bias aside, he did like the coffee. It was a staple of Jitters—along with the additional shot of Flare, the Zoom, the Reverse-Flash and they sold very well. There were only so many ways the city could show how much they loved him—it was a bit embarrassing—and The Flash was always going to be his favorite of them.

"Thanks."

"Don't mention it," Caitlin said with a wave of her hand. "It was my turn to buy. You get the next round."

Barry nodded back and took the coffee and tilted his head back to take a sip. His shoulders hunched, lips recoiling as the lukewarm liquid touched his tongue. He made a face, replacing the cup to the table. Started to get up to order another one, stopping only when Cadence reached out her hand, palm up. Less than a second later, steam arose from the spout of his cup. He smiled a smile of thanks and she smiled back, leaning back in her seat, cradling a mug of hot chocolate between her hands.

"You're la-ate," Cadence sing-songed.

Barry gave her a look. "Tell me something I don't know."

"Um." Cadence lifted her gaze in thought. "You may want a new toothbrush. I think I saw Brady cleaning his cleats with yours."

Barry chuckled. "So, what's going on?" He glanced at Cisco and Caitlin with a secretive smile. "I'm surprised you two are managing to stay upright long enough to get here."

Caitlin rolled her eyes while Cisco's eyelids lowered into a glare. He leaned forward, pointing his finger directly between Barry's eyes. "Hey, just because you can't get drunk doesn't mean you get to make fun of the rest of us who can."

"It doesn't?" Barry's grin widened while Caitlin shook her head. There were only so many times he could bring up their night of karaoke and drinking before he managed to take one step too far over the line. As it was, he made sure to lean away from Caitlin in case she decided to send an icicle into his thigh, let alone frozen fingernails. "Darn, there goes my fun."

"Considering our jobs, it's not like you're short of it," Cisco said. Then he grinned wildly and said, "But that reception was lit, yo!" He lifted his hand and slapped his palm against Cadence's as she laughed. "I've never seen an entire police department thrown down like that."

Barry laughed along with his friends. It was a great reception to an even better wedding.

The food was delicious; an assortment from some of the best restaurants in Central City as well as Captain Singh's and Rob's hometowns, more than enough dessert he'd ever seen in his entire life—of which Barry noticed that even Joe and Iris ended up getting a sugar high off the brownies and mint chocolate chip ice cream. (Of which couldn't rival Brady's or Alicia's). The music was fun and lively, the perfect mixture of a live band and a DJ—of which Barry had been around the CCPD enough to hear the harsh words between Singh and his then fiancé as they argued about the pros and cons of each. And everyone danced to some of the oldest hits anyone could remember—Barry could toot his own horn and say he even managed to get talked into doing a tap dancing routine when the correct song came on.

He hadn't seen any of his coworkers smile and laugh and relax so much in such a long time. He hadn't enjoyed himself like that in a long time, either. Of course it became tainted when he had to go out as The Flash and take down some bad guys. But the happiness still stuck in him if he didn't think too much about the other thing.

Cisco abruptly stopped his laughter and said, "Too bad we're all probably going to die before we can have some more fun," he added. A somber feeling spread over the table. Barry let out a low breath, shifting his gaze to the rapidly melting symbol in his coffee. He knew he had to tell the others what he saw and yet couldn't find the words to do it. It was the future and Jay had said it himself, you never knew what could happen in the future.

 _Too bad I already saw it,_ Barry thought. He ran his hands over each other and nodded to Caitlin's statement of, "You really know how to kill the mood sometimes, Cisco."

"I'm sorry," he apologized. "But am I the only one who hasn't forgotten we all fought and _lost_ against the very speedster we're trying to stop?" Cisco looked over each of his friends' faces. His eyes widened as the seconds passed. "Or about the creepily masked lackey he calls Alchemy? He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named is still out there!"

"Oh." Cadence rested her chin in her hand, fluttering her eyelashes. "Do you mean, Avitar? Bavitar? Cavitar? Davitar? Stop me when I'm getting close." Cisco shot her a look and she smiled, crossing her legs at the knee, and placed her forgotten mug onto the table. "I don't think anyone's going to forget that, Cisco. Three speedsters, a fire meta, a ice meta, a phasing meta, a gravity meta, and a breacher couldn't take him down." She shrugged. "All that means is that we'll just have to hit him harder."

"If we even can," Caitlin murmured.

"What do you mean?" Barry asked. His voice was low, almost a croak, heavy with emotion. It was too hard to ignore. Caitlin sucked in a deep breath and looked at Barry from the corner of her eye, then ducked her head, chewing her lip. Barry recognized the movement immediately.

Caitlin continued chewing for a few moments then let out a sigh. She lifted her chin and started to explain, eyes not focusing on anything. Almost, Barry noticed, as if she were looking into the future. Her own future. _Or maybe it's the past that constantly haunts her,_ Barry thought. "I didn't help out until the end," Caitlin said.

"Cait, you know we don't blame you for any of that," Cadence said, a warning tone coming to her voice. She reached out and took Caitlin's hand in hers, squeezing it firmly. "You haven't used your powers as much as the rest of us have. There was only so much you could do."

Barry looked at their hands. The same hands that managed to stab each other through the heart. He shook his head, taking a deep breath, working to focus on Cisco who said, "Yeah, but that freeze-boil thing you two did was awesome."

"Thanks." Cadence blew on her knuckles and wiped them across her chest. "It's a gift. And lots of practice."

"What, you mean you two have been working on that little trick without telling me?"

"No, but I've been working with Caitlin on her elemental training."

"Ah."

"What were you saying, Caitlin?" Barry pressed, watching his friend closely. She rested her cheek in her upraised palm, now staring into her own coffee. "About Savitar. What were you saying about Savitar? How we couldn't beat him."

"It's not that I don't think we can't beat him," Caitlin said slowly. "It's that I don't think he'll let it be easy."

Now Cadence couldn't help but raise an eyebrow. "What are your first clue? The fact that no one but Barry, Wally, and Jesse could see him?"

"No, that he knew everything we were going to do before we did it," Caitlin said. Silence stretched around her. "I watched… _We_ watched your guys' movements the moment I got back to STAR Labs. We didn't know you were fighting Savitar, but we knew you were fighting something. Everything you guys did, everything that's ever worked before, every trick up your sleeves, Savitar was able to counter it. The only thing he didn't seem to expect was Brady and Leah being there as well."

Barry and Cisco slowly sat up, looking at each other. Cadence's eyes narrowed as she folded her head and tilted her head to the side. Was she right? Barry thought back to the fight against Savitar. He'd tried everything that'd ever worked against a meta before but had been beaten down each time. It wasn't so strange. Speedsters all shared the same skillset of their abilities, they could all do the same thing. Barry's suit wasn't made from metal, making it easier for Barry to turn Savitar into a magnet. Easier to have him incapacitated for the time being. Savitar hadn't seen _that_ coming, but he'd seen Barry's other movements, his other tactics. Knew what he was going to do.

"How would he know?" Cadence asked.

"He's a speedster," Barry said. His jaw dropped with realization that suddenly knocked him over the head. How could he have been so stupid? "He's been alive for years. Even Jay knew of him on his Earth."

"That might not be the same Savitar," Cisco pointed out. "As far as we know, Savitar from Earth-2 is just a fancy cult leader." Caitlin and Cadence both gave him a look and he shrugged. "I'm just saying as far as we know, Alchemy is his gay lover. Why else would he be following him around so much?" Cadence gave him another look and he added, "I'm all in with the LGBT community, you know that. With multiple Earths there are—"

"—Multiple possibilities," Barry finished. "Multiple outcomes. In this case, Caitlin's right. I didn't think much of it at the time, but…everything I was going to do, Savitar would either do it first, or stop me. He's not just faster, he's smarter. Even with me and Cade working together he knew what we'd do before we could do it."

"so, he's been watching us for a while," Cadence said. "Maybe…" Her eyes twitched, narrowed into slits. "Maybe since Flashpoint."

"Or maybe _because_ of Flashpoint," Barry said. His heart sank as the words registered with him. Of course. Everything led back to Flashpoint. Everything led back to him. Everything led back to being his fault. No matter what he tried to do to change it, he kept making everything worse.

Caitlin, Cadence, and Cisco all exchanged glances, all opened their mouths to say something, then stopped when the bell over Jitters' door rang. Instinctively, the four swiveled around to see who'd arrived, and all visibly relaxed when they saw Iris striding toward them. She had a folder tucked under her arm, hugging it close to her as she sidestepped those around her.

Iris's beautiful features twisted into an expression of confusion when she saw the four looking at her. "Okay, you guys have _got_ to lay off on the caffeine," she said, stopping at the head of the table. "It's making you all so jumpy."

"We were just talking about the Big Bad Wolf," Cadence explained, motioning for Iris to take the last empty seat at the head of the table. Iris carefully sat down, moving the folder to the table, her hands pressed firmly atop it. Iris's eyes squinted, she tilted her head. "Savitar."

"Do you talk about anything else?"

"No," the four said in unison.

"What've you got?" Barry asked, nodding to the folder.

Iris looked both ways before lifting her chin. She brushed her hair behind her ears. "Oliver and Felicity finally got back to me with the information we needed," she explained. "They apologize for not coming to your housewarming party, by the way. Mayoral business and having to atone for something." Barry lifted his gaze and met Cadence's. They'd wondered why that invitation hadn't been responded to, chalking it up to something Arrow related had come up. "Anyway, I've got the goods."

Iris flipped open the folder and picked up two packets of paper, sliding them into the middle of the table. Simultaneously, the five leaned towards the papers. Barry glanced at the names on top _Leah Wasserman_ and _Lucas Tenson._ He looked over at Cadence, who's expression of intense concentration didn't waver as she looked over the names herself.

"Does this seem right to you?" Iris asked, now watching Cadence herself.

Cadence nodded. "As far as I know." Her eyes continued to rove over the packets with as much intensity as looking over a makeup catalogue. "Names are right, pictures are right, last known address is right…" she flipped through the sheets of paper. "I'm not so sure of their crimes."

"What?" Cisco's face screwed up. "Don't you guys talk when you're not too busy…?" He made a gesture with his hands. "You know know…?"

"Baking cookies?" Iris guessed.

"Square dancing?" Cadence added.

"Sewing?" Caitlin said.

Barry slapped his hand onto the table top, making them all jump. "This isn't a joke!" he didn't need any powers to know everyone in the coffee shop was staring at him. To know all conversation had ceased and wanted to know what caused the outburst. He leaned forward, lowering his voice even further. "If it's not Savitar, it's the Assassination Bureau. If it's not the Assassination Bureau, it's Savitar. There are people out there trying to kill us,"—he motioned between himself and Cadence—"and we have nothing to go off of."

Iris reached across the table and squeezed Barry's hand. He resisted the urge to pull his hand away from hers, it may be the last time if the future were any indication. "That's where you're wrong, Barry. This is everything we need that we didn't have before."

"Their names and addresses?"

"Past criminal history," Iris pointed out. "This is stuff I couldn't even get from my dad's databases at the CCPD. And you want to know why?"

"Because the CCPD never had it on file," Caitlin realized, making Iris nod. She thought for a minute. "Just like at STAR Labs, the only thing we know is what they've wanted us to know. We know their identities and their powers, but nothing more than that."

"Exactly." Smugly, Iris folded her arms. It was obvious she knew her career would bring an advantage to Team Flash at some point. "Cade and I were talking about White Hot and why we couldn't figure out her identity. How Zoom had taken her over from Earth-2 and she's trying to kill Cade, because she can't kill Burnout."

"Because she's taking my place in Breathtaker's army," Cadence agreed. She started to drum her fingertips against the tabletop, her nails making clicking sounds as she did so. Her lower jaw shifted aside, partially in frustration, partly in thought. "Like the four horsemen of the Apocalypse."

Barry nodded. He'd remembered Cadence, Caitlin, and Iris explaining their findings to her after they'd had breakfast together that day. Hadn't put much thought to it considering everything with Savitar that had been going on. But now…It was starting to become more real, how dangerous things were getting. "So what do their criminal pasts have to do with anything?"

"Well, like I said, this information wasn't in the CCPD's database. Meaning, it was swiped clean at some point. I wouldn't know for sure if Breathtaker did it or who else, but it wasn't there. Felicity managed to get into the deep recesses of the internet and found out their crime sprees started around the same time." With a flourish, she whipped the packets of papers to the same page and tapped her finger against it. "They were recruited at the same time."

Cisco regarded Cadence with a lifted eyebrow. "Is there anything you want to tell us?" He asked. "About your villainous friends here?"

Cadence rolled her eyes. "Oh yeah, we're besties. We're like this." She crossed her index and middle fingers, the lights hanging over their table bouncing off the rings that adorned her hand. "I never knew when they were recruited or how. Just how I was." Her eyes narrowed. "You didn't get anything on Incognito?"

Iris shook her head. "Not even Felicity could get information on him. No one knows his name, or what he really looks like."

"No one _ever_ knew what he looks like," Cadence said. Her face puckered in displeasure, as if she'd sucked a lemon. "I've never seen his real face. I'm not even sure who the person _I_ know Incognito to be is really him. Or whose identity he stole."

Barry sat up straight. His mind whirred with a million thoughts. He ripped the papers out of Cisco's hands, using his superspeed to read through them once, twice, three times, ignoring Cisco's squeals of pain from the paper cuts he received. Taking in the information over and over again.

"Barry, what's wrong?" Caitlin placed her hand on Barry's shoulder.

"These crimes, they started before the Particle Accelerator blew," Barry said. He slowly put the papers down and looked Cadence in the eye. She looked back at him. Barry leaned forward. When he spoke next, his words were slow, deliberate. "Were they here when it went off?"

She looked back at him. "Yes."

"Did they get their powers from the Particle Accelerator?"

"No."

That stumped him. _What?_ That didn't make any sense. Even Caitlin did a double take towards her best friend. Barry stumbled over his words a few times before finally being able to get out his question. It was just too preposterous. "What do you mean, 'no'?"

Annoyed, Cadence couldn't help the sass that came to her voice. "I mean, 'no, they didn't get their powers from the Particle Accelerator.' They had their powers when I knew them." She pursed her lips. "Is that clearer?"

"How'd they get their powers?"

"From Breathtaker. I've explained this before."

As if sensing the mounting tension around them, Iris held up her hands. "Whoa. Okay." She pressed her hands to the table top. "As someone who was the last to join Team Flash, I need things explained to me a bit more. What do you mean Breathtaker gave them their powers?"

Cadence hesitated. She ran a hand through her hair, briefly closing her eyes. "When we were fighting the Dominators, Breathtaker got a hold of me." Cisco leaned forward, pressing his fingertips to his temples. He let out a long breath, closing his eyes tightly. "I don't know how he does it, but he's been doing it for a while. Getting into my head and making me see things. To prove he still has a hold over me."

Barry snapped his fingers. "Your nightmares," he pointed out.

Cadence nodded. "My nightmares," she agreed. "It's been going on for a little bit, since you came back from Flashpoint, actually. But things weren't that bad until the Dominators. I guess, having touched that tractor beam light gave Breathtaker the chance he needed to manifest in front of me." She briefly closed her eyes. "He told me what he wanted. He wants to take the world back, his world."

"Back to what?"

"Back to where metahumans rule. He's been a meta for a long time. Decades…centuries. He wants to turn that control back to the metahumans and make the humans suffer for what they've done to his world. He's had followers that've helped him over the years. When they die, he replaces them. That's what me and the others are, replacements for those that followed him. And he'll keep having replacements. Because he can give people powers."

"With the Philosopher's stone?" Caitlin breathed. Her fingers curled into her palms, cut little crescent moons into her palms. They healed over in seconds. A chill blew through the coffee shop, making Barry hunch towards the table and a nearby patron to ask for the heat to be turned up. Ashamed, Caitlin released her hands, immediately regulating the temperature once more.

"No," Cisco said. "He didn't need the Philosopher's Stone." All eyes then turned to him. He licked his lips. "I saw it all," he explained. "When I vibed her. When…when we saw she was getting beaten up. I saw Breathtaker. Everything Cade is saying is true. He wants to 'cleanse the Earth' of humans and those that have wronged him."

"What about the powers he gives others?" Iris asked.

Cadence thought for a moment, then shook her head. A defeated shake. "I don't know. He can…create matter. Can bend anything to his will. I see how it'd work with Mindboggler's powers. Stratos's, I'm not so sure. But, as far as I can tell, he can't create powers more than he can…enhance them. And he wants to enhance mine."

"Just like the Philosopher's Stone," Barry agreed. He brought a hand up, covered his mouth as he thought through all the information he was given. Some things he'd known before, others he was just learning. "Why didn't you tell us this before?" His eyes narrowed in desperation at Cadence. "When you were telling us how you got into the Assassination Bureau? Why didn't you tell us?"

Cadence started to respond, but Iris came to her defense. "There are a lot of things she's hesitant to talk about. I would be. If I was a part of something like that. But, she's saying it now and we've got this information and that's all that matters."

That wasn't true. What mattered was figuring out how Breathtaker and Savitar were connected. What they meant to each other and how they'd be stopped. There were too may similarities between them for things to be a coincidence. Barry knew it, deep down, something with the Philosopher's Stone had something to do with Breathtaker and Savitar. He just had to work harder to find it.

"You're right," Barry finally agreed. "All of this is really helpful. Thanks, Iris." Iris smiled and nodded. Silently said, of course. She'd do anything she could help them, using all her journalistic resource to do so. "I'll let Oliver know we got the information safe and sound, and that we don't mind he missed our party if things were that important." He pushed back his chair and stood up, tossing a tip onto the table. "I'll see you at work," he said to Cadence, who nodded back.

Barry left Jitters at a brisk walk. It wasn't the time for him to run. Not yet. He needed to think. So far, everything he'd done as The Flash had led up to something; his stopping the Reverse-Flash from destroying his life even further, Zoom from taking over other worlds, and now Savitar…? He didn't know. Just wanted him dead? Wanted to make as many metas as he could to do so? Then there was Breathtaker. _He wants to take over the world,_ Barry thought as he went along. _Wants to return the world back to the reign of metahumans. He's been alive for years, maybe as long as Savitar._ A humorless chuckle escaped his lips. "Where's Eobard Thawne when you need him?"

A gust of wind announced Jay's presence at Barry's side. Barry tilted his head back, turned his gaze to the sky. Jay, on the other hand, shoved his hands into the pockets of the light windbreaker he wore over his civilian clothes. "I never thought I'd see Barry Allen _wanting_ to see the Reverse-Flash."

Barry smirked. A lazy smirk that almost didn't make it fully. He was too tired to joke too much. Things weren't laughable. Not now. "You mean, you didn't see it in the future?"

"I wondered how long it would take for you to bring that up again," Jay remarked. He sucked in a deep breath, then made a face. "Sorry, I just never expected your Earth to have a distinct…smell."

"It's the constant construction," Barry explained. He gestured with his hand as they passed by a building with a sizeable hole, as if a thirty-foot monster had taken a huge bite from it. "They can only get so much done before the citywide curfew starts."

"I thought the Flash would've been aiding with the efforts."

"I've been a bit preoccupied, lately."

"With the future." It was a statement, not a question. Barry had no choice but to nod in response. All his thoughts of late were about the future. The distant future, the far off future? He wasn't quite sure anymore. That was the part that bothered him the most. That he didn't know when it was coming.

Barry gritted his teeth, did his best to keep the sudden influx of emotions that came at bay. He wasn't strong enough. As they stopped at a crosswalk, Barry's chest heaved. He hadn't run a marathon, hadn't raced all the way to China, hadn't done a few laps around North America, and yet he couldn't breathe. Not when he remembered so much of what was going to happen. What he couldn't stop.

"I've never run to the future," Barry gasped. He pulled hard at the collar of his shirt. Hoped it'd give him some sort of reprieve from the blinding, crushing pain. It continued to grow. Other citizens standing at the crosswalk started to look at him in concern.

Jay smiled and put his arm around Barry's shoulders, pulled him into his side. "Panic attack," Jay explained. "My nephew gets a little anxious sometimes." They nodded and took a step back from the two. Jay turned to Barry's ear, lowering his voice. "Everything's okay, Barry."

"No." Barry shook his head. It wasn't going to be okay. Not if he couldn't change things. Not if he couldn't find a way to get back there. "I've always traveled back to the past," he explained, slowly, very slowly regaining his breathing. "I…I saw myself. And Cade. And Caitlin. And Iris. And Savitar." He squeezed his eyes shut, the image of his friends' fallen bodies haunting him since that day. "Savitar killed Iris. Cait and Cade killed each other but…it was five months from now. In the future." He looked up at Jay as the light changed and they started across the street. "Is that actually going to happen?"

Jay pressed his lips together, forming a thin line. Barry looked at him for a moment then looked away. Couldn't handle it. It was the same expression his father would make when he was trying to figure out how to give bad news. As a surgeon, Henry had to give bad news from time to time. With Barry's simple and innocent questions of how work was, only to get the response, 'Difficult. I don't want to talk about it'. Meaning he'd lost too many patients.

Finally, Jay let out a deep breath, dropped his hand from around Barry's shoulders. "I don't know," he finally admitted.

"You don't…?" It wasn't the answer Barry wanted to hear. He wanted something, _anything_ that would tell him things were oaky. That he saw the wrong thing. That he was _done_ losing people he cared about the most. That his time as The Flash wasn't all for waste.

"You shouldn't have seen that," Jay said instead.

"This doesn't make sense." Barry shook his head, trying to wrap his mind around it again. Saw everything play out in front of him. Saw Savitar taunting Barry, saying he had to choose. Saw Iris saying not to save her. Saw Caitlin—Killer Frost—and Cadence end each other's lives as if it was nothing. "We…I…" He stopped abruptly, making the man following close behind him to curse and swerve around the young man, shaking his head and muttering something about 'millenials' as he went. Barry collapsed on a nearby bench, head hanging, face in his hands. "Oh my God…this is what the newspaper in the time vault changed. The byline…Iris didn't write that story eight years from now because…because she's dead. And Caitlin and…and Cadence." His heart hurt. "Oh my God. No…"

"Barry…"

He could feel Jay slowly sit beside him. Heard the cracking of his knees and the low groan that escaped his lips. Heard the heavy sound of Jay's breathing. Heard the relieved sigh that escaped his lips when he leaned back, resting his arm against the top of the bench.

"I just watched them die!" Barry continued. "I saw myself, I tried to move fast enough to save them, to save _her_ but I couldn't." Barry spread his hands. His fingers shook rapidly. Not with his powers, but with grief, adrenaline. The unknown. He was tired of it all. Knowing the future and simultaneously not knowing. "Jay, tell me this isn't my destiny."

Jay licked his lips. Bobbed his head back and forth, spoke as if they were having a friendly chat rather. "You saw one possibility of the future of what may be, what may not."

"So I can stop this from happening?" Of course! That was it. He'd just have to get to a fast enough speed to run back to the future. Change things. Knock Savitar off course. "I can run back there—"

"You _can't_ run back there!" Jay snapped. His sudden vehemence made Barry take pause, startled. Jay leaned forward, resting his arms on his thighs. "Not again, not ever. You _can't_ go back there!"

"Then I'll figure out how it happened. How we wound up on that street. And I'll make sure we don't go there. If we don't go there—"

Jay's hand clamped down on Barry's shoulder in a grip so tight Barry felt his bones creak. He was sure if Jay just started to vibrate his hand, his bones would shatter in a second. Jay's eyes flashed with a fire as he looked Barry in the eye. "Barry, this is _exactly_ why speedsters don't travel to the future. Nobody should know this much about it. Just as there are infinite earths, there are infinite possibilities to the future, always bending, always changing, the decision you make creates another alternative. Just like the past, if you try to fix it, it can't be put back together again."

"I won't let Cade die." He couldn't handle it. Not after what'd already happened between them. Not after the progress they'd been making. Not after… Barry licked his lips. "I won't let any of them die."

"The future isn't written yet and it might not even turn out to be what you saw. Why don't you focus on the here and now? You have to live your life, Barry. You know you do."

Barry clicked his tongue. He looked away, shaking his head. Ran a hand through his hair. How many times would he get that significant piece of advice before he listened to it? _The last time you tried, Savitar made sure it didn't work out,_ he reminded himself. No matter how much time he gave to himself, to just _be_ himself, everything with The Flash was going to take precedent.

"As a matter of fact, it sounds like something I should do myself," Jay continued, drawing Barry's confused gaze once more. "Something we should _all_ do. I haven't seen my family, been around my family for more than a few hours in years now. Maybe it's time I give them more of my time."

"What do you mean?" Barry asked. "Are…are you retiring?"

"This isn't something you can quite retire from, but there are times where you have to put your priorities in order. And I plan to do that." He patted Barry on the shoulder once more. "And you should, too. You're going to be late for work."

Barry laughed. "What else is new?"

With that, Jay stood up and raced away. Barry got up as well, walking the rest of the way to work. He greeted the receptionist and signed in—a new procedure Chief Paulson put into place—and went up to his office. He hesitated, seeing Julian bowing over a microscope. He didn't know what to say; whether to greet him or not. Julian knew Caitlin's secret. Caitlin willingly told him about her powers, in a bid for him to help her. He was the Metahuman CSI Expert, right?

He'd reacted so negatively that Barry was only waiting for it to come back to bite him. And waited. Even as the wedding reception Julian had been kind and cordial to Barry. Enough so that Barry kept an eye on him throughout the party, watching and waiting for him to come up and declare war on him. Nothing.

"Are you just going to stand there admiring my good looks or are you going to get to work?" Julian asked without turning around. Barry's mouth flapped open and closed. Julian took the precedent and pushed himself back so that he was the one to face Barry first. The smile on his face made Barry eye him suspiciously. "You know, I never got the chance to say congratulations," he continued. Standing up, Julian approached Barry with an outstretched hand. "I bet you're excited. I just hope I make it onto the guest li-"

Barry swiftly cut Julian off with a hard stare. One of the harshest he could muster. He was tired of this. Tired of everything that had to do with Julian, his personal life, his friends, his family. He desperately wanted it all to be kept separate. "What do you want, Julian?"

Julian stopped mid-stride, lowering his hand back to his side. He smirked, chuckled, and folded his arms. "Now, Allen, is that the way you treat everyone who tries to bring some friendliness between co-workers?" Barry mimicked Julian's stance, folding his arms. The two stared at each other. Julian was the first one to break it. "Well, I guess that's something we won't be getting anytime soon." He turned back to his desk.

Barry eyed him. He wasn't in the mood for joked or cryptic messages. He was tired of not having the straight up truth. "What do you want, Julian?" He repeated. "We haven't been able to have a simple conversation with each other without it being obvious how much you hate me."

"That's true," Julian agreed. He pulled at the legs of his slack as he sat down. Pulled up a pocket watch dangling by a chain by his hip and looked at the time. Barry continued to watch him. "Even on Captain Singh's day it was difficult for me to keep my detestation of you to a minimum."

"So what's got you so excited now?" Barry asked. "So friendly?"

"Nothing more than I think it's time we saw eye to eye." Julian picked an imaginary piece of lint from his sleeve. "Had a conversation about what we can do to make things less hostile around here." Barry's eyes narrowed, making Julian roll his eyes. "It appears I have to be more forthcoming with my thoughts. You know, for someone so smart, Allen, you can be abysmally slow sometimes." He sucked in a deep breath, eyes shining with mirth. Clearly, he was enjoying this. "You know how I've been saying I can't trust you?" Julian asked.

Barry rolled his eyes once more. He lifted his arms and slapped them to his sides in defeat. "Okay, Julian, I get it." He walked closer to his co-worker—his boss. "There are things we need to work you. You don't trust me."

"I especially don't now that I know your friend's little secret…" Julian's smile melted into an expression of fury. " _Your_ secret—"

"—What secret?" Barry had no idea what Julian was talking about. There was no way Julian could connect him to being the Flash, and even if he could, he wasn't so naive to think it was best to come right out and say it.

"—I've found that no one in this building can trust you," Julian continued. He ignored Barry's question and continued speaking. Obviously enjoying what he was ramping up to. "Now, the thing is, Allen, I'm an easygoing guy." Barry snored. Julian continued to ignore him. "But I'm sure others would understand my aversion to work with someone who is continuing to stand in the middle of an open case, keeping me from seeing justice. Just because of your personal feelings."

Barry's hands squeezed into fists.

"If she'd killed an innocent person, would you do the same?" Julian finally fell silent, allowing Barry to speak.

"Look, Julian, I know you think that getting powers is this binary game that you're either good for evil," Barry said slowly. "But life isn't like that. Even for metas." There was a part of him that was sure even Eobard Thawne had some redeeming qualities within him. Something Barry'd done in the future had caused Eobard to hate him, before that, he'd been a fan. The fan had to still be in there somewhere. Just like there was good in everyone. "Caitlin is a good person."

Julian perked an eyebrow. "So you _do_ know her name."

Now Barry ignored Julian's interception. "And she wants your help." Barry pressed his palms together, stepped towards Julian. He swallowed hard, hating the tone, the emotion in his voice as he said, "I'm _begging_ you not to turn her in. Begging." He took a step towards Julian. "I'll do anything you want. Just please don't do this to her. Don't ruin her life."

This time, Julian's face bloomed into such a bright smile. So bright it unnerved Barry. It was so real. A comparable difference than the scowl Julian almost always held. He finally recognized the feeling he got when he entered the lab. Danger.

"You seemed to have found the magic words there, Allen," Julian drawled. He reached out his hands, placed them on Barry's shoulders. "That's why it actually pains me to say this. The one thing you can do for me." He sucked in a deep breath and said one single word. "Quit."

"What?" Barry blinked. He couldn't have heard him clearly. Julian hated him. That was nothing short of clear now. They'd never gotten along. But to go so far to blackmail him into quitting? That was eviler than anything the Reverse-Flash or Zoom could've done to him. Julian Albert was pure evil.

"Tender your resignation from the Central City Police Department. Effective immediately." Dropping his hands from Barry's shoulders, Julian tilted his head, tapped his fingertips against his chin. "Is that clearer?" Barry's jaw dropped. He sucked in a deep breath. Found himself unable to find the right words to defend himself. If he could even be offended. Julian didn't give him the chance. "I can overlook the unexplained absences, the constant disregard for the rules and regulations." He stood up and walked so close to Barry the tips of their noses touched. Julian's hard, coffee-flavored breath wafted over Barry's face.

Nevertheless, Barry didn't waver, simply returning Julian's glare. "You can't do this," Barry said.

Julian thought for a moment. "I can and I will."

"I'll appeal."

"And say what?" Julian asked. "Say you're trying to keep your meta friend safe? Say you wanted me to be beaten up? Say how you've begged me not to say anything? She assaulted me."

"She's _sick!"_ Barry spat.

" _You're_ sick!" Julian spat back. He rounded on Barry, eyes flashing. Face twisted into an ugly snarl of anger. "You're willing to let someone downright dangerous leave. I'm giving you the chance to save your friend, to continue walking free, and _you're_ trying to set the rules? Your moral compass is broken, my friend. I point blank _refuse_ to work with someone whose sense of right or wrong is as flippant as the weather. Someone who thinks friendship is more important than justice."

"She's not just my friend," Barry protested. His voice was as low, harsh as Julian's. Escaping his lips rapidly. With vehemence. He sounded like Oliver. "She's my _family_ —"

"—Well, that's a hard lesson for you to learn, Allen. Your family can be ripped away from you no matter how much good you do." Julian blinked rapidly, lifting a hand to wipe at his eyes, his eyebrows. When he spoke again, his words were filled with fervor. He jabbed Barry in the chest with his fingertip. Making Barry take a step back with each step. "I'm sure you would've gotten a good dose of that lesson by now. You're not fit to be a CSI. Barry Allen has no place in law enforcement!" That time, he shoved Barry hard in the chest.

Barry stumbled back a few steps. He glanced over his shoulder, glanced back at Julian, mentally calculated everything he could do and how likely he was to get away with it. Zero to none. Julian seemed to agree. He fixed his hair, fixed his tie, regained his composure. "Do we have an agreement?" Julian pulled his other hand from the pocket of his slacks to show his cell phone with Chief Paulson's number at the top. His thumb hovered over the 'Call' button. "Or would you live the SWAT Team to meet their girl?"

Trapped.

He was trapped.

Barry knew it in the pit of his stomach. If he said 'no' to quitting Caitlin's life ruined, let alone the rest of Team Flash's. STAR Labs would be invaded, everyone would be investigated, Caitlin would be arrested and charged, thrown into Iron Heights, all their identities would be found out, and…and worse. There was so much worse.

If he said 'yes' to quitting, _his_ entire life was ruined. People would ask questions. His dismissal would be looked into. Caitlin would feel that she was the one who made Barry quit. She'd do something selfless to help him, which would, in turn, make everything he was trying to avoid happen anyway. And Julian would still know the truth.

He had no choice.

"Fine," Barry whispered.

It was the hardest sentence he'd ever had to utter. In the moment it took for the word to register on Julian's face—the smarmy smile Barry wanted to punch, Barry felt numb. Eobard said he'd take everything away from Barry, and his words turned out to be true. His parents were gone, his work was gone, his freedom as the Flash was gone. Nd it all started with Eobard getting the ball rolling. The ball that continuously barreled down on Barry that he couldn't get away from, no matter how fast he ran.

Barry wasn't sure how long it took for word to spread through the CCPD. He barely remembered going into Chief Paulson's office to put in his resignation—wishing it was Captain Singh he was speaking too—but the next moment, he packed all his personal items into a box from the office. Julian at least had the decency to give him privacy as he did so. Next thing he knew, Iris and Joe were standing in front of him, staring in disbelief at the news.

Opting not to use his speed, Barry had only gone through his desk drawers when they strode through the doorway to his office. Former office. "Hey," Iris said. Her voice was low, he could hear the intense sadness in it. "We just heard. You quit your job?"

Barry lifted his gaze to her. Then immediately dropped it. He couldn't look her in the eye. "I didn't have a choice."

"What do you mean you didn't have a choice?" She demanded.

Barry shrugged and didn't respond. He couldn't. It was too hard to think about, let alone talk about. Live through. Joe, on the other hand, knew his son adoptive son better than he knew himself. Knew Barry's tactics to avoid conversation and confrontation.

"Julian," Joe surmised. He looked over his shoulder, as if mentioning the name of Barry's former co-worker would bring his presence. "You quit. He keeps his mouth shut about Caitlin."

Barry nodded then smiled at Iris's enraged, "That son of a bitch." Lifting his chin, but keeping his gaze down, Barry explained. "He said I couldn't protect Caitlin and be a good CSI." He shrugged. "Maybe he's right."

Iris grasped Barry's arm. "No, he's not! Barry, you're an incredible CSI and no one in this building cares about people finding justice more than you." She forced her best friend to look her in the eye. "And that was before you were the Flash. This lab is your life."

"You guys are my life," Barry said readily, honestly. "You guys and Wally And Caitlin and Cisco and Brady and Jesse and…" He took a deep, painful breath. "And Cade." Joe and Iris exchanged a glance. "These past few months have shown me that I will give up everything I have to keep you guys safe and I will. No regrets."

Joe sighed. There was no changing Barry's mind. That much was obvious. It didn't matter what fatherly advice he gave. Barry made up his mind and that was that. It was a heroic sacrifice. "Every time I think you've run out of ways to be a hero, you show me another one," Joe said. He stepped forward and gave Barry a hug before leaning back, framing his son's hands in his face. "Are you sure about this?"

"I'm sure, Joe," Barry croaked.

Iris moved her father out of the way and hugged Barry as well. She looked into her friend's face. Gave a warm, comforting smile that made Barry smile back. "You hungry?"

"Do you know who you're talking to?" Joe teased.

Barry laughed. At least that was still intact. His powers. His life as The Flash. "I'm starving," Barry agreed.

He stepped from behind his desk, holding onto the box filled with his possessions. He took one last look around his office, the office where everything for him began, and left with his head hanging low.

* * *

 **A/N:** Okay, you guys. I had to split this chapter into two parts. 1) Because it started to become too long. 2) Because the second part of the chapter didn't really line up with the first. So that being said, you've got this chapter with Barry and the next chapter with Cadence. This chapter has a big reveal (and some smaller hints to ones that I hope you all catch) and the second one has a big fight. I hope you all enjoy it.

Please remember to review; any feedback helps me become a better writer and motivates me to write more. I respond to every review, even anonymous ones. I update my story every Wednesday, if there's a time that I won't it will be posted on our twitter: DarkElements10.

 **Cheers,**

 **-Riley**

 **Review Replies**

 **This one is for everyone:** I'm so glad that you guys enjoyed the last chapter so much. I know Barry's proposing to Cade has been something a lot of people have been waiting for and trust me, I've been waiting for it as well. I have so many fun and lighthearted plot points with that coming soon. But, of course, you can't have The Flash have some good moments without some bad ones coming as well.

I'll go back to responding to individual reviews with the next chapter. Thanks again!

 **Cheers,**

 **Riles**


	25. Mistakes (2)

**25**

 _Mistakes_

* * *

"Master, is it time?"

Breathtaker turned to Incognito, who stood behind him, hands clasped behind his back. Standing in his true form. Breathtaker hadn't seen it in years. He'd been smart to conceal his identity. As far as anyone knew, there was no trace left of Incognito's true form. Dead and gone after years of stolen identities and hiding in the darkness.

Breathtaker nodded, the hood covering his head gently fluttering in the breeze that blew through their base. A lair, as he was sure others would call it. Those who were naïve and believed everything in the world was made to be good and pure. Those who felt there was good in all life, in all people. Breathtaker's lips pulled back in a snarl, a sorrowful expression, not to be confused with aggression. Sorrow for mankind, that they wouldn't understand him or his goals.

He felt bad for them, honestly. They were all so blind. So blind to see hard work, some destruction…some loss was imperative for a better life. There was always casualty in war and war was imperative if there were those that wanted to oppose you. Breathtaker had been ready and waiting for it. Knew the Flash would do his best to stop him. But the Flash didn't have one simple trait that would allow him to win.

He wouldn't kill. It was a mistake on The Flash's part, really. A mistake that'd cost him his life when the time came. But it wasn't time for that, yet. No, not yet.

"Yes, my child," Breathtaker replied. He reached out a hand, placed it on Incognito's bent head. Lovingly ran his fingers over the man's head, noting the sorrow that exuded from him in waves. "It is time. I thank you for the work you've given me, for the times you've followed me without question."

"I'll follow you anywhere," Incognito murmured. "I've lived long enough to know. To see. History repeats itself. And when those aren't aware of their history, of the things that's worked and hasn't worked, there will inevitably be someone who takes the reigns. To make them see the light. I'll do whatever it is you need to reach that point."

"Thank you." Breathtaker turned his head to the rest of their base; a dilapidated wooden structure that, to those uninclined to see it, would appear to be nothing more than the mountainside. He nodded to White Hot, Mindboggler, and Stratos as they stood behind him as well. "Thank you all."

"So, when are we going to do this?" Mindboggler asked, folding her arms. "Savitar is—"

"—Savitar is not who we need to think about," Stratos interrupted. "He'll hold up his end." His eyes flashed towards Savitar. "When are you going to hold up yours? When am I going to see my daughter?"

"Patience, Stratos. You know as well as I do this environment isn't good for her. But she will be saved when the time comes. She has started to show her metahuman abilities, correct?" Stratos pressed his lips together. "If so, she will be saved."

Mindboggler stepped forward. "And Savitar will be saved as well?" She asked. "Our plan will fall apart if he's not."

"Savitar is none of my concern. Today's task is. Incognito has already pledged his loyalty to me, White Hot, are you able to do the same?"

White Hot's eyes flashed. Her body slowly became encompassed in flames, her hair starting to float, wiggling in the updraft. Her smile was wide, showing off both rows of her teeth. "Try and stop me," she growled.

* * *

" _Hey Cadence. I just wanted to let you know that everything's going okay over here. Um. It's kind of weird, seeing how nice everyone is. I'm guess I'm not really used to it. From anyone but you, anyway. My foster mom, we don't really talk but she's tried to get in contact with me. I don't know if I really want to talk to her. She was hurt just as badly, but…she still let it happen to me. Um, I heard this is going to go to trial soon and I may have to speak. But…I'm not sure with my powers and everything. Can you call me back when you get the chance? I'm not sure what your schedule is with everything. Thanks. Bye."_

Cadence erased the message and quickly wrote a note to herself to call Frankie back as soon as she could. She stuck the sticky-note to the bottom of her computer. There wasn't much space left. There were so many things she had to remember to do;

1\. Call Oliver.

2\. Call Clark.

3\. Call Bruce.

4\. Sign Brady up for Lacrosse.

5\. Call Ryder, remind him of our next appointment with the custody officers.

6\. Call mom.

7\. Remind Barry…

And on and on. Most of them having to do with work; case files she needed to look over, to read up on so she could testify when the time came. But, most importantly, she needed to talk to Barry.

Chief Paulson had given the news almost immediately after Barry left his office, head hanging low. She hadn't been able to get in contact with him since. She wasn't surprised he'd turned his phone off, didn't want to get into contact with anyone. As far as she knew, he was probably running somewhere to clear his head. As a matter of fact, she had a pretty good idea of where to find him and wanted to do so.

It was a mistake to let him go before she talked to him. She saw the pain on his face when he briefly glanced at her. The pain she'd seen only recently, making her heart ache for him. She wanted to say something to him, to understand, to help him.

Unfortunately, work had other plans for her or else she would've come up with a good excuse to teleport to him. Her phone had been ringing off the hook, she had a pile of cases to look over that Chief Paulson was breathing down her neck for, and Julian seemed that he was itching to talk to her. To _apologize._ That had surprised her. She'd heard a knock at the door to her office and immediately called 'come in' tearing her attention away from a case file.

Cadence watched Julian closely as he closed the door to her office and tuned to face her. "What can I help you with, Julian?"

"I believe you've heard the news about Allen," Julian said, a light almost innocent lift to his voice. Cadence scowled, watching him closely. He could see the muscle in his cheeks twitch, coming close to a smile. "It's a shame." Yeah, right. Cadence could tell he was enjoying it more than he was letting on. He had something to do with it. She knew it. "He was a good CSI."

"Did you come in here to tell me what I already knew?" Cadence asked. She leaned back in her seat, gently rocking against the springs of the chair. "You were the only one who didn't see it when he was still working here."

Julian's smile widened. He dropped his gaze to his feet, trying and failing to appear sorrowful. "Yes, well, Allen and I had our fair share of differences." He took a step towards her. "Just like you and me." Cadence's eyelids twitched close together. "I do need to apologize to you for what happened with Frankie."

"Really?"

"Yes, I stepped in on a case you were working hard on, just to make sure I was able to keep my track record with metas." Julian tilted his head, looking Cadence in the eye. "I know it's not your place of expertise, you only work in Child Protective Services—"

"—it doesn't matter to me whether or not they're metas," Cadence interrupted. She folded her arms tighter, continued to watch him. She hated how he'd said that. She _only_ worked in Child Protective Services. "So long as they're all safe." Finally, she concluded what she knew since he'd knocked on her door. His body temperature gave him away, along with the knowing smirk he was trying and failing to hide. The confident and relaxed way his shoulders slumped, his hands in his slacks. He was up to something. "Is that all you wanted to talk to me about?"

"I simply wanted to apologize for any misunderstanding that may have come across with my relationship with Allen. We simply couldn't work together, the stress of our personalities clashed."

 _Lie._ Cadence thought. _He's lying through his teeth._ And yet, he was doing a good job at lying. It was no wonder everyone around him respected him so much. Her fingers curled into her arms, nails stabbing into her skin. "What does that have to do with me?"

"Again, I wanted to apologize for stepping on your toes with Frankie. I also wanted to say, as you're very close to Allen, that I hope you pass on my message to him." He paused. "And, as I tried to do before, extend my congratulations."

"Huh." Cadence let out a low, humorless laugh. She started to respond but was immediately distracted. Her eyes shifted to the side, her heart immediately dropping to her stomach in confusion and fear. No. No.

Ignoring Julian, Cadence leaned towards her computer screen, watching the bulleting that scrolled across the bottom— _Flare Flames Out_. Watched the live news coverage of a large apartment building on fire.

Flames leapt into the air, shimmering fingers flicking the sky. Windows blew out, smoke billowed toward the street as the residents streamed out the front door, grasping each other and choking on the acrid air. Firefighters lined the streets, water pumping out of their hoses towards the building. Even Cadence could see the outcomes of the fire; the building would collapse, or it'd jump to the buildings on either side. Either outcome seemed to be inevitable…as she watched herself on screen add fuel to the fire, a large, excited grin on her face as she did so.

Grabbing her mouse, Cadence turned up the volume on the computer. "— _But what stuns the public more than the severity of this fire is it's start. A case of arson by the hero, and Flash's partner, Flare. Witnesses claim she appeared at the front of the building and started to throw fire bombs inside. The fire spread quickly. If you're on Ivy street, steer clear as the CCFD and CCPD move in to contain the fire…and the city's former hero."_

"I have to go," Cadence murmured, still staring at the screen.

Julian pulled his stare away from his cell phone, where the same message and footage played across his own phone. He looked at Cadence while sliding his phone into his pocket. "Yes, I believe I have to go as well. Cheers." He backed out of Cadence's office just as her phone started to blare with messages from the metahuman app and texts from her friends. Cadence answered the ringing phone and with a quick bark of, "I'm on my way."

She paused. If she went to STAR Labs first, got debriefed, it meant there were more people at the risk of being injured or killed. If she went straight there, there was a better chance of her identity being revealed. But with all the chaos, all the people running around…Cadence made her decision. It wasn't too far away. She teleported down to the corner of Ivy and Mellmount and ran down the street towards the fiery blaze.

As she got closer, she could hear the sirens screaming, mixing in with the screaming of those affected by the fire. Cadence pulled her phone from her pocket and dialed STAR Lab's number, immediately linking into their communication systems after inputting the secret code. "Guys," she started.

"Oh good, it's you," Cisco said as soon as he heard her voice.

"Of course, it's me." Cadence shot back, slowing herself to a speed walk. A crowd surged toward her, running from the blaze but she kept inching forward. "I don't think whoever this is has any ideas about STAR Labs or me or else they'd attack you first."

"Any ideas why they're targeting that apartment building?" HR asked.

"Not unless they're saying something about the construction work we have going on in this city," Cisco murmured.

"Don't let Ryder hear you say that," Cadence remarked. She stopped a good distance from the blaze, ducking around the corner of a building. She could see CCFD and CCPD members scurrying around as they tried to contain the fire and aid those who were injured. Ambulances continued to pull up and race away from the scene.

Despite her invulnerability to heat and flames, she could feel it warmth from where she stood. Sweat rolled down her hairline, pooled her armpit, slid down her back. Making sure to keep her phone pressed against her ear, she shrugged out of her blazer. "No, they're just trying to ruin my reputation, whoever this is, or else they would've done something else."

"But why?" Caitlin asked.

"That's the million-dollar question," HR piped up. "You know, we need to think of this from a PR point of view. Everyone here knows that the Flash and Flare are protecting our city. They've had a day of celebration named after them, they've got action figures, hats, t-shirts, any sort of merchandise you can think of in their likeness. Because the city loves them. Whomever is behind this is trying to besmirch their reputation because—"

"—They want to turn the city against us," Caitlin realized. Cadence could hear HR triumphantly state, 'bingo' in the background of the call. "Against _them_. Just like Savitar and Zoom had done."

"Geez, first Chief Paulson, then Zoom, then Savitar," Cisco remarked. "You think at some point we'll get a criminal mastermind who wants nothing more than all the riches in the world? If it were me, I'd just want the money."

"Well, we'll figure out what's going on once we capture them," Cadence said. "I'm going in."

"I'll get Barry," Cisco said.

"His phone's off," Cadence said. She waved off their concerns with a simple statement of 'I'll explain later'. "Even then, I can handle this." Determined filled her voice as she added, "You know what they say, the best person to fight against you is yourself. You know your strengths and weaknesses…and in my experience, no one can beat themselves up more than themselves."

She hung up her phone and shoved it into the pocket of her jeans. Cadence pushed herself around the corner of the building and took stock of the chaotic scene before her. People running, screaming, pushing, shoving, crying, wailing. Every sound a body could make as they hurried to safety. And yet, she was the only one running towards danger.

Cadence glanced upwards, zeroing in on a fire escape. The better way to get in without anyone noticing her sudden disappearance. Cadence jogged into the alley before racing forward to pick up speed. When she went fast enough, she leapt upwards and grabbed onto the middle rung of the ladder on the fire escape. She pulled herself up and onto the bottom balcony of the fire escape, climbing up to the middle portion as fast as she could. She scanned the building in front of her, shifting to her thermal vision.

She could see some people inside. The thought alone made her forget about keeping her cover. Whomever was inside would surely die if she didn't get them out soon. Cadence leapt onto the railing of the balcony and perched there, like a falcon. She waited for the wind to blow, for the thick black smoke and flames to arch away from the window before leaping across the gap. In mid-air, she tucked her arms to her chest and crashed through the melting window pane.

She landed in a low crouch, sending shards of glass to the ground. When Cadence stood up, she found herself in hell. Fire raged around her, dancing up the ceiling in graceful twists and turns. She clenched her fist, the flames around her slowly lowering as she walked through the room.

"Where are you?" She shouted. "Please, call out!"

"Help!"

She heard the voice from nearby, turned in the direction of it. The bright glare from the flames made her squint, made her turn her head away from the shimmering air. With squinted eyes, she brought up her hand to block the glare. Blocked off the light so that she could use her thermal vision once more. There were a few people still inside, frantically writhing around. By her guess, a few rooms over.

"Help me! Please!"

Cadence turned in the direction of the screams and ran towards the wall, teleporting the second before she'd run flat against it. Twice. Three times. Until she found a room that filled with smoke. There weren't any flames, but from the anguished screams coming from a nearby room alerted her the fire was coming quickly. The orange glow from beneath the front door said as much.

She could feel warmth beneath her feet. It wouldn't take much more for the entire building to go up. Or collapse. Cadence raced to the bedroom and swung the door open. She gasped in pain, the doorknob melted over her hand the movement she touched it. Cadence cursed loudly and shook out her hand, skin blistering, before running in to follow the screams. Thick smoke rolled around her. She coughed hard, shifting to thermal vision once more. She found a body lying on the floor and knelt to grab it. Even through her jeans, she could feel the warmth below the floor.

If it bothered her, it was much too hot. As it was, when she lifted the person up into a sitting position, his body wracking with coughs and chokes over lungful's of smoke, she saw his body blistered and bruised body, tiny patches of skin stuck to the floor with each move he made. Stretching and blistering the more she pulled. He screamed in pain with every slight movement.

"You're going to be okay." Cadence pressed her hands to his skin, healing him as he helped him up. "We have to get out of here." She started to drag him towards the door, moving slowly as she healed him along the way. She heard him mumble something and stopped, turning her back towards the growing flames to shield him from the intense heat. "What? What'd you say?"

"My son," the man rasped. "My son's in here."

 _Fuck._ Cadence thought for a moment, her mind whirring.

Trying to figure out what to do. She made her decision in a second. She teleported out to the alleyway and placed the man on the ground. She looked him over before leaving. He was going to need tons of skin grafts, his skin cracked open and bled in the worst places, blistered in some of the lighter ones. The rest of his life would be in the hospital.

Cadence turned and teleported back into the apartment, scrambling around while shouting for the son. Finally, she found him huddled under his bed, coughing while he squeezed a teddy bear in his arms. "Hey." Cadence reached for him.

He screamed and pulled away. "It's okay, sweetie, I promise," Cadence continued to soothe. His screams continued. He frantically rolled back and forth. The floor was burning him. "Hey, hey, listen to me, okay?" The boy's eyes shifted to her. "I'm going to help you. You can trust me. I just need you to take my hand."

His screams turned to whimpers, eyes drooping. Shrank back from her. Cadence pushed herself further under the bed. "Hey, hey," she said. "You can trust me. See?" She snapped her fingers, a fireball appeared above her finger. "I'm Flare. I'm here to help you. I just need you to be brave, alright? Can you do that for me?"

The boy's hand slowly inched forward. Cadence grabbed him and yanked him up into her arms. He practically climbed her like a tree, scrambling to wrap his legs around her waist, pressing his tear-soaked cheeks to her neck. A cool, light touch to the otherwise intense heat that surrounded them. Cadence hugged him to her side, scanning him for any injuries. His clothes smoldered, some patches on his arm were a bright pink. First degree burns, but he'd be okay.

Cadence hugged him to her side, placed a kiss on his tear-stained cheek. She teleported from the building and back to the alley, depositing him with his father. Cadence turned and went back into the building, saving out as many people as she could find. It was on her final sweep of the building when it happened. A low groaning sound filled the apartment she stood in the middle of.

The roof was going to collapse. Cadence turned, shifted her weight, ready to teleport. Through the fire she saw something appear in front of the wall and flip towards her, kicking her in the chest. Cadence fell to the ground, a foot slammed onto her neck.

She gasped in pain.

"Wow, Flare, you think by now you'd know how to defend yourself."

Cadence flinched, hearing the masculine voice coming from her—Flare's—mouth. Recognized it immediately. Incognito. She should've known. They'd never come across another meta who had the shapeshifting ability. No one other than Hannibal Bates. But she'd worked with Incognito, he had more powers than Hannibal Bates could imagine. Not only could he transform himself into any person he'd ever seen, Incognito got their mannerisms down pat, he could also transform into any other shape he wanted, animals and inanimate objects alike.

She remembered a time of training with the Assassination Bureau and he'd managed to turn himself into waves of mud, concrete, ivy, and more animals than she could remember as he fought. If he'd managed to be a complete version of Joe that had tricked them with their first encounter with the Assassination Bureau, she could only imagine how Breathtaker had encouraged his powers now.

"Breathtaker would be disappointed in you," Incognito continued.

Cadence clenched her hands into fists. Her eyes blazed along with the raging inferno around them. "I see you're here to take me back to him." He was the retriever of the group. She was the one who found the address, the location. Stratos and Mindboggler were the muscle. Incognito was the one who aided in taking them to Breathtaker, taking on the form of a loved one to aid in their last moments before death.

"No." Incognito shook his—her—head. Her lips pulled back into a snarling smile. "To distract you." He removed is foot from her neck, stepped back.

At that moment, Cadence felt something behind her change. Whether it was a gust of wind, a change in temperature, or just sensing an addition of body heat, Cadence's body stiffened as she went on edge. Incognito's smile widened. He morphed into Stratos and shot out his hand. The fire in the room roared to life with the accompanying wind Incognito controlled.

Once the flames shot higher, smoke filling the room, Incognito sent a burst of air into Cadence's stomach. The jet propulsion knocked her off her feet. She flew across the apartment and hit something solid before falling flat on her face. A hand grasped her hair and ripped her head back. Just as she thought. Someone else was with them.

"Time's running out, Cadey," White Hot sing-songed into Cadence's ears. Her grasp tightened along Cadence's hair. She could feel some strands ripping out. "We need your answer." Cadence reached up, grabbed onto White Hot's wrist and pulled hard, flipping the other fire meta-human over her shoulder and onto the ground.

Cadence surged to her feet and stood across from her Assassination Bureau counterpart. Her white-blonde hair gently blew with the roar of the flames, icy blue eyes boring right into Cadence's. Her white and blue suit standing firm against the flames that licked around them. The fire behind her slowly changed in color, shifting from red-orange, to a dark blue, while the flames behind Cadence stayed red.

In a flurry of purple flames—red and blue mixing together—Cadence and White Hot shot towards each other. White Hot projected herself towards Cadence with a burst of blue fire from her feet. Cadence reacted quickly. She stomped on the end of the coffee table that sat in front of her, flipping it upwards, so that she had a shield in front of her. White Hot crashed into it, bouncing backwards from the blow. The desk propelled further forward from the blow and crashed into Cadence, sending her backwards to the wall behind her. She teleported just before reaching the wall behind her, falling through it. The table crashed into the wall and splintered into tiny pieces.

Seconds later, Cadence teleported back though it with her own jet propulsion and struck White Hot in the face with a hard punch. White Hot twisted to the ground, blonde hair flying. She fell in a heap, arms outstretched. White Hot lifted her legs as Cadence came close and wrapped her legs around her neck. Bending her body, White Hot placed her hands on the ground and pushed hard, sending fire from her hands. That time, the jet propulsion sent the two into the wall.

Cadence cried out, her back crashing into the corner of the wall. She fell to the ground, pain swelling through each of her vertebrae, rolling through her. Her body spasmed, making her eyes squeeze shut. The light of the flames danced in the darkness of her closed eyes.

"What's the matter?" White Hot taunted. "The cat can't land on her feet?"

Without opening her eyes, Cadence focused on the fire around her. Separated what covered the building from the heat source White Hot was emitting. She waited for her to get closer, then swung herself forward, sticking out her legs to sweep White Hot's from beneath her. White Hot slammed to the ground. Cadence opened her eyes and leapt over the other fire meta. All thought of Incognito leaving her until an air whip grabbed her wrist and whipped her to the ground.

Cadence fell. Tried to bring up her hands but found her other hand slung down from another air whip. Gritting her teeth, Cadence rolled back to her shoulders and did a kip-up back to her feet. With the forward momentum, she pulled her arms forward. Incognito stumbled and Cadence used that momentum to twist to her feet. She pulled harder, flinging Stratos aside, using a fire bolt to his chest to knock him into White Hot.

"At least I can do more than one thing on my knees," Cadence replied. She blowing her hair back from her face and grinned at White Hot. Blood dripped down her chin.

White Hot screeched in fury. She swung wide in an arc, aiming a fist towards Cadence's face. Cadence bent backwards, allowing White Hot to punch the air and brought up her own fist to strike White Hot in the armpit. It was a solid strike into a fleshy portion of skin, no muscle to protect. The pain shot through White Hot, sending her to her knees. Cadence lifted her knee and struck White Hot in the face then whipped around extending her back leg as far as it could go to kick Incognito in the teeth.

Even with two metas fighting her, Cadence continued to stand her ground. White Hot came back towards Cadence with blazing fists. Cadence pressed her back against the wall behind her lifted her feet. When White Hot came close enough, she pressed off the wall and shot forward, striking her feet. The momentum propelled White Hot backwards. As she shot forward, Cadence reached up and grabbed the sprinkler system above her, the pipes holding under her weight, and rotated around it in a full arc.

Once.

Twice.

Three times.

She crouched atop it, watching Incognito and White Hot as they grew closer. Neither were backing down. _Looks like Breathtaker picked some good ones,_ Cadence thought, watching the two. Incognito lifted his hands. The wind picked up. The flames grew higher. White Hot closed her eyes as the blue flames behind her increased in strength.

Okay. If that's how they wanted it.

"It's about to get really hot in here," Cadence murmured.

Grasping the bar below her, she dropped her weight until only her hands held her up. Her shoulders ached in protest of the movement. She swung forward and let go, flipping through the air. Splaying her legs in a butterfly twist, Cadence knocked White Hot and Stratos in the face before landing on the ground in a crouch. Once in that vantage point, she reached over and grabbed the couch. Hefting it into her arms with ease, she swung it as hard as she could, punching her fist forward. Immediately catching into flames, the couch hurled towards Incognito and White Hot.

White Hot started to step forward, but Incognito moved first. Lifting his arms, a hurricane like gust of wind shot through the room, immediately sucking the flames from the room. Cadence frowned, watching the flames wick away from her hands, seconds before her hands clutched at her throat. Incognito smirked as Cadence fell to her knees, continuing to clutch at her throat, guttural groans escaping her.

She gagged, tears coming to her eyes. No. She wasn't going to be beaten so easily.

Taking the opportunity, White Hot stepped towards Cadence, lifting her hand. Cadence's eyes shot over to the fire metahuman, subtly widening when she saw the line of fire that stretched from her fingertip. She knew exactly what was going to happen.

"This is going to hurt you _so_ much more than it'll hurt me," White Hot said. She leaned down, bringing the tip of the flame closer and closer to Cadence's hand. Cadence struggled to twist away, but found her energy fading the longer Incognito took the air from her lugs. He shot out his other hand, bringing an air whip around her neck, holding her down.

Still, Cadence struggled, kicking out her legs as hard as she could. Didn't have enough energy to teleport. White Hot stepped on Cadence's chest, standing overtop Cadence. Her eyes flashing with dastardly mirth. Then the flame touched Cadence's hand. She couldn't block her mind from it completely, from the pain, from the smell of burning flesh that grazed through the room amongst the wind Incognito created.

At that moment, Cadence's mind went blank. Blank of everything. No preemptive thought other than how much pain she felt. Inside and out. How much hurt. How much anger. And how desperately she wanted to feel normal again. It came out in a wave.

Cadence's eyes snapped open. Roared with fire. A rush of thermal energy, fire energy escaped her body. A rush of energy so big that the apartment immediately imploded. A fire bomb. Cadence screamed with effort as the fire escaped her, as energy flowed through her, blaring in all directions, knocking out windows, incinerating any kindling the second the flames touched it. The shockwave knocked White Hot and Incognito backwards.

Cadence flipped to her feet and was on them in seconds. She grabbed the two by the sides of the head, smashed them together, then flung White Hot aside. She wasn't her target. Not now. Incognito sensed this and morphed his hands into vines, further encasing them in concrete. With Cadence's hands out of commission, Incognito rained her face and chest with strong punches, holding her close with control of the ivy.

Cadence fell to her knees, giving Incognito the perfect opportunity to knee her in the face over and over. Each time the punch would send her back, he'd pull her closer with the vines. Cadence's head swam, all noise around her muffled, eye swollen shut. It'd take time for her healing to kick in once more, nevertheless, she didn't feel any pain. All she felt was power.

Incognito pulled her close once more, pressing his nose flat against hers. "You can't escape this," he hissed.

Cadence took in a deep, shuddering breath, put her face close to Incognito's. "I'll die trying," she replied. She sent a blast of heat vision from her eyes, cracking the concrete that covered her hands in two. She continued with the blast, through the concrete until it reached Incognito's throat. He screamed, voice gurgling with the blood that filled his mouth, dripped down his chin. Cadence lifted her concrete encased hands, punched him twice—once with each hand—then headbutted him as hard as she could.

Incognito fell to the ground. Cadence imploded the concrete around her hands. A dust cloud filled the air. She shot out her left hand, creating a fire whip that wrapped around White Hot's neck and dragged her to the ground. Then she turned with her other hand and grasped Incognito around the throat, lowering him to the floor.

Incognito didn't defend himself, didn't fight back as she choked him. Squeezed her hand around his neck.

"Ah!" White Hot frantically pulled against the whip around her neck. She jerked back and forth, like a dog on a chain, struggling to break free.

"I'm not letting you to," Cadence growled.

"You can't take both of us," White Hot growled back. She pulled harder than started a jet propulsion from her feet, setting the room ablaze once more. Cadence groaned, feeling her shoulder yank upwards. Blazed with pain. Cadence looked at White Hot. Looked at Incognito. Looked at White Hot again.

She let go of her left hand. The fire whip fell from White Hot's neck, dripped to the floor like wax, setting small spot fires in the carpet. White Hot teleported. Or maybe blended in with the flames, the air shimmering around her. Once the meta was gone, she turned her attention back to Incognito, tightening her grasp around his neck.

Her entire body shook with the effort, her super strength kicking in.

Incognito—morphed back into Cadence, dressed as Flare—smirked at Cadence. His eyes were dull. Lifeless. He was already dead. "You wouldn't do it," he rasped around the rapidly closing walls of his airways. "You don't have the balls. You're the hero." Cadence continued to hold onto him, slowly yet surely curling her fingers toward her palm. "No matter what you do, Breathtaker is going to succeed. He'll do whatever it takes to have things move forward. Even if one of us fails to bring out the mission."

"I don't care," Cadence snarled. "I'd rather die than let him continue to rule my life."

Incognito's grin widened, showing off his—her—blood stained teeth. He spat. Blood dribbling down his chin. "Then your wish has been granted. Breathtaker doesn't take kindly to those that betray him."

"It's not betrayal when you're being forced to do it."

"You weren't always forced, were you?"

Cadence's eyes twitched. Her whole body twitched. In that movement, surrounded by flames, Cadence brought up her other hand to Incognito's neck and squeezed as hard as she could. Incognito struggled for only a few seconds—his body working hard to fight her off, while he otherwise didn't move. His body fell limp and transformed before her eyes, turning from her own self reflection to a tall, graying, inconspicuous looking man.

The fire died down around them, slowly becoming as hell of a building. Soot and ash stained every surface, broken and burnt beams of wood were left in the shell of the former apartment building. A haze of smoke filled the air. Cadence could hear the squawking and crackling of police radios and knew it was only a matter of time until they or the CCFD were able to get inside to inspect the building.

She couldn't stay.

Cadence grabbed the man's shirt and hefted him with ease. She leaned him heavily over her shoulder, took one last look around the room, and teleported. She appeared in STAR Labs, chest heaving. She dropped Incognito's burnt body to the ground and lifted her gaze to the rest of her team, who stared at her in stunned silence, eyes flickering to the lifeless body on the ground.

"I didn't get to him in time," she said by way of explanation. She stepped over his body and left the Cortex without a backwards glance.

* * *

The soft sounds of Central City rolled through Cadence's open window. Sirens wailed in the distance. She turned her head, looking at the city's skyline. It wasn't anything that needed Flash and Flare's presence. Her phone stayed silent.

"Hey, are you okay?"

Cadence quickly turned her attention back to the sweatshirt in her hands. She placed it on the growing pile next to her. Cadence flipped her hair back from her face and answered Barry question. "I'm fine."

Barry watched her for a long moment. Turned his head to look at her out the corner of his eye. As if it'd make him see her clearer. Cadence tried not to make a smart remark. He could never see her any clearer than he already could. Or did. "I meant with Incognito," he confessed. "Are you okay, with that? With what you did?"

"I knew what you meant, Barry." Cadence moved the stack of clean laundry to the box beside her. She dropped her hands to her waist, then used her right hand to scratch at her neck. "Honestly? I'm fine with it."

"We didn't get any information from him," Barry said. He wasn't scolding her, but it felt like it. They'd gone over this conversation more than once when being debriefed at the Cortex. She should've tried to get information out of him first. She was too impulsive. She reacted too quickly.

She'd make a mistake.

And she'd agreed with all of them. However, that didn't make her regret it, either. That was the part Barry didn't understand. "There's always a better way," he insisted. "They can be rehabilitated. There's a human part to them. Heroes don't kill."

She'd lifted an eyebrow in response and asked, "Are you saying I'm not a hero?"

Barry didn't respond. Didn't get the chance. Caitlin—and HR, who was, apparently sensitive to negative energy—told them to cool down before anything worse was what. What was important was that Breathtaker was done one soldier in his army.

"One less person to deal with in the grand scheme of things," Cadence pointed out. Barry nodded in response. They both knew their stance on it. Knew the friction that was being created between them. "I'm just trying to figure out how to keep Central City from losing all faith in the Flash and Flare. First Savitar and now this."

Barry gave a humorless smile. "Can't say it's been a good week for either of us," he admitted. "But we'll bounce back." Cadence gave him a pointed look and he turned away. He knew what she wanted to say. Wanted to ask. He wouldn't let her ask it. Instead, he nodded to the box beside her. "Is that the last of it?" Barry asked, scratching the back of his head. Stretched his arms, rested his hands atop his head.

The bottom of his shirt rose to reveal a sliver of his stomach. The muscles around his scar twitched. It had to be hurting him, she knew. It only happened when his muscles became too tight, when the phantom pain came through. When it felt like he was being stuck by lightning all over again.

Instead of laying a comforting hand on him, to bring him some relief, she answered his question. "Yep." Cadence stuck out her foot and pushed the box over to him. Barry muttered a quick 'thanks' and picked it up, juggling it in his hands to examine everything inside. "Your favorite shirt's in there. I washed it for you."

"You mean you're finally giving it back?"

"I never planned on it," Cadence admitted.

"I thought I'd have to pry it out of your hands."

"I was hoping to keep it. I never thought you'd take it back."

Cadence watched Barry as he studied the shirt. It wasn't a remarkable shirt by any means. Just a long-sleeved shirt from STAR Labs. The one he'd gotten when he first woke up in the Cortex. It'd gone missing shortly after they started dating, though she continued to say she had no idea where it went—despite him catching her wearing it a few times.

Flipping her hair once more—Cadence was starting to realize it was a nervous habit—she sighed heavily. Sighed out all the pain and emotion that didn't come out when fighting Incognito and White Hot. She took a breath, licked her lips. Needed to breach the conversation carefully. "You know, I never said anything about you moving out."

Barry lifted his chin and looked her in the eye. It was the first time he'd done it all day. "You didn't say much of anything, Cade."

Cadence let out a huff so large it blew her fringe out of her eyes. The ones she rolled in exasperation. "You didn't give me the _chance_ to say much of anything," she said. And he certainly hadn't. He'd shut down as soon as she answered his question.

Bristling, Barry turned and put his box on the ground, stooping low to do so. When he straightened, his eyes flashed with lightning. Not the sort of lightning that'd warned of an incoming attack. But the sort of lightning that signaled the inner rage he was doing his best not to release. "You said 'no'," he said in a low voice, short of a whisper, above a murmur. "I asked you to marry me and you said 'no'. That's all I needed to hear."

Cadence stepped forward. Took a step towards the edge of the chasm that seemed to further crack apart the closer she moved. "I said 'no' because—"

Barry shook his head. "Don't, Cade."

Cadence continued. "Barry, if you'd just listen—"

"I don't want to hear it." Barry's voice made her stop in her tracks. "Because it doesn't matter what you say now. You said 'no' then. You don't want to marry me. I got the message loud and clear." He picked up the box once more. "Where's Brady?"

"He's doing his chores," Cadence said. She'd sent him away from his homework the moment Barry arrived at her window to get his things.

Barry nodded. "Don't let him hate me."

"He could never hate you, Barry," Cadence reassured him. "He's disappointed, maybe. But he doesn't hate you." She paused. "Do you hate me?"

"It'd take a lot for me to hate you, Cade," Barry said. "Even after today…" He thought for a moment. "My mom and dad always said their love could get them through anything. I believe that. It got my dad through being in prison for so long, how much he loved my mom and me."

"What about us?" Cadence asked.

"I love you, Cade. But it's hard for me to look at you. To be around you."

"I understand." Tears came to Cadence's eyes. "Please don't hate me, Barry. Please. There's a lot you don't understand. I want to explain it to you when I get the chance. When…when things calm down a little." She reached toward her hand, where her father's ring sat on her pinkie finger and her—what was to be—engagement ring sat on her ring finger. She started to take it off.

"Don't," Barry said, voice quivering. "I don't want it back."

"People are going to ask," Cadence pointed out.

"I'm going to stay with Cisco, I think people already figured it out."

"Okay." Nevertheless, Cadence pulled off the ring and dropped it to her pocket. Then she pulled off the ring that sat on her pinkie and tossed it to Barry. Instinctively, he caught it. "I want that back," she explained to his confused glance. "When I can put yours on. And not one moment before."

Barry nodded. "I'll see you at work." Without a backwards glance, Barry shot out of the apartment in a yellow lightning trail.

Cadence went and closed the door behind him. Leaning forward, she pressed her forehead against the cool wood and let out a long breath. Her heart swelled with pain, of which she tried to block out by squeezing her eyes shut. She wanted to slam her fists against the door. Wanted to scream. Wanted him to know she was hurting as much as he was, but for an entirely different reason. For a reason he wouldn't allow her to explain. That she loved him more than anything.

That she made a mistake.

"Cadey?"

"I don't want to hear it, mom," Cadence said. She refused to move, knowing the second she did, she'd crumble to the ground. Cadence sensed her mother stopping halfway across the living room. Good, she didn't need her to be too close, just in case she burst into flames. Just in case, the worst of the worst happened.

The worst were the times she couldn't heal someone despite every effort she'd made. The worst of the worst was having the power to heal other people and herself…but she couldn't heal her own broken heart.

* * *

 **A/N:** Well, I hope I didn't hurt you guys too much with the revelation.

Please remember to review; any feedback helps me become a better writer and motivates me to write more. I respond to every review, even anonymous ones. I update my story every Wednesday, if there's a time that I won't it will be posted on our twitter: DarkElements10.

 **Cheers,**

 **-Riley**

 **Review Replies**

 **DarkHelm145:** Don't worry, there's not going to be a crossover with Ben10 or anything, but it's funny you brought it up as I had an idea from the show that could be utilized here. I don't know if I'll go with it, though.

 **Ethan:** Leah and Lucas are part of the Assassination Bureau; who are in the comics. I didn't make them up for the story. I just took the characters to use for my own idea after researching them and other villains from DC comics. There are other points of Breathtaker's plan that haven't been revealed, going all the way back to _Flash Fire_ that are going to be tied together/completed in this story.

 **Yummers:** You're probably going to be saying 'poor barry' even more now.


	26. Danger Lurks Closer Than You Think

**26**

 _Danger Lurks Closer Than You Think  
_

* * *

Brady glanced at the open door to the classroom. Their teacher hadn't arrived yet. The sound of his classmates' rowdy conversation was testament to that. A paper plane whizzed by his head, gliding through the air. Leah glanced at it and narrowed her eyes, sending the paper plane nose-straight to the ground, as if someone batted it out of the air.

"You're getting better," Brady remarked.

Leah shrugged modestly. "I've been practicing," She said. "When my mom and dad aren't around, I practice my powers as much as possible." She leaned forward and lowered her voice. "Don't mention anything about a vase if you're around them. So far they haven't noticed that it's stuck to the ceiling."

"Stuck to the ceiling?" Brady asked. He thought for a moment. He'd seen how she managed to hold Savitar still—or attempt to—when facing him before. She could do that but couldn't remove a vase from the ceiling? "Can't you drop it back to the ground?"

"I could," Leah agreed slowly. "But I've already broken two lamps that way. I'm getting better with adding gravity to things, but not taking it away. I don't want to break anything else." She shrugged while Brady laughed. "What about you? Have you been doing more training?"

Brady nodded. "Oliver's been busy with his mayoral stuff, but he helps out when he can. I've seen Black Blade a few more times. He's helped me with my phasing. Now I can phase more than one person without being exhausted after. Though my flying could still use some work."

Now it was Leah's turn to smile. The two looked up at the sound of a commotion at the back of the classroom. Brady exchanged a glance with his friend and craned his neck to the back of the classroom. Alicia stood at the head of a circle of her classmates—the popular students. They all were speaking loudly and over each other. It didn't take long for Brady and Leah to hear the topic.

"I'm telling you, Flare was the one who set fire to the building," Rachel said, her eyes wide. A grin settled on her lips, obviously she was enjoying the conversation. "I saw it on the news. And the news wouldn't lie."

"Then you know nothing about the news," Thomas replied, folding his arms. "The news lies all the time."

"But why would Flash partner with someone who would want to destroy an apartment building?" Rachel shot back. "There has to be something going on. Even he couldn't defeat that new Speedster. It's only a matter of time until all metas turn on the city. I'm not surprised Flare is the first one to do it. Flash has to be the next."

Brady clenched his teeth together. Leah muttered something to him, a warning. He could hardly hear it over the pounding in his ears. "And Shadowhunter is going to be the next one. Who could be a hero with the name, 'Shadowhunter'? They're all waiting for us to blindly follow them then they'll kill us all." Rachel then noticed Brady and Leah watching and tilted her head, a smarmy smile on her face. "What do you think of your precious heroes, now, Brady?" She asked. "They're starting to cause a lot of trouble.

Sucking in a deep breath, Brady tried to keep his composure. He'd never liked Rachel. Almost as much as he disliked Alicia. The two were always together and always had something nasty to say. It baffled him how the meanest girls were the most popular, but that seemed to be the norm. He expected there to be issues with metas, even his soccer team were divisive about who was a hero and who was only trying to cause trouble. He had to admit it looked bad. Even when his mom—as Flare-gave Iris a personal interview about Incognito and how he'd mimicked her, there were some that hadn't believed it. Thankfully, there were plenty who still did.

"Not any more trouble than you're causing," Brady shot back. "Because you can't keep your fat mouth shut about things you don't understand!"

Rachel's smile immediately dropped. She narrowed her eyes in a glare at him. "And where were you?" She asked. "When we went on lockdown, _you_ disappeared."

How true that was. "I was sick," Brady said. Even he knew how lame the excuse was. But he and Leah had to get away to help them stop Savitar somehow. And Savitar had still managed to kick all their butts. He was much stronger than any of them could've imagined. They needed to come up with a different plan if they'd even come close to what he or the Assassination Bureau could do.

As it was, he thought it was a bit easy how his mom had managed to kill Incognito. Not that she wasn't getting stronger, he truly believed that. And Barry was getting stronger as well. There had to be something else going on. Cisco had even said as much, but no one could come up with a reasonable explanation for it.

"You were scared."

" _I_ wasn't the one hiding with the rest of the class."

"No, you were just hiding out in the nurse's office." Rachel stuck out her lower lip, adopted a baby-like voice. "Did your mommy have come to pick you up?"

 _"Stop."_

Brady blinked in surprise. He hadn't said that. Hadn't even really been doing anything. Nevertheless, when he looked at Leah, he saw her staring pointedly at him. He raised his eyebrows in response, unsure of what she was talking about. Then Leah's eyes shot downward and Brady did the same, his eyes widening when he noticed his feet were slowly, yet unnoticeably was starting to turn invisible. He was starting to blend in with his surroundings.

"Calm down." Brady gave her a look that expertly conveyed a question mark and Leah rolled her eyes in response. "Do you want to out yourself as a meta?" She hissed between her teeth, ignoring Rachel's giggling when he didn't respond to her.

"I wouldn't mind if it got her to shut up," Brady mumbled. "Do you think you can, I don't know, make her fall through the floor or something. We can always blame it on her big head."

Leah's eyes shone with mischief as if she were considering it. Brady knew Leah would never do it, though. They were too careful to get outed as metas in any way. The school already had the speed cameras set up around the perimeter and inside the school, made sure their emergency contact lists were updated and strictly enforced, and any whispers of students with abilities were quickly quieted. So far, none of the teachers had come across the secret social media account they'd created for the metas to speak with each other. He made a mental note to hand over the information to Caitlin the next time he was at STAR Labs.

"Ignore her." Alicia announced her presence, sliding into the seat behind Leah. She tossed her hair over her shoulders and crossed her legs at the knee, resting her hands over a manila folder in her lap. "She just likes to hear herself talk."

"It's no wonder she doesn't shut up," Leah replied before she could stop herself. "No one else can get a word in." Her eyes widened and she slapped a hand over her mouth, glancing at Alicia. Rachel _was_ her best friend. "I mean—"

Alicia waved her off. "Don't worry about it. You eventually learn to tune her out. I've got years of practice."

"Must be hard," Leah sympathized, making Alicia laugh. Then she nodded to the folder Alicia held in her hands. "What's that?"

"Oh." Alicia sat up straight and tapped the folder against her knees. "This is, like, information from my dad's computer. Case files that, like, had to do with that glass meta you guys were, like, asking me about before." Brady felt his heart rate increase. He sat up and exchanged a glance with Leah. "And some other stuff, too. About the particle accelerator and...Breathtaker and Savitar, you said?"

"You got all that information?" Brady asked. He leaned forward to grab the folder, but Alicia yanked it out of his grasp. "What are you doing?"

"You don't like me," Alicia pointed out.

"You don't like _me,"_ Brady shot back.

Alicia rolled her eyes. "I like Leah and you're, like, kind of a package deal. So, I guess I have to. I trust all of this to _her_ not you." Brady frowned so deeply he felt all the muscles in his face tense. "I went out on a limb to get this stuff for you guys. And you still won't tell me what it's for. If you tell me that, then _maybe_ I can trust you a little bit more." She held the folder against her chest. "I do like you, Brady. I don't have a problem with you. You're a little secretive, but you're not mean or anything."

He nodded. "Thank you."

"So why are you mean to mean?"

 _It's easier than having to tell you my secret,_ Brady thought. The last thing he needed was anymore to know his identity as Shadowhunter, to know how closely he was linked to The Flash, Flare, and STAR Labs. There were some things he could easily explain away but things had become much more complicated as of late. Especially if Rachel had noticed where he went, it meant everyone else was going to wonder. He thought about telling her, Alicia'd told the truth, she was Leah's best friend, and he wondered how much she'd told the chief's daughter.

"I'm not mean—" Brady tried to defend himself.

"Yes, you are," Leah and Alicia harmonized.

Brady shot a 'thanks a lot' look at Leah and sighed. He hadn't had to worry about things when Conner was still around. And yet, he was like Alicia. He didn't have any powers, found out about Brady's abilities, and had been a confidant of everything meta related. And Alicia's opinions of metas had turned around.

"Look, this information is important," Brady said. "It's…it'll help my mom and Barry with some of the cases they're working on."

"Your mom and Barry?" Leah repeated. "I thought they broke up?"

"No, they're still together," Brady quickly explained. "It's complicated." He waved their hand. "But that's not the point." He nodded to the folder. " _That_ is."

"Fine," Alicia finally agreed. Brady reached for the folder but she held it tighter in her grasp. "But I can't let it out of my sight. If anything happens to it and my dad finds out, we'll be in a _lot_ of trouble. And, we all know what they're doing about metas in school. If they found out we're _looking_ for them—"

"—We'll be in a _lot_ of trouble," Leah agreed.

Brady did as well. Fine, they agreed. They'd have to meet up later to figure things out. And once they got that, he could give it to Barry and the others. And they'd be one step closer to stopping Breathtaker and Savitar. Stop them from doing…whatever it is they wanted and what they were doing together to achieve it.

"So after school then," Alicia said. "We'll see what my dad found out. Should be a lot, he's been working on it for months. And now that Lex Luthor is here—"

"Lex Luthor?" Brady didn't know the man personally. But he remembered his mom saying something about him before. It had been a big thing when Lex first arrived in Metropolis; roads were blocked off for his motorcade, the news was constantly on, and his face was plastered everywhere. Honestly, Brady had no idea why he was so popular or what it was he wanted in Central City. "Isn't Metropolis his home?" He asked Cadence once over dinner.

"Yes, but politicians always travel to gather interest in other cities."

"What does he want with Central City, though?"

"You've got me, there, bud. I have no idea."

Alicia nodded. "Why? Does that name mean something to you?"

"Not yet," Brady mumbled. He and his friends twisted toward the front of the room when their teacher arrived, a disgruntled expression on his face. "Who peed in his cornflakes?" He muttered, making Leah and Alicia giggle quietly.

"Settle down class," Mr. Casey called. He dropped his bag onto the table with a loud _bang_ that made Brady jump. "I'm sorry I'm late. It seems that the latest meta attack incorporated my car and the surrounding streets. I've had a lot of insurance companies I needed to speak to as well as working out a way to get to school."

Brady grimaced and slid lower in his seat. It was easier when he didn't know anyone directly affected by the work they did to save the city. Let alone think about how much it would take to fix everything when there was only so much Barry and his mother could do before the city had to jump in and do their jobs.

"We're getting a late start as it is, so let's jump right to it. But first things first." Mr. Casey pulled a post-it note from his pocket and read off the list of names, Brady's and Leah's included. "You all need to head to the nurse's office right now."

Confused, but still doing as they were told, Brady, Leah, and the rest of their classmates slid from their seats and headed to the nurse's office. One by one, they went inside, coming out with stapled pieces of paper in their hands. Finally, it was Brady's turn to go in and he greeted Nurse Abeley with a small smile.

"Brady Nash, good to see you," Nurse Abeley said. "I'm glad to see you're keeping up with your school attendance. You've missed so much, starting late the last couple of years."

Brady shrugged. "Well, my mom and I like to travel," he explained. "And I get my homework sent to me so I'm not missing out on much." He cleared his throat. "Uh, so why was I called down here? Did I run out of Epi-Pens again?"

"Oh, nothing like that. You just need an update on your shots. You seem to be missing one on your medical file." She rifled through the filing cabinet, found his folder, and pulled a sheet out from inside. She turned and gave him a pleasant smile. One so pleasant that Brady wasn't sure was real.

Then her words resonated with him and his face screwed up in confusion. "I already got all my shots," he explained. The nurse should've had all his medical records, he remembered his mom sending them out after his summer away. "My mom sent you the forms."

"It's a new requirement," Nurse Abeley replied. She gave a kind smile, pushing the sheet closer to him. "There's a new shot our students need to get. We'll need you to get it and return that form as soon as possible."

"Okay," Brady replied slowly. He glanced at the page as he turned from the nurse to go back to class. He had no idea what it said, but his mom would probably know.

It was a shot for school, it couldn't be too bad.

* * *

Caitlin yawned, rubbing her eyes with the palms of her hands. She leaned back against her pillows, lifting her legs so that her laptop rested against her thighs. A scan blurred across the screen in one corner, in the other was a superhero movie. It wasn't something she would've chosen herself, but Cisco had insisted she watch it or else he wouldn't be her friend anymore.

What made her want to start watching it now? There had to be something to do when she was taking the morning off. Her first morning away from work in…in three years. Maybe more. Since starting at STAR Labs, Caitlin prided herself on working as hard as she could to rise the ranks in research and technology through the company. But there was only so much time she could spend before it all seemed hopeless.

Savitar had beaten them, they had no further answers from the Assassination Bureau—and it was only a matter of time before Julian turned her in to the police. Now that he knew for sure she was a meta, now that he had a vendetta against her. It was the only thing on her mind. Even Captain Singh's wedding hadn't been able to keep her preoccupied. With Julian in attendance to the wedding as well, she couldn't completely relax. She could practically sense him every time he came near her, even to innocently pass by her table on the way to the buffet.

Cisco—he really was a great friend—had done his best to keep her calm throughout the wedding. But every time she felt a moment of peace, her anxiety would shoot through the roof when she turned back to her thoughts. Just as it was as she sat in bed that morning.

Her phone beeped, letting her know she had received a text message. Turning her phone over, Caitlin glanced at the screen and burst out laughing. Cisco had sent her a Snapchat image of a close-up of his face, a saddened expression—with HR in the background, the text reading over the screen; _Wish you were here. Want to kill HR and you're the only one who can talk me out of it._

"You have too much time on your hands, Cisco," Caitlin murmured. She sent a text back— _I'll be in later this afternoon. Try not to kill him until then_ and turned her phone off. She didn't want it on in case anything from the CCPD and Julian leaked back to her. The chances were slim since Barry had lost his job, and Cadence had said she'd be buried in notes to prepare herself for an upcoming trial, but she couldn't stand the thought alone.

With a sigh, Caitlin sat up and pushed her laptop aside. Now that she'd stopped watching the movie, she tuned in to how quiet her apartment was. She'd never really realized it before. A typical day had her up early, catching a workout at the gym in her apartment, getting ready, getting to work early, and staying in STAR Labs for the rest of the day. That pattern was only broken up by breakfast, lunch, or dinner plans with her friends. Metas and criminals were almost a daily occurrence in Central City, getting her back to her apartment late where all of it would start over again.

But there was only so much she could take before that anxiety couldn't be ignored any further. Even as she sat in her bed, her hands shook, palms sweated, and she felt overall sense of exhaustion. Something that certainly wouldn't help if she were to go into work that day. Not including the questions HR would shoot her way.

Over and over.

HR was an interesting man, but he could only be handled in small doses.

"Come on, Cait, you need to go out and do something," Caitlin murmured. "Stop freaking yourself out so much." She slid out of bed and took a shower, moving as fast as she could. Every time she felt even the hint of a breeze, she would stop what she was doing and wait. Wait to see if Killer Frost was coming out. Wait to see if a speedster was coming for her.

If _anyone_ was coming for her.

She's been kidnapped and put in the line of danger so often she couldn't ignore any of the fight or flight responses her body naturally kicked in. On one hand, fear shot through her every time she was sure she'd be attacked, but a surge of confidence would come through as well. She'd been training recently; working to make herself stronger physically. She could at least put up a semblance of a fight if anyone came after her.

Caitlin studied her expression in the mirror as she put on her makeup. A young woman with a pleasant face but haunted eyes stared at her. Eyes that'd seen too much death, destruction, and tragedy in such a short life. Much more than any person should have. At her age, she always imagined herself to be married, living comfortably, and with a child or two. She'd managed two out of three—the only thing missing was the children. She lived comfortably and had the marriage…even if it hadn't lasted as long as she'd wanted.

Leaving the bathroom, Caitlin stopped to grab her purse, getting as far as the living room before stopping in her tracks. Her eyes fell on a photograph that sat on the table by her armchair. She could've sworn she'd turned it over. It was her favorite photo of her and Ronnie; on their first anniversary he'd surprised her with a trip up to the mountains. It was one of the happiest days of her life, something she could still look back on fondly.

One of the few that hadn't been tainted.

Caitlin lifted the photograph, ran her fingers over the glass. It squeaked beneath her fingers. A wistful sigh escaped her lips, her eyes dropping to the ring that glittered on her left hand. She hadn't thought about Ronnie in a long time. Hadn't really noticed her ring in that time, either, though routinely took it off at night and put it on in the morning. It didn't fill her heart with warmth the way it used to. Like he was right there, holding her hand.

Now it felt cold. A chunk of ice stuck to her finger, tethering her to the life she left behind. The life that left her. Cadence had said she thought Ronnie may still be alive. Had been hesitant to say it because she hadn't sensed Ronnie's body heat—though Caitlin wasn't sure if she wanted to say it was more his life force—snuff out when the Singularity had ripped him and Professor Stein apart. Cisco did his best to keep her mind off it, unable to talk about his lost friend as well.

A lump of pain slid up through Caitlin's chest, to her throat. She tossed the photograph aside. Could barely stand to look at it. Could barely look at anything that reminded her of Ronnie. She'd already given away his clothes, got rid of some of their mementoes, anything to keep from seeing it. Now that she thought about it, she'd spent many nights in STAR Labs the last couple of months. The pile of laundry sitting by the laundry room, ready to be folded and others to be cleaned was a testament to that.

She was avoiding it. Just like she avoided everything in her life that may be unpleasant. Voicemails from her mother continued to pile up on her phone, all unanswered and unreturned. Of course her mother only cared when things became tough with her research. Otherwise, Caitlin didn't even fall on her mother's radar.

Gritting her teeth, Caitlin turned away and brought her hands up to her forehead. She pushed her hair back from her face. _Come on, Caitlin, get a grip,_ she thought. _You have more important things to think about. Savitar, the Assassination Bureau, Black Blade, White Hot, the metahuman database, Killer Frost…_

The moment she thought of her frosty friend, Caitlin felt her entire body grow cold. She closed her eyes, turning her head away. "No," she murmured. "No. Not again." The pain continued to slide up her chest, to her throat. A hard, velvety lump that only came when in intense moments of distress and emotion.

Then it was gone.

And Caitlin was gone along with it.

Her hair shifted from brown to white, eyes slid to an icy blue, fingertips adorned with a wispy white vapor. Killer Frost tilted her head back and forth, rolling her shoulders. Stretching after a length of absence. Then she glanced down.

"Ugh," Killer Frost moaned. She smoothed her hands down the sides of her pants, glanced at her shoes. "Looks like I need to work up her wardrobe again." She he shook her head. "She _really_ needs to figure out fashion instead of sitting in a library all day."

Brushing her white-blonde hair from her face, Killer Frost's icy eyes shifted around the living room. Her upper lip curled. "And to get a new interior designer. This stuff sucks." Killer Frost's eyes roved over the living room before finally landing on the leather purse that sat in the armchair. "At least she's got good taste in handbags." She picked it up, turning it back and forth in her hands. "I may have to take this one for myself."

Glancing inside, Killer Frost picked up a wallet and flipped through the bills, leaving the 1s and 5s behind while she took the 10s and 20s. Then she turned it aside and found the slots that held Caitlin's credit cards and picked up the top one. "Let's go see what Caitlin wants to treat me with this time."

Killer Frost left the apartment, only making it a few steps before she was grabbed and whisked away in a trail of white-blue light. She stumbled when she was released and glanced around, finding herself by the waterside. She scowled as a nearby passenger boat whizzed by, hoking loudly, drunk passengers screaming at the top of her lungs. Then she turned the glare to her companion, Savitar, as he stood beside her.

"You couldn't wait until I actually had some fun, could you?" She spat. Savitar looked back at her. His eyes glowed as brightly at the rest of his suit. Even without irises, even without a way for the man inside the suit's eyes to be seen, Killer Frost recognized the menace in Savitar's stance. Despite not having been released—Caitlin managed to stay in control longer than Killer Frost through possible—Killer Frost was able to tap into Caitlin's brain at some moments. She had an idea of who Savitar was and how dangerous he could be. Not even a team of metas could stop him.

Killer Frost stepped back. Savitar continued to look at her, gently tilting his head to the side. Something about the way he looked at her was familiar and simultaneously chilling. "What?" Killer Frost looked Savitar up and down. "Are you going to kill me now?" She slowly shook he head. "I doubt your blood is so cold."

"I've been waiting for you," Savitar said. Killer Frost's eyebrows rose in response. Then her eyelids narrowed in suspicion. "I've been waiting for you to appear once more so I can make you my offer. To offer you what you desire."

He had no idea what she desired. How badly she wanted to be her own person. To be separate from that… _wimp_ Caitlin Snow. To be her own person and make sure nothing changed her back. "And what's that?"

"Salvation." Savitar stepped towards Killer Frost, slowly closing the gap between them. The sound of metal rubbing against metal filled the air, as his joints moved. Low clanking from the weight of the suit. "I want to make sure Caitlin never returns. I want to tear away everything Barry Allen has in his life."

"Why should I trust you?"

If it were possible for him to smirk, Savitar would have. He continued toward Killer Frost until he was only a few feet away. Then, slowly, very slowly Savitar knelt to the ground. He placed his palms on the ground and in seconds, his suit came apart at the back. There was a grinding sound as gears ran against each other. A light emanated from the suit, only broken by a figure emerging from the suit.

Savitar smiled at Killer Frost, running his fingers over the scarred side of Barry's face. Killer Frost's eyes widened as she gazed at him. "I think you'll find a few good reasons."

Killer Frost closed her jaw. Swallowed away the lump that filled her throat. "What do you need me to do?"

* * *

 **A/N:** Huh. One of my shorter chapters in a while, but it did bring up some more plots that hadn't been touched upon in a bit. The pacing of the story is going to move faster, I know things have been a bit slow as of late (or that might just be me since I basically read and re-read everything I write while I'm writing it).

So I didn't 100% say why Caitlin turns into Killer Frost, but maybe you got the idea here? It will be revealed fairly soon, just like Savitar's identity has been revealed to others a lot sooner than it has been for the show. But the question is, how long until Barry knows the truth? And who will be the next to know?

Please remember to review; any feedback helps me become a better writer and motivates me to write more. I respond to every review, even anonymous ones. I update my story every Wednesday, if there's a time that I won't it will be posted on our twitter: DarkElements10.

 **Cheers,**

 **-Riley**

 **Review Replies**

 **DarkHelm145:** Don't worry, things with Barry and Cadence won't be dragged on for too long. You'll find out soon. (Though if anyone is really curious, I don't mind spoiling it. I just need to have an actual way to contact you if you're an anonymous reviewer). Yes, Incognitos real form is the older man. He's not too old, not a senior, but getting up there. Late forties, early fifties. Not quite death gun, but close. You don't see _anything_ but his glowing eyes under the hood and you only see his hands from beneath the cloak as well.

 **Ethan:** Stratos's daughter was mentioned twice. Once in _Flash Fire_ and once in _Crossfire._ (That I remember, anyway, lol). Incognito can shape shift into anything; people, plants, animals, as long as it's a material in some sense, he can shape shift. It won't be dragged on for too long between BarryCade. But, as you know, it had to happen.

 **Jason Hunter:** Not this chapter, but one coming soon.

 **Guest:** Yep, she said 'no'.

 **PowerHero432:** Good catch! Yes, it was titled that for three reasons. One of which is obvious, the other two require a bit of close-reading to find. But it will make sense when it's revealed. Hers and Barry's 'separation' won't last too long. As you know. But the reasoning behind it TI feel is a pretty good one. We'll just see what you think when we get to it. And you'll see how the AB react soon.


	27. Stike A Note (1)

**27**

 _Strike A Note  
_

* * *

Thanksgiving went by without much fanfare. But the weeks of the Christmas season came faster than any of Team Flash imagined. One minute, they were training as hard as they could, working to come up with a plan to stop Savitar. The next, they split their free time with buying gifts as much as they wrapped them, set up the Cortex with as many Christmas decorations as it could handle—complete with Barry running around the roof to set up lights around the satellite.

The Wests planned their annual Christmas party and the rest of Central City moved in on Christmas overdrive. Lights adorned every store window while soft music played in the corner speakers of every store. Even Jitters got in on the Christmas cheer with their themed drinks taking on a festivity that even Team Flash found interesting. A Killer Frost was a new drink added to the menu—much to Caitlin's horror—even though she loved the mint flavored iced coffee. The Flash was known as the 'Festive Flash' where green food coloring was used to create the flash logo along the foam, the drink dispensed in a 'Flash Red' cup. A Zoom was served in a bright blue cup covered in lightning that appeared to be Christmas lights. And the 'dash of Flare' then became the new seasonal drink complete with an added back of candy canes and cinnamon discs.

Though the festivities didn't seem to be making their way into Team Flash as easily. What was once a happy holiday that'd have the team come together to celebrate was replaced by more and more practices and training at Barry's insistence. Even Cisco, who had been one to enjoy the time f the day that'd have them scouring the city for criminal activity was starting to become frustrated. And yet, it was all needed.

Wally and Jesse slowly yet surely became better speedsters, taking in everything Barry said to learn his moves; how to phase, how to throw lightning, the formations that'd get them to catch their opponents off-guard. All the while Cadence trained Caitlin, Cisco, and Brady. With her elemental training; Caitlin and Brady were seriously progressing with the different uses of their powers; creating different attack patterns that were working when she and Barry would fight against them. Cisco's breaching was becoming more powerful as time went on—a few times his nose would start to bleed from the effort, but as the days progressed, he got stronger. Eventually able to use his breaches as traveling points; open a breach in one spot and appear behind his target in seconds. Could even open a breach and hold it long enough for Caitlin to shoot an ice spear through, no movement necessary.

When it came to working the field, Team Flash operated differently. Without his job at the CCPD, Barry put all his time and effort into keeping Central City safe. From petty crimes to bigger metahumans, he was the first to jump into the fray. Insisting he didn't need any help, Cadence found herself diving into her work. Her gymnastics training fell by the wayside, she found someone to take over her Zumba classes for the time being, and made herself available to work at STAR Labs when her help was needed.

When she and Barry _did_ work together, the change in their partnership was evident to everyone around them. Caitlin and Cisco tried not to mention it, Harrison and Tess would give them pointed looks but otherwise stayed silent. HR was the one who tried to force them to talk.

"A team that communicates is a happy team," HR would say, throwing his arms around their shoulders. "There's something to be said about the perfect harmony of those that can work together." He steepled his fingers. "Now, I know things may be awkward between you two right now, but—"

"Shut up, HR," Barry and Cadence would then cut him off, to which he, thankfully, would do with little irritation to the way he was snapped at.

Yes, they still worked together in the field but worked as individuals rather than partners. At one point they even stopped to argue with each other, allowing a petty bank robber to get away with thousands of dollars in cash, irritating them even further.

Thankfully, Cadence thought, the holidays came around, giving them all something to put their attention on than anything else. Ryder had mentioned looking for some Christmas gifts, and Brady immediately jumped on the chance to go with him. Not just because he was trying to find something to do while he was on Christmas break, but because he needed to find a gift for Conner.

"I already have something for Leah," he explained, walking through the department sore, glancing at every little thing they passed. "And I've got stuff you guys."

"It's not another homemade ornament, is it?" Ryder asked. Cadence elbowed him in the side, giving him a disapproving glance. "I just meant there's only so many of them I can fit on my tree, Cade, relax."

"I thought you weren't bothering with decorating this year," Brady said to his father. He looked over a row of hi-tech toys that sat in front of him. Cadence glanced at them herself, knowing there was a good chance—almost 100%-that she'd be the one buying whatever he picked out.

Ryder hesitated, glancing at Cadence. He cleared his throat, pulling at the collar of his shirt. "That was before…when we were going to the Wests' place for their Christmas party."

Cadence shook her head, keeping her eyes away from her ex-boyfriend. "You can still go, you know."

"I just didn't know if things would be too weird." Ryder looked his ex-girlfriend in the eye, startling Cadence with the realization he still knew her very well despite the years they'd been apart. (She thought she'd been pretty good at keeping everything on the backburner while she worked. Not ignoring it, but putting a pin in it to address it later). It comforted her. "You know, with you and Barry."

"Is that why you keep pulling at your neck?"

"'No, it's because I'm standing too close to you." Ryder grinned when Cadence placed a hand on his shoulder and pushed him away from her. "Careful, I don't think my bruise has healed yet."

"I said I was sorry," Brady mumbled under his breath. He faced his parents and slapped his hands to his sides. "How was I supposed to know that lacrosse balls actually hurt?"

Ryder rolled his eyes. "Clearly, you haven't seen any of my pictures from high school. I don't know how many times I had a black eye from getting a ball to the helmet."

"Or the stick," Cadence added.

Brady's eyes shifted back and forth between his parents. "You know, you're not really helping this whole confusing time in my life where I'm supposed to get clear reinforcement. One minute you want me to play lacrosse and the next it sounds like you don't want me to."

Amused, Cadence folded her arms. "I see you've been listening to your teachers for once."

Brady gave a smug smile in response. "When I'm bored enough." He darted to the other side of the aisle and picked up a package that read _Nightzoom Goggles_ on the front. He turned it this way and that before addressing his parents. "What about this?"

Cadence looked over the gift in Brady's hands—then at the expectant look in his eyes—and sighed. Ryder, who stood by her side, shook his head and said, "How many times do we have to tell you, buddy? You get a gift for the _person_ not a gift you'd give yourself."

Brady looked offended as he put the box back on the shelf. "If I wanted a pair of night vision goggles, I'd just ask Cisco to make them for me."

"Don't get any ideas," Ryder warned. "I think that souped up ATV is the last of the hi-tech gifts you'll get for a while. Bar a computer."

Brady looked back at his father, one that exactly mimicked the one Ryder was given. " _You_ gave me that hi-tech ATV, remember?"

"Point taken." Ryder ruffled his son's hair then pushed him forward. "Keep looking." Cadence stepped out of the way as Brady did as he was told, then running to another display that held numerous books and card games. He switched the conversation back to Cadence. "I'm just saying if you don't want to go to the Wests, my place is always open for you."

"Thanks. I appreciate that." And she truly did. The last thing she wanted to do was pretend that nothing was going on. On the same token, she didn't feel like being alone, either. Funny how there was so much she was avoiding lately. She couldn't remember the last time she was happy, now that she thought about it. Christmas was her favorite time of year, always had been, and now… "But you'll have to account for the fact that you'll need a lot of food."

"That metahuman physiology thing?" Ryder guessed. His face scrunched up as he spoke, remembering a few things of his short amount of time around STAR Labs. "I mean, I know you guys eat a _lot_ but—"

"The whole 'your body is changing' thing," Cadence interrupted, using air quotes. She motioned to Brady. "Don't know if you've noticed, but since his birthday, he's gotten a little taller and eats like a freaking horse."

"So do you."

"Yeah, but I have the excuse due to my powers, calories burn up fast. Same with Barry. Brady doesn't."

"Is this your way of telling me that you want me to give him the talk?" Ryder guessed. He paused in thought then said, "I kind of figured Barry would've done that." Offended, Cadence stopped in her tracks. Ryder shrugged. "I'm just saying he and Barry are really close. I didn't know if he would've been the one to do it."

"I kind of beat you to it," Cadence said. She tucked her hair behind her ears. "I never wanted to worry about him inevitably asking."

"What about—" Brady stopped. His eyes narrowed, looking between his parents. "What are you talking about?" He understood the hesitation on his parent's faces and rolled his eyes. "Oh, that. Yeah, they're starting to talk about that in school. In our Health class." He shook his head. "It's surprising to know how little my teachers know about this stuff." Ryder turned a look to Cadence, who shrugged sheepishly.

"So, maybe I was a little…" She pursed her lips, trying to find the right word to defend herself. " _Forthcoming_ with my responses when he'd ask a question. But it's better than telling him that the stork dropped him on the front porch."

"You're not going to get all weepy again are you?" Brady asked. He eyed his mother. "I mean, during my birthday you kept saying you had to go check on the food but we were mysteriously out of tissues by the end of the day." Cadence lifted an eyebrow, placing her hands on her hips. Brady quickly changed the subject and held up a tiny box with a necklace inside. "What about this?"

"Does Conner look like the kind of guy that wears necklaces?"

"Not for Conner, for Deity," Brady replied. He rolled his eyes. "I mean, Debby. For a gift for Debby. We got Kara's gift already but we need to get one for Debby, too, right?" He turned it back and forth in his hands. "I think she'd really like it."

"It's nice," Ryder agreed. "'How much does it cost?"

"Umm." He turned it over and read the price out loud, then lifted his gaze. "So, can I get it?"

"It's a lot of money, bud," Cadence said slowly. She had an idea why he wanted it so badly. That much more than what he was looking for, for Conner. Nevertheless, his allowance was only so big. "About a month's worth or so."

"That's okay, I've been saving up," Brady said quickly. He backed towards the register. "And Mamaw gave me some money for my birthday."

"How much is 'some'?" Ryder asked suspiciously. Cadence smiled. He'd been around her family enough to know how Maya Nash worked as well as how much she spoiled their son. Certainly much more so than his own parents, who wanted nothing to do with him or their grandson.

"I don't know, a couple hundred, I think." Brady started to move faster towards the register, keeping his back away from them. Cadence's and Ryder's eyes nearly bugged out of their heads.

"A couple hundred?!" Cadence repeated.

"Buddy—"

"I'm going to go pay, alright?"

Brady raced to the register before his parents could stop him, giving them no choice but to follow. "You know, your mom really spoils him," Ryder remarked.

"I'll say." Cadence pouted, folding her arms. "She didn't give _me_ any money for _my_ birthday." Ryder laughed. "I know, I know. I'm being a brat."

"You've always been special, Cade, but you're definitely not a brat." Ryder nodded to the register and the two went over as Brady took his bag and receipt from the cashier. "You ready to go?"

"Mhm." Brady nodded. "I'll get Conner's gift later. I have to go back and wrap this one."

"I'll take him back to my place," Ryder said. "Make sure that he doesn't decide to spend the rest of his money on a car or something else that'd suddenly show up on my doorstep."

"Mmm." Cadence tried not to smile. "How long were your parents mad when you decided to buy a new car without asking them first?"

Ryder sucked air between his teeth. "I think, if I still lived there, I'd still be grounded." Cadence laughed.  
"Do you need a ride somewhere?"

"No, I'm meeting Caitlin and Cisco for dinner. It's just up the street. But I'll see you guys later." She gave Ryder a quick peck on the cheek and ruffled Brady's hair. "I've still got to get some of my gifts anyway."

"Okay, but remember, I like anything chocolate," Brady said.

"And expensive, I know." Cadence gave him a salute then waved as they walked away.

She folded her arms, letting out a sigh. Her eyes moved back and forth, taking in the sights of the Christmas lights and garland around her. Down the street, she could hear the ringing bell of a Salvation Army Santa. The moment was perfect and in the back of her mind, she knew it was only a matter of time until some meta attacked and ruined everything.

But in the moment, she allowed herself the moment of peace. She didn't get a lot of it as of late.

And maybe, just maybe, it'd at least keep her from remembering how lonely she was.

* * *

Barry tapped a remote against his forehead. His eyes shifted over the musical playing across the screen in front of him. It was useless. Musicals always used to cheer him up. A last way to stay connected with his mother. How many times had she taken off work when he was sick or had a day off school and watched musicals with him all day? Enough so that Barry had a memory of each one.

Knew his mother's favorites inside and out, had his own favorites he would use to cheer him up when the time came. And yet, none of it was working. Not even a quick jog—which brought him all the way to Vancouver before he realized how far he'd gone—could lift his spirits when running was one of his favorite things. No, he couldn't do much more on his downtime than go to the bathroom and get something to eat. Even focusing on STAR Labs and training wasn't doing it for him.

But Wally and Jesse needed his help. When they weren't spending time together, he ran them through the gauntlet of every speedster test he could think of. Everything he'd ever been put through by Harrison and by Eobard Thawne.

It was difficult, to think of them as two different people now, when he only knew them as a singular man. It was difficult to see how he could get through some of the toughest metas and villains by things Eobard had taught him. In many ways, he was glad Harrison was taking a back seat to STAR Labs, making Barry the leader of the team. Gave him the chance to come into his own as a hero. For the obvious reasons, he never had to worry that Eobard was still inside Harrison, waiting to come back and attack him. And, the more obvious reason.

He didn't know Tess that well, didn't truly know Harrison as well either, but didn't want to be questioned about his avoidance of Cadence. He hated the way everyone looked at him, hated the way they looked at _each other_ when they were in the same room, hated how they said they wouldn't let their personal and private lives mix and couldn't work as partners in the field like they used to.

Worst of all, he hated how it felt like everything was being taken away from him. First his mother. Then his father. Now, if the future had any say in his life, he was going to lose some of his best friends, too.

 _"Don't!"_

 _Barry heard a voice scream. It echoed around the alleyway he stood in. Lifting his eyes, Barry took notice of the street sign he stood under; the sign reading in bold letters INFANTINO STREET. He heard the voice scream again and recognized it immediately. It was his voice. Eyebrows furrowing, Barry followed the scream, moving at a fast-paced jog, running towards the front of the plaza. He stopped short, seeing the sight in front of him, seeing_ _himself_ _in front of him._

 _He, dressed in his Flash suit, slowly inched towards Savitar, who had a tight grasp on Iris's shoulder. Beside him, Killer Frost stood with an icicle pointed directly towards Cadence's—who was in her suit—heart, Flare holding onto a flaming sword pointed at Killer Frost as well._

 _"It's time to choose," Savitar growled. He tilted his head back and forth between Cadence and Iris. "Who will be saved?"_

 _"No, no!" Flash cried, hand outstretched. He continued to inch towards Savitar. Barry watched, mouth dropping open as he inched closer as well. His eyes darted around the arena, seeing only Savitar, Iris, Killer Frost, and Cadence. He looked closer at Killer Frost, noticing the blank look to her face. "Please, I'm begging you."_

 _"Make your choice," Savitar declared._

 _"Don't do it, Barry," Iris bravely warned. Tears slid down her cheeks, but she fought to keep her voice calm. Steady. "Don't worry about me."_

 _"Please," Barry continued._

 _"Choose!"_

 _"I can't!"_

 _Savitar pulled his arm back. "You already have." And he thrust his arm forward, driving the spike directly through Iris's heart. Blood gathered on the tip of the blade and dripped to the ground as Iris's head lolled forward, her body falling limp. Savitar lifted his spike and flung his arm to the side, Iris's body slid off and dumped to the ground._

 _"No!" Barry yelled, squeezing his eyes shut. He turned, finding Killer Frost and Flare coming to their demise at that exact moment. He watched as the ice metahuman and fire metahuman shot forward at the same time. Both finding just the right opening. He watched as the spear of ice and the tip of the flame sword slid through each other like butter. Blood sprayed the air, in a wide sprinkler arc as the two made low groans and slumped over._

 _" **NO**!" The Flash raced over, kneeling over Killer Frost—Caitlin—pressing his violently shaking fingers to her neck. Dead. No pulse. Not even a chance. Then he moved to Cadence, hearing her gurgle and cough, blood spraying over her lips and chin. The Flash grabbed her and cradled her in his arms, tears sliding down his cheeks._

 _"No, no, no," he whispered, wheezed, gasping for air. "Cay. Cay! Stay with me." Barry shook her, Cadence's head lolling back and forth. Her eyelids fluttered, before her eyes focused on him. Barely focused. She didn't seem to recognize him for a second. Nevertheless, Barry managed a small smile despite noticing her healing not kicking in. "It's going to be okay," he whispered to her, voice hoarse. "You're going to be okay. We'll get you back to STAR Labs and…and…" his words died on his lips as he glanced at Killer Frost. Then he looked back at Cadence, whose breathing started to slow._

 _"Cay!" The Flash brought up his hand and ripped off his glove with his teeth. He ripped it off and gently stroked her cheek with his fingertips. "I love you, c'mon." He sucked in a deep breath, tears gathering on his chin, dripping onto her face. Washing away the blood. "Don't do this." He felt her body growing colder. "Don't do this, Cay. Please." He grabbed her hand and held it tightly in his before moving it to press against his cheek. Hoping it'd start their joint power. Maybe he could heal her. Maybe…_

 _Her hand slid from his cheek and dropped heavily to the ground._

 _" Cay…don't…"_

 _The Flash bent forward, howling in only the way a man could when he lost everything, his body violently racking with sobs._

Lose every good thing he'd ever had in his life. What was the point in continuing to be a hero if things weren't going to work out? What was the point of all the lights and the decorations when it wasn't bringing him as much cheer? What was the point in celebrating at all? Not even the upcoming West family Christmas party could lift his spirits.

It was his favorite time of year and…he felt nothing. The gifts he'd already gotten and had wrapped did much for his mood. Not even Cisco's promise of the best 'café con leche' he could ever have—Cisco'd even promised he perfect the drunk serum to add to it—was working. So Barry went with the next best thing.

Musicals.

As Gene Kelly danced across his screen, the corners of his lips turned up in a smile. His first smile in weeks. _Singing in the Rain_ had always been one of his favorites. Not even the worst of his moods could rival Gene Kelly's dance moves.

 _"I told you, everything is better in song."_ He could practically hear his mother's voice. Hear the sugary sweetness of her voice. Could practically feel her snuggling up against his side as he lay on the couch, under a bundle of blankets. _"When you speak, it's just words. But when you sing, it's when you open up your soul and let who you really are shine through."_

 _Barry smiled up at her, squeezing her hand in his. "Thanks, mom."_

 _"I love you, my beautiful boy." She pressed a kiss to the side of his head, pulled him into her side._

 _''I love you, too."_

Barry's thoughts were interrupted by the sound of the front door closing, and keys being knocked aside. He looked back over the couch as Cisco walked into his apartment, kicking off his shoes. He walked towards the living room then rolled his eyes, seeing what was on screen.

"This, again?" He demanded. Raising his hands, Cisco ran his palms over his face and through his hair. "What, are you going to spend the rest of your life on the couch?" Barry grunted in response. "You're the Flash for God's sake! Come on, let's get up. Let's do something."

"No." Barry shook his head, voice coming out hoarse. When was the last time he'd spoken to someone? He wasn't quite sure. "No, I don't feel like going out." He looked at Cisco. "Where were you?"

Cisco hesitated. "Uhhh." He walked around the couch. "I was having dinner with Caitlin and…Cade." Barry nodded. He focused on the TV once more. Cisco took the chance to change the subject. "What is it with you and musicals these days, anyway?"

"Everything's better in song," Barry pointed out. He ignored Cisco rolling his eyes. Cisco stood in front of the TV, folding his arms. Barry leaned back and forth, trying to get a glimpse of the screen. "Move! You're in the way!"

"Listen, dude, I know you've been going through a tough time since…what happened with you and Cade happened."

Barry grimaced. "You know I can move you myself, right?"

"Barry."

"She doesn't want to marry me, Cisco. That's not something 'that happened."

"Reddit would beg to disagree." Barry rolled his eyes. Cisco licked his lips, gently shook his head. "I just want to help."

"Nothing you can really, do, man," Barry said. There wasn't anything anyone could do. Not unless anyone knew how to change the future and could help him relax for once. But until then…he was perfectly content sitting on the couch and rotting away with musicals at his disposal.

"Then I guess I'll just let Mr. Gene Kelly take over because there's nothing I can do about that," Cisco said sarcastically. He yawned. "I guess those drinks got to me more than I thought. I'm going to bed. Don't forget to turn off the TV when you go to sleep this time. I don't want to wake up to Ricky and Morty again."

"I said I was sorry," Barry mumbled.

"Those spoilers are something I can never get back," Cisco growled. "It's not happening again."

"Alright, alright." Barry turned off the TV. "I'll just go to sleep, too." He turned off the TV, basking the living room into darkness. Stepping forward, Barry raced around the living room, setting up his makeshift bed on the couch then laid down.

The moment Barry's head hit the pillow, he was out like a light. Strange, as it typically took him long minutes of tossing and turning when he was in a new place. When moving in with Joe and Iris it took him almost a week to finally feel comfortable enough to fall asleep. Though that did nothing to stop the nightmares that plagued him for months at a time.

If there was any other time in his life that'd be considered a nightmare, it would've been lately. No matter what good seemed to happen, it wasn't long before something came to make all that happiness crash and burn. Exhaustion made his eyes fall shut. Barry fell through a darkened abyss in a state between asleep and awake.

He felt himself lying on Cisco's couch, a blanket tucked between his legs and his arm propping up his pillow while simultaneously feeling himself falling further and further through the darkness. Finally, the darkness skirted away, as if blown by an industrial fan and Barry found himself jerking in surprise at a shout in his ear.

"Two minutes till curtain everybody!"

He glanced down, noticing something in his hand. Frowning, Barry turned it to face him and frowned at the words that jumped out on the page to him. A script. He was holding onto a script. What the hell? Everything came to him at once, the show they were putting on. It as opening night and the director, Cisco, was a nervous wreck. He'd made it very clear his career was on the line with this one and that if anyone cost him lively hood they'd have hell to pay.

"You alright there, Allen?"

Barry looked up from the spot of the floor he had been staring at to find Hank eyeing him curiously. "Yeah, I'm fine," Barry said to one of his supporting actors with his usual smile.

"Did you hear the call?" Hank added, still frowning as he pointed off towards the stage.

"There was a call?" Barry said in a quiet startled voice. Hank merely nodded, and Barry took off like a man in a burning building, making his way towards the nearest exit. Arms flying this way and that while his legs pumped furiously back and for beneath him. He never should have listened to Winn, why had he thought getting a bit to eat before the show had been a good idea. Already he could feel his stomach turning, about ready to push up what he'd just eat instead of sending it down the normal route.

Suddenly Alex and Lucy stepped out from behind a corner and Barry whacked Alex with his arm sending her back into Lucy as the two fought to stay on their feet. "Sorry!" Barry shouted back as he continued to run, the two women shouting profanities behind him. It would have been nice to get through one day without pissing off someone on the project, though at this stage that seemed like an impossible mission.

Thankfully he made it to the stage just as Kara arrived to join him, taking their marks alongside each other. "You okay, Barry?" Kara asked with a concerned frown as she looked the heavily breathing man up and down.

"Yeah…just…need to…catch…" he said in between heavy breaths only to skip a heartbeat when the curtain started to lift.

From off to the side he heard Cisco hissing at him to stand up straight, so Barry did so, feeling as if his body was moving on its own. He gulped down one last breath as the curtain finished raising. The full beam of the light hit his eyes, momentarily blinding him, and even when the black circles vanished the audience was still hidden behind the curtain of white light. Probably for the best, seeing a hundred or so eyes staring back at him was hardly going to help with his stage fright.

A glance off to the side of the stage told Barry he'd gone too long without doing anything, since Cisco was already pulling out his hair while Cadence buried her face in her hands and Caitlin mouthed him the words he was supposed to be singing. Then a sharp nudge from Kara sent him into action, muttering his first of presumably many unscripted lines. "Right."

The piano then kicked in. "At times like these, when life is getting me down. And the world seems like it's gonna end…ship." The faint cries of Cisco's ending career floated in from the side of the stage. Oh, well, he was here now. Might as well have some fun with it.

It was all a dream anyway, he could still feel himself curled up on Cisco's couch, gently pulling his blankets up over his shoulder. It was a strange feeling; feeling himself dancing while at the same time lying down. Exhaustion weighed heavily over his eyes, which felt they were falling closed while simultaneously staring wide open at the audience in front of him.

"There's at least one power that we both still have. And that's the power of-"

"Friendship…" Kara winced as she said the line. Barry smiled. That made him feel better, knowing she was just as clueless as him.

"Yeah, that's exactly what I was gonna say!" Barry said cheerfully as the music cut out.

"Well, it's an easy rhyme," Kara shrugged before the piano started up again.

"I'm your super friend. Your super friend," Barry sang as his feet began to move just like Cadence had taught him…for hours on end. As Barry spun in a quick circle he glanced over to the choreographer, who watched the show with an air of disinterest. They'd spent a lot of time together to get the steps down and now…The tapping of Barry's shoes lightly echoing around them, adding to music and his vocals while not over powering it or getting lost in the background.

Barry mimicked his running stance while maintaining the rhythm to his tapping as he sang,"I'll be there in a nick of time, if you're ever in a spot,"

"And if not there in time, you can just go back in time. And give it another shot," Kara sang as she too joined in on the tapping until Barry suddenly stopped along with her.

"I'm actually not supposed to do that anymore," Barry pointed out quickly.

"Oh," Kara said with awkward little wide eyes before the music picked up again. "I'm your super friend, super friend," Kara sang as she and Barry danced around the stage.

"When you need a compliment, I can rattle off a dozen. For instance, I have to say, I'm not impressed by your more famous cousin," Barry said as he leaned over to Kara who turned to him with a joyful look. Barry's only met him once, and in actuality it wasn't Kara's exact cousin as she was from a different Earth, but so far he hadn't seen too much to be _too_ impressed.

"Thank you! No one ever say that," Kara said with an added put before quickly whiping away as the song picked up pace again. Two top hats flew their way and the two stars caught them gracefully like they'd done the show a hundred times…which they basically had by this point.

"I'm your super friend, super friend," the two sang as the danced about in unison with gleeful smiles.

"When it comes to buddies, pal, you're the best," Kara said, playfully hitting Barry's shoulder.

"I love you more than the lightning bolt I wear on my chest," Barry added as he tapped his chest with the top hat in his hand.

"If you're ever sad, I'll bring you flowers," Kara said as she snatched the hat from Barry and threw it off to the side of the stage while they continued to dance around each other.

"And you can list 'soprano' as one of your powers," Barry added as behind them, James and Ryder quickly wheeled a fancy looking couch onto the stage before running off silent.

"If you're ever broke-" Kara began.

"I've got the cash!" Barry finished as the two twirled around each other before Kara sat down on the wheeled-out couch.

"On my couch-"

"You're welcome to crash," Barry sang as he dropped down next to Kara.

"And if you ever need a hand," Kara continued.

"I'll be there in a Flash!"

"Barry!" Kara snapped as she gently whacked his knee before getting up.

"That was funny," Barry exclaimed as he followed her up before they quickly tapped their feet and got back to the song.

"I'm your super friend! I'm your super friend! I'm your super-that has a double meaning-friend!" the two finished before striking their finishing poses. Each with a hand on their waist while the other hung up in the air, both smiling out to the audience as the applause began.

Barry looked over to Kara who beamed back in relief at him, grateful they hadn't mucked anything up before looking back to the audience and both bowing gracefully. Then the light shifted from their faces, growing brighter and brighter as the seconds passed. Barry winced, bringing up a hand to cover his face. There was no stopping it, the light continued to increase, brighter and brighter. Dark spots appeared in front of his space, growing bigger as the seconds passed until he was swallowed by darkness once more.

Finally, the dark spots faded. Light filtered through the hand he still held over his face. He blinked a few times, wincing at the sudden shift in brightness to his eyes. When he could open them for more than a few seconds, he blinked rapidly, ready to find the agonizingly angry look of his director's screaming face in front of him, but found himself standing in the middle of downtown Central City. No, no Central City. National City? He recognized the stadium, the park, the shops of Central City that sprawled around him, his hometown for as far as he could remember.

And yet, there were buildings he'd only seen once, Cat Co, and other surroundings offices and shops that weren't entirely familiar to him. That weren't home. They weren't the buildings he'd grown to know and love throughout his life in Central City.

"Whoa," Barry murmured, bringing up a hand to run through his hair. Had Cisco been there he would've uttered a perfectly timed, "Trippy," that would've made Barry smile. Barry turned in a slow circle, eyebrows lowering further and further as the seconds passed. It felt so comforting and yet Barry's hackles continued to stay raised. The hair on the back of his neck standing up. The classic danger signs he'd grown used to feeling. Still, Barry didn't feel too unnerved as he looked around. "Where am I?"

Taking small steps, Barry rotated himself in another quick circle, doing his best to take in everything around him. The buildings continued to shift and change shape in front of him. More appearing as the seconds passed. Popping silently out of the ground like daisies. A world building around him. Then he saw a familiar head of blonde hair twisting about as she looked around as well. She turned and their eyes locked, making Barry smile.

"Kara?" He asked. Kara squinted at him for a moment, as if unable to place him, then she smiled as radiantly as the sun, making Barry's own smile widen. That explained why part of the city looked like National City. But was this really Kara? Not a dream Kara that seemed to understand the play that was going on around them?

"Barry?" Kara replied. The questioning in her voice answered his own mental one. This was…really Kara. "Hey!" Her footsteps increased in pace as the two excitedly moved to greet each other. She threw her arms around his neck, careful to hold back on her strength despite the squeeze she put to her hug. Barry squeezed her just as tight. He felt the pain. It was real. When the hug ended, Kara reached out and gently knocked him on the arm with her first. "What are you doing in my dream?"

Barry's smile faltered a little. "What do you mean? This is my dream! I'm asleep at Cisco's, or I thought I was." He looked around again. "I _hope_ I am."

"But…" Kara frowned. She looked at Barry through a titled head. "Did you…did you just have a dream about some sort of play?"

"A musical," Barry agreed. "Where it felt like I was the only one who knew what was going on."

"I thought that was _my_ dream," Kara said. She ran a hand through her hair. "Deity and I…we were watching musical before we fell asleep."

"I was watching some at Cisco's place," Barry agreed. He felt pain bloom through his chest and ignored it the best he could. "But…it was like you knew everything that was going on in there, the song and dance—"

"—I felt the same thing!" Kara cried. "But…that you were the one who knew what was going on."

Barry snorted. The last thing he'd ever wanted to do was put himself out there on stage like that again. He'd done it a few times in his life; helping Iris with her dance number she'd forgotten on stage when they were kids, when he did musical theater in high school…but that was in the past. When he knew everything that was going on, when his life made sense.

"So…we're still in a dream," Barry said, gesturing towards the buildings around them. "Or else, I hope our cities hadn't suddenly decided to merge together."

"Maybe it's just one of those lucid dream things," Kara said. She reached out to touch Barry again, as if for good measure. Poked him on the arm. She frowned, noticing his arm swing back and forth at the touch. "You seem so real. All of this seems so…real." She brought up a hand to tap her forehead. "I should be asleep in my bed at home but…I can _feel_ myself still there."

"Well, lucid dreaming can be controlled," Barry supplied, feeling his heartbeat start to quicken. He felt himself turn over on Cisco's couch, trying to become more comfortable. "It's a natural state of the REM sleep cycle, where you're close to the point of falling into deep sleep." He lifted a finger as he continued to explain. "Scientists have tried to debunk it for years, the most famous being Stephen LaBerge who thinks lucid dreaming is a point of micro-awakening while most know it is where the dreamer may be able to exert some degree of control over the dream characters, narrative, and environment."

Kara blinked quietly at him as he continued through his explanation. "Right, yeah," She agreed. It was obvious she didn't quite follow him. Nevertheless, she trusted his judgement. Then, sucking in a deep breath, Kara placed her hands on her hips. "Well, I guess we'll see what we can do in this dream, right?"

"Yeah, let's see what else is weird with this city," Barry agreed. He turned on his heel and streaked through the streets with Kara flying behind him. He ran and ran for a few moments, taking the familiar streets that he'd grown to know like the back of his hand. But as the seconds passed and he continued to run around, Barry realized something unsettling. He kept seeing the same buildings over and over.

"Um," Kara said after a few moments. Her arms stretched in front of her, hair whipping around her face. "Haven't we already been this way before?" Barry came to a stop, stretching out his right foot to slow himself down. Sparks blew around the heels of his Converse, of which he calmly stamped out when he finally came to a stop. Kara gently floated next to him. She pointed to the buildings around her. "I'm sure we've been here before."

"Maybe the city is smaller than we thought?" Barry asked.

"Or maybe it's a figment of your imagination," A sing-song voice wafted over them. Barry whipped around to find the source of the voice. "Oh, don't worry, I don't want you to have to work too hard to find me." A bright blue vortex swirled in front of the two. Similar yet different from Cisco's breaches. This man's breach came from the ground and had a more fantastical hue to it, shining specks like glitter moved throughout, before it accumulated into the shape of a curly haired man who smiled at the two. "Barry Allen and Kara Danvers—sorry, Kara Zor-El, I must say it is so _nice_ to finally meet you both." He held up his hands. "Big fan, really." He brought up his fingers to his temple then moved it forward like a salute. "And that music number. I've got to say," he started to clap. "bravo. Definitely worth a standing ovation."

As the stranger walked towards them, Barry looked to Kara with a frown, not sure as to what was going on. She matched his look. The man's last step before stopping in front of them was a skip, an unflappable smile on his face. "And I must say it's a true honor to meet you both." He Barry's hand, shaking it firmly before doing the same to Kara. "It's not every day you get to see two legendary heroes such as yourself put on a full-fledged musical. Honestly, it makes me want to squeal like a school boy at times."

"And you are…?" Barry asked, trailing off as he waited for the man to introduce himself.

"Oh, that would be far too confusing for your little mind to comprehend. Let's see, you can call me…Music Meister." The man threw up his hands up for dramatic effect. "That has a nice ring to it, right? Real bit of flair." His eyes widened in surprise before reaching one hand out towards Barry, the other on his chest. "Oh, sorry, didn't mean to step on your girlfriend's toes. Or is she still your girlfriend?" Barry glared, hands clenching into fists. "I'm a bit fuzzy on that area."

"What's he talking about?" Kara asked as sudden the Music Meister was on her, grinning away. His eyebrows danced up and down.

"And Ms. Danvers. You know I have a friend who I think would be very interested in you. A Mr. Mxyzptlk, would you like me to set you two up? Or are you still pinning over that sad little IT boy?" Hurt flashed across Kara's face as the timid girl stepped back.

Still glaring, Barry stepped over, grabbing Music Meister's arm and turning him so that their eyes connected. "Hey, man, what's your problem?" He demanded.

The Music Meister merely shrugged off, Barry's hand, raising his hands as he backed away, still grinning. "No problem. Just wanted a little show and a chat before I said goodbye."

"Goodbye? You only just said hello," Kara pointed out as she stepped up to Barry's side, arms folded as she eyed Music Meister suspiciously.

"That I have, and still I must be off. I've got what I came for and now it's time for me to woo a certain lady." He then leaned forward, bowing as he tilted an invisible hat to the two heroes.

"Wait!" Barry demanded. "How do you—"

"—Know your names? You true identities? I know a lot of things," Music Meister replied, pressing his fingertips together. He chuckled and started to pace, kicking up his feet with each step he took. "But let's be honest here, Flash, you don't do a great job of keeping your identity a secret. _How_ many people know your identity now?" He didn't give Barry the chance to answer. "Yes, I know a lot of things. But I can _do_ a lot of things, too," he added, almost as an afterthought. Barry and Kara exchanged glances. They'd faced a lot of different metas and aliens before and knew not to judge one by its cover. But this guy seemed to be a bit _too_ happy. A bit _too_ casual. "But this is so exciting to have you both here."

"What do you want?" Kara asked, clenching her hands into fists.

"Nothing more than to sing a little song," The man replied. He spread his hands. "A little…ditty if you will. I'm sure you'll find to be very pleasant. Please…leave your applause for the end."

Music Meister started to step forward, this time a more menacing movement, making Barry and Kara immediately jump into action. Simultaneously, they shot towards the man. Barry running at top speed and Kara taking flight. The man smirked, his eyes starting to glow a silvery white that pulsed from his irises to the whites of his eyes.

Barry slowly, very slowly, felt his legs slowing. He pumped his arms as fast as he could but found them moving sluggishly to his sides before he was…jogging. The same top-speed jog he had before having received his powers. The same jog that Joe and Iris not-so-secretly made fun of him for. He hadn't run like that in forever. He was running normally.

Startled, Barry came to a stop, leaning over to press his hands to his knees. He gasped for air, chest burning, sweat dripping down his face from the effort. "What….what's happening…?" Barry murmured. Then there was a loud crashing sound and a grunt of pain as Kara smacked the ground next to him. She pushed herself to her knees and stared at the blood that bubbled over the heels of her palms.

Wounds that wouldn't have happened before. Had she had crashed to the ground like that, it would've created craters in the ground of her handprints, not torn her skin apart. Frantic against the sting, Kara checked her knees, seeing they were in the same state. Kara struggled to her feet, really struggled. Her body burned as if it were being squeezed in a vice. Blood trickled down the side of her head.

Barry sucked in a deep, painful breath and looked to Kara, who stood in the same stance, hands on her knees, face flushed form exertion. They locked eyes, Barry's roving over her numerous scrapes and Kara watching him suck wind. They came to the same conclusion at the same time.

"Our powers…" Kara murmured.

"They're…" Barry couldn't get the word out.

"Gone?" the man prompted. He examined his fingertips, watching as the two realized their plight. "Yeah, that's always a nasty shock for some people." He waved his hand. "Don't worry, I'm just borrowing them. You won't even notice they're gone, I'll have them back to you in a jiffy."

"What?!" Barry demanded, only able to get the word out.

"But just to make sure I have some time…" the man shot forward and struck Barry and Kara in the chest hard enough to send them flying. As Barry fell through the air, he saw the man snap his fingers, the blue mist that announced his arrival swirling over him once more. "A pleasure, Scarlett Speedster and you've certainly made me squeal, Girl of Steel." An obvious wink then followed as Music Meister stood back up and faded away, leaving the two heroes behind. ""Tootles!" And he was gone.

The world around them shattered like glass leaving them in an abyss of darkness as Barry slammed hard to the ground. At the same time, he struck the ground, Barry shot awake on Cisco's couch. In a move that would've been aided by his super speed, Barry struggled to get off the couch. Rather than standing up straight and bolting to the side, Barry slid to the floor, striking his knee against the coffee table as he did so. Barry shouted in pain. His body curled up in shock. Barry brought a knee to his chest, pressing his palms against his kneecap to stave away the pain. It was such a shock, the pain that hit him. More pain than should've been from falling a short distance off the couch.

More like he… _crashed to the ground,_ Barry thought. He brought a hand up to his chest, feeling the area where he'd been struck. It stung by even the slightest touch and when Barry pulled the collar of his shirt away, he saw a darkened spot stretching from his collarbone to his sternum. A bruise. A bruise that should've been healed by then. _No._ The realizations smashed all other rational excuses away. _No, no, no, no, no!_

Barry scrambled to his feet and gasped, he hadn't tapped into the Speed Force. Hadn't used his superspeed to right himself in a spectacular display. _Couldn't_ use his superspeed as much as he strained to reach the familiar feeling of the Speed Force. Barry raised his hand, trying to make it vibrate rapidly, it only shook slightly. Not form his speed, from nerves.

Swallowing hard, Barry squeezed his eyes shut. _No._

"Bare?" Cisco stumbled out of his bedroom, pulling down the bottom of his t-shirt to cover his boxers. He blinked rapidly and pressed a hand to his chest, clenching his jaws to stave off a yawn. "Everything better be okay or I'm going to _seriously_ kill you for ruining my dream that had me married to JLo!" Cisco's eyebrows came together as he watched Barry gasping for air, staring at his hand. "Barry, what's wrong?"

Barry turned to his friend. He took a few deep breaths before saying, "We need to get to STAR Labs. Now!" He swallowed hard. "My powers are gone."

* * *

 **A/N:** I did intend to have this updated yesterday, but work lasted a bit longer than I thought, there were storms…anyway, I hope you guys aren't too upset with the delay and enjoyed the chapter anyway. I'm really excited for this next part. Music Meister had to come early in this story compared to where it was in the show.

Anyway, let me know what you thought of the Juxtoposition of Cadence's and Barry's scenes in this chapter. I'm curious to know if I accomplished what I wanted or if anyone was confused.

 **Cheers,**

 **-Riley**

 **Review Replies**

 **Ethan:** No, Alicia doesn't know they're metas. She saw them when they were helping her during the Metapocalypse, but Brady was in his suit and Leah and Conner were helping her without the use of any powers, so she's in the dark. Just like in the show, anyone can see Savitar when he wants them to see him. Otherwise, only speedsters can.

 **DarkHelm145:** Won't take much longer for everyone else to find out. That plot point/the second half of the show are going to be done differently.

 **PowerHero432:** Killer Frost has no means to give Savitar any more sass or even a fight. He's not her enemy as he is Caitlin's, when she can use her powers but keep Killer Frost out. I'm still working out how Alicia will find out, but it'll be good when she does, I can promise that.

 **Guest 1:** Yeah, he'll be mad.

 **Guest 2:** They won't be apart much longer.

 **Cheers,**

 **Riles**


	28. Strike A Chord (2)

**28**

 _Strike A Chord_

* * *

With light music drifting in from the next room, Kara rolled over as she curled her pillow around her head. I futile attempt to keep the music out she knew, especially with her super hearing. It of course didn't help that Deity insisted on having the music turned up full, like all teenagers she seemed determined to shatter her ear drums before she reached her twenties. But with her healing ability she had to turn the music up extra loud to stand a chance of doing that, which had led to a number of Kara's neighbours coming over to complain.

At least this song wasn't as bad as some of the other songs she'd been putting on. True, it was the Christmas season, but one could only take so much of Michael Bublé before they began to lose their mind. A new obsession that Kara was partly to blame for as she full well knew. Now she seemed to have moved onto more classical pop songs, like the current 'Mr. Blue Sky'. And with the rhythmic beat floating in like the lively beating of a heart, it was hard for Kara not to move her feet to the beat.

Then she picked up the voices, not just the usual members of the Electric Light Orchestra, but her daughter as well. She removed the pillow from one side of her head and turned, staring towards the doorway as she listened. She must have been practising when Kara wasn't around because she was starting to sound quite good. Alex's suggestion of Glee club actually hadn't been a bad idea after all. It wasn't like it was one of their powers or anything, it was a natural skill that Kryptonians and Humans both shared. The ability to sing.

Smiling, Kara rolled from the bed and, after making sure her nightgown wasn't revealing anything, made her way to the doorway. She peered out, spotting Deity in the kitchen, also in her pyjamas. Though more interestingly, she appeared to be cooking her breakfast. It was something she'd been trying a bit more off since getting back. She had improved but still one out of three times she would start a fire. Though breakfast was easier, and she seemed to be getting the hand of multi-tasking in the kitchen.

So much so that she was now twirling this way and that, between the counter top and the island as she kept an eye on the sizzling bacon. Singing along to the song while preforming her in head dance moves that felt great, but in reality, looked out of sync to the music. Still, everyone danced that way when they thought they weren't being watched.

Grinning, Kara let out a forced couch, catching Deity's attention as she swung around whacking the pan handle and sending the bacon flying to the floor. "Jeez!" Deity exclaimed as she caught her breathing, having been clearly shocked to hear her mother. "Could you not sneak up on me like that?" Deity asked rhetorical as she brushed her hair from her face, sending her mother an angry pout once her face was clear.

"Sorry," Kara said as she walked over to the speaker. The force and volume of the sound waves almost pushing her back. "Though maybe you might have heard me if you turned the music down," Kara pointed out as she tuned the volume down enough so that she could hear herself think once more.

Deity only responded with a sad sigh. Kara turned back around and saw the girl pushing her lower lip up as she stared down at the strips of bacon that now lay in a heap on the floor. "Sorry," Kara said as she joined her daughter in the kitchen, placing her hands on Deity's shoulders as she leaned over to see the bacon strips that her daughter had been working on.

"I really thought I had it this time," Deity mumbled as she knelt down and picked up a single strip. Probably still edible but considering how often the two heroes cleaned the floor, Deity thought it would be best just to call it quits. "You owe me for this," Deity said as she stood back up, picking up the last of the bacon before dropping it into the bin.

"Sounds fair, how about I grab us waffles from that new place across town?" Kara suggested.

"That'll do," Deity said with a grin as she joined Kara around the island, leaning down.

"Alright," I'll be back in a minute," Kara said, grabbing her handbag and heading for the door, ready to change at super speed when suddenly she stopped. Frowning, she looked down at her legs, tilting her head. She moved again but still she continued to stare.

"What's up?" Deity asked, noticing her mother was taking her time in leaving.

"It's my speed," Kara said as she slowly turned back round, lifting her gaze to meet Deity's. "It's gone."

* * *

Cadence shifted her finger in front of Barry's eyes, intermediately shining a flashlight in them. Spots erupted before his eyes and yet he dutifully followed her movements. Finally, he pushed her hand aside. "I don't think studying my vitals is going to tell me anything about why my powers are suddenly gone, Cay."

"I don't either," Cadence agreed. She stepped back, punctuating her sentence by clicking off the flashlight. Then, quicker than Barry could anticipate, she smacked him on the knee with the side of her hand. His leg slightly shifted, a cry of pain escaping his lips. "Then again, working on your reflexes can do wonders."

Barry brought his foot to the end of the examining table. He clasped his hands around his knee, waiting for the throbbing to go away for the second time since his rude awakening. "I think we know when my powers go away that my reflexes go along with it." He turned his scowl to the side, noticing Cisco's, Caitlin's, and Brady's heads all disappear back around the side of the doorway that led to the medical bay.

Barry curled his fingers around the side of the table, shaking his head. He had to face the truth. Now that he didn't have his powers to distract him from his personal life falling apart, he wasn't sure how much more he could take. It was one thing to lounge around on Cisco's couch in a pair of sweats he hadn't changed out of in a few days, letting his facial hair grow out due to boredom and depression. It was another when the hero part of him couldn't do anything.

The Flash was one thing, not being a CSI was another.

"Funny," Barry snarked. He stopped rubbing his knee and gingerly lowered his foot back to the ground, trying not to wince. God, he'd gotten too used to the Speed Force within his system. Within him. Without the Speed Force, he was nothing. He let out a sigh through his nose, lifted his gaze to her beneath his eyelashes. "I bet you've been waiting to do that."

"To hit you? No." Cadence folded her arms, looking directly at him. He could see she was as frustrated as he was. Funny how so much time had passed and he still knew her so well. Every nuance of her facial expressions and the way she held herself. What a joke, he thought. He was the one who should be angry and annoyed.

For a fleeting moment, he had had the thought that he was being a jerk. Knew he wasn't the only one hurting and been punishing her for too long. But it was hard to listen to the rational voice when it just hurt too much. Hurt that the reminder of how much he lost was constant.

"To get you to sit still long enough to talk? Yeah." Cadence's eyes dipped over his face. Barry looked away. "I mean, I know we're not together right now, but you didn't have to come up with an excuse to see me."

Barry tried his hardest not to snort. So she could joke about it. That was fine. She could do whatever she wanted. It was none of his business. Not anymore. Barry lowered his chin, a tactic to not look directly at her, and said, "I didn't think there was anything wrong with wanting to have some space." Cadence fell silent. Just as he knew she would. "That's what you wanted right?"

Cadence blew her hair back out of her eyes. A humorless smile came to her lips as she shook her head. He wasn't getting it. "I didn't say anything about wanting space, Barry. You were the one who ran as soon as the opportunity came."

Barry's cheeks flushed with mortification as he had to mentally relive the moment. Not that it wasn't all he thought about. His brain wouldn't let him forget it, running the moment she said 'no' to him over and over at warp speed. It burned in his memory, almost as much as each of his parents' deaths. It was the only good thing he could find about his powers being removed. Not having it play so much. (Though he wanted nothing more than to punch Music Meister in the face for taunting him with it).

"And you're still not going to give me the chance to explain why?" Cadence's question brought his attention once more. Barry didn't response. Cadence let out a frustrated grunt. Barry could see flames flicker in her eyes as she did so. Despite the circumstances, he felt his stomach drop. She wouldn't attack him, he knew that. But it still wasn't a good sign. "You know, your stubbornness is something a lot of people like about you, but it's also one of your more annoying qualities," she remarked.

A wry smile came to Barry's face. "That sounds very familiar." He jumped off the examining table, pulling up his hood as he went. Barry walked with a wide berth around her, heading towards the door to the medical bay. Through the doorway he could see Cisco and Brady leap towards the computers to pretend they weren't listening. At least Caitlin had the grace to blush as she buried her head in the nearest medical textbook she could fine…let alone it being upside down.

"Barry—"

"—Cade!" Barry stopped in his tracks. He clenched his hands. A drastic change from before; he was momentarily glad he didn't have his powers. Otherwise he would've rapidly quaked with anger. "Right now, we need to figure out why I don't have my powers. We need to find Music Meister, figure out who he is, and figure out how he got into my dream. I don't…" He briefly closed his eyes. "I can't talk about this. We said we'd find a way to keep our lives separate, right? Well, this is the time we need to make sure that line is hard drawn."

Cadence pressed her lips together in a thin line. "Fine," she conceded.

Barry left the medical bay. He stepped into the Cortex, rolling his eyes when he saw Cisco and Brady enthusiastically nodding to each other as Cisco said, "And then with this part of your suit—"

"—You don't have to pretend anymore," Barry said, voice dripping with irritation.

Cisco lifted an eyebrow, sitting up straight. Offense was clear on his face, plain as day. He gestured towards the computer screen with a wave of his hand. "We actually were talking about his suit," he said. Then, holding up his hand, he added, "Trust me, Barry, we have better things to talk about than you."

"Like, figuring out where this meta is you were talking about it," Caitlin agreed. She closed the book she was reading with a low thump, carefully putting it upright on the table beside her. She stated to pace. "This Music Meister. He didn't have to do much to get your powers and yet…he held off you and Supergirl."

"Without even having to lift a finger," Barry agreed. He noticed Cadence walk out of the medical bay and listen to the conversation. "It was just…he did this thing with his eyes and the next thing I knew, I was waking up on Cisco's floor with my powers gone."

"Could be stress," Caitlin suggested with a shrug. "A psychosomatic response to…everything that's been going on."

"Wouldn't the rest of us have lost our powers, too?" Cadence asked. "I mean, what with Alchemy and Savitar and Breathtaker…I think we're all under a lot of stress."

"Yeah, but…" Caitlin chewed her lower lip. It was obvious what she wanted to say, but wasn't saying out loud. That Barry'd lost even more. If there was anyone who had the excuse to be stressed, Barry certainly fit the bill. Though her own work on the Metahuman Encyclopedia wasn't working out too well and there was the matter of money missing from the grant Bruce Wayne had given them.

She looked apologetically to Barry, who nodded in response. Did everything short of saying 'it's okay'. His look conveyed it all.

"…What about Kara?" Brady piped up, nose wrinkling. He looked to his mother, who encouraged him with a nod. He smiled, sitting up a little straighter, glad to be taken seriously with the conversation. "If she was in the dream, too, and what happened to you happened to her, does that mean her powers are gone?"

"I don't know," Barry admitted with a shrug. Just because he saw it in the dream didn't mean it necessarily happened the way the dream worked out. With a sigh, Barry rubbed the back of his neck, starting to pace. Scratch that, the only thing worse than not having his powers was not having any answers. First with Alchemy and Savitar and now this. He couldn't catch a break.

"Well, if he's got Barry's powers, have you tried tracking his speed signatures?" Cadence suggested. "Just like how we tracked your cold signatures when you were freaking out about Killer Frost?"

Caitlin nodded. She nodded to her own computer screen, focused on Barry's DNA strand as it gently spun around. "So far I haven't found anything."

"Which is even more worrying than having it," Cisco pointed out.

"But…if he has Barry's powers, he has to be using them," Caitlin twisted her fingers. Her eyebrows came together, creating a wrinkle in her forehead. She chewed her lower lip. "Why else would he take them?"

"If I had the Flash's powers, I'd use them all the time," Brady offered. Barry gave him a disapproving glance, making Brady lower his head. "Sorry."

Barry closed his eyes, thinking back to what happened. The cities combined. He ran in circles. The Music Meister showed up, got him to fight. Did something with his eyes, stole his powers…"He can teleport," Barry spoke up, suddenly remembering. He frowned, trying to think clearly. "Or…or create breaches. It's very similar to if Cisco's and Cadence's powers could combine. It's hard to explain if you didn't see it, he could move fast and…well, we know he can get into people's dreams."

"So we're just supposed to start writing things down in our dream journals?" Cisco demanded. "Keep track to see if this Music Meister suddenly decides to show up? See if he's been giving us nightmares for as long as we could remember?" He lifted his finger. "And I don't like the name Music Meister."

"That's because you didn't come up with it yourself," Cadence pointed out.

"Well, I'd need to see why he'd be called that, it's never good if they name themselves."

Brady ignored him and said quietly, "Maybe he's been watching longer than we've thought."

Wouldn't that be their lucky? "No, I would've noticed this guy," Barry murmured. He certainly would have over the past couple of days. He had more than enough time on his hands to patrol the city. Any new meta that arrived would've immediately caught his attention. No. The way Music Meister spoke was too familiar. As if he knew everything about Barry's life without it having to be explained. Especially knowing Barry's identity without him having to say anything. There were too many coincidences for it to actually be a coincidence he realized. "Trust me, he's not someone you forget."

"Do you think he's someone Alchemy gave their powers to?" Cadence asked. All eyes turned to her. In turn, her gaze flickered over each of theirs. "You did say there was a potential that others got powers from him, since you didn't see a lot of them in Flashpoint. Like Frankie."

Barry tilted his head, gaze shifting to the ceiling as he thought. It wasn't inconceivable. Flashpoint was an entire other universe. There were so many people there who could have gotten powers they didn't know about. Just like on their Earth with the Particle Accelerator explosion. Had Alchemy had anything to do with it, he would've announced his presence straightaway. Alchemy couldn't keep his success to himself for too long, Savitar made sure of that.

"Whatever it is, I'll start looking," Cadence offered, pushing herself off the doorframe. Caitlin looked like she was about to protest, but Cadence continued. "The sooner we get an idea of where this…Music Meister is hiding, the better we can to figure out what he plans to do with Barry's and Kara's powers. I seriously doubt he took them just because he could." She teleported into her suit and re-appeared in the Cortex, pulling her goggles up over her eyes. "I'll let you know what I find."

"Wait!" Cisco's cry stopped her in her tracks. He pointed to the other side of the Cortex where a swirling breach was opening.

Barry exchanged a glance with his friends, who all held varying degrees of trepidation on their faces. It looked like a normal breach, but 'normal' was anything but in Central City. Especially with a meta who could breach or teleport faster than Barry could move. If he could travel to different dimensions—different worlds, including dreams—chances were he could travel to different Earths.

How unbelievable was it that he'd come back to finish the job of taking his powers?

What was better than beating a man at his own game with his own powers?

Barry held his breath as he watched the breach shake and swirl in front of them, growing as the seconds passed. Out the corner of his eye, he saw Brady straight arm as he pulled back on the ammo he'd threaded into his slingshot and Cadence flex her hands at her sides, flames licking their way up her arms. Barry's muscles twitched. Depression settled in his stomach once more, if it was a threat, he was going to do something, anything, to help.

Finally, the breach opened and J'onn, Winn, Alex, Kara, and Deity appeared. Barry started towards them, excitement replacing his trepidation, then stopped immediately once his eyes locked on Kara's. She looked back at him, sadness flowing through her baby blues.

Barry knew then that it hadn't all been a dream, like he'd hoped in the back of his mind.

His powers were gone, and hers were, too.

Before he knew it, he was across the room and bringing her into a hug. One mixed with emotions. He was glad to see her as always but at the same time their embrace was tainted with sadness by the loss of their powers.

"You feeling okay?" he asked quietly, probably only loud enough for him and Kara to hear. She nodded into his shoulder, but he could feel the aura of uncertainty radiating off her, much like with him.

"You?" Kara asked in response.

"About the same," Barry said. A sad smile came to his lips. He glanced around at the familiar faces. J'onn, Alex, and even Winn. All with varying degrees of emotion across their faces. Then he moved onto Deity who smiled quietly back at him. Despite the circumstances, he could tell she was glad to be back on Earth 1. Barry's eyes then dropped to the bag in her hand.

He hadn't intended it, but he couldn't help himself in suddenly panicking as he looked back over to Cade seeing she had the same look. Though at least had the grace to hide it a bit better. He turned back to the Supergirl Team, and while pointing to the bag, said, "She's not staying here again is she?"

"Rude," Deity said with a frown full of attitude. Barry smiled sheepishly in response.

"Sorry," he apologized.

"No. She's not staying. At least not any longer than the rest of us," Kara said as she placed her arm around her daughter's shoulders. Internally Barry sighed. With everything going on right now was not a good time to have Deity back. While it had been nice having her and for the most part she'd managed to take care of herself – excusing the free meals anyway – considering everything going on with him and Cadence and Savitar and Breathtaker, dropping Deity in the middle wasn't going to help matters.

"Okay. So, what is in the bag?"

"Christmas presents," Kara answered with her sunshine smile returning, the one Barry always associated with her, a Kara Danvers smile.

"Though after your bad welcome I'm thinking we might just keep yours," Deity said with an annoyed look to Barry. Barry quietly apologized once more. He really did feel bad. But at the same time, it was hardly the most pressing issue on his plate right now.

The last thing he wanted to think about was Christmas. The decorations were still up, mostly because he'd been too preoccupied to take them down. Normally he would've ran back during his long bouts of free time and take them down, but without his speed it'd take him a good half hour just to get home, never mind taking down decorations.

"What is this?!" Snapping from his thoughts, Barry turned to find Winn had moved around the Cortex and was now standing next to Cisco and Brady staring down. Barry quickly introduced the team to each other as they all walked to see what'd drawn Winn's ire.

"It's my suit," Brady spoke said with a grin. He leaned on the computer desk by Cisco, grinning with pride at what held his identity a secret from the public.

"Oh, god…it's hideous!" Barry's eyes widened when he saw the fire flash through Cisco's eyes. Cadence and Caitlin exchanged equally amused and surprised glances. The speedster quickly looked over to Kara who seemed equally alarmed. Barry gulped. Cisco took in a deep breath, pressed his lips together. "I mean, who designed this atrocity?"

"I did!" Cisco spoke up as he shot out of his seat, waving his hands madly about at the screen. "And it's not an atrocity. It's a work of art," Cisco said in defence of his work.

"A work of art by a first-year fashion student, maybe," Winn scoffed. He leaned forward to get a better look at the screen, face screwing up in disapproval. "I mean just look at this!" He waved his hand at the screen. "This is…this is all wrong."

"Oh boy," Cadence murmured, tapping her fingers against her lips.

"All wrong?" Cisco shouted in outrage. His body quaked with fury. People could threaten his city and his life, but they wouldn't make comments about his suits. "All wrong?!"

"Cisco," Caitlin started.

"Well, I mean, who wears capes?" Winn straightened and turned to Cisco, folding his arms. He smoothed down his tie and added with a small smirk. "Capes are ridiculous."

"Winn." Alex sighed.

"It's not a cape," Brady added. "It's a cloak."

"Hello!" Cisco waved his hand to Kara and Deity who were both in their suits, red and yellow capes gently floating around their legs.

"That's different! They need the capes to fly properly."

Cisco pointed a furious finger toward the eleven-year-old. "Brady can fly!" Brady made a low whistling sound and rolled his chair away from the two maverick superhero suit designers.

"How?" Winn demanded with a curious glare.

"Yeah, I wanted to know that, too," Deity added. She frowned, completely ignored by the two team engineers. Everyone else seemed to feel the same as they watched passively.

"He phases through the atoms in the air," Caitlin quickly supplied, hoping to get in and end the argument before it went any further. She didn't get that chance however as before she could go on to explain Brady's powers in more, depth, Winn had started to shout.

"Oh!" Winn laughed sarcastically. "Well, in that case,"—he abruptly stopped laughing—"This is still all wrong!" Winn leaned into the screen and motioned to the cape with his finger. "See this. See this here; far too long. Needs to be shortened."

"No, it doesn't!" Cisco snapped. His eyes blazed with fury, shifting over the design he'd spent so much time putting to create.

"And this hood is just bad! What if it falls off when he's out? Game over," Winn said, referring to Brady's identity.

Cisco turned his glare from the computer to Winn. "He has greasepaint to account for that!"

"Oh, sure. Just let me slap some grease on their faces," Winn said gesturing over to Kara and Deity who were both taken aback by Winn's passionate argument. They'd never seem him argue with someone like this before. It was a little unnatural. "That will cover up their identities."

"It worked for the Arrow, and he's doing just fine."

"Cisco—" now Barry tried to appease them, but was ignored as well.

"They wear glasses! That's practically the same thing!"

"No, no, no! The glasses are tinted to hide their true eye color and they make their eyes look bigger," Cisco's only response was to make a variety of flabbergasted noises. Noises Barry had only heard him make when he was truly angry and bewildered by someone's stupidity.

"That's just idiotic!" Cisco finally got out. "And what qualifies you to judge my work? What have you done? Made a female version of Superman and then done the same thing for Debby but turned her into a bumble bee."

"Black works with everything!" Winn cried out. He jabbed at the screen. "His whole suit is black!"

Cisco paused. "You got me there," he conceded. "And, besides, the color scheme may change. I'm currently working on some upgrades."

"Really? Where?"

"Down in my lab."

"Well, I better go down and fix it before you send the poor kid out there looking like some crappy CGI hero out of a Ryan Reynolds movie!" Winn followed Cisco as they left the Cortex, heading in the direction of his lab.

"You take that back my friend! My suits are far better than anything Ryan Reynolds has ever put on and that includes…" Cisco's shouting voice and Winn's then began to fade as the two stomped off down the corridor, leaving behind two very confused teams that were all bewildered.

"Does anyone else feel like their heads just exploded?" Barry asked, only to be met by an agreeing hum from the room. "Alright then," he sighed. He and Kara might have lost their powers to some musical nut job, but at least Cisco had made a new frenemy and Brady was getting a new suit.

Anything that'd give them the upper hand.

"Don't worry, with Winn around that's a normal occurrence," Alex joked. She sucked in a deep breath, looking around the Cortex. "So, this is the famous STAR Labs, I've heard all about." She nodded appreciatively. "It's nice."

"Nice isn't the word we'd use," Caitlin said.

Deity snorted humorously. "There's a big hole in the roof," she pointed out with a grin.

"That's just so people think STAR Labs isn't being worked out of," Brady said.

"Other than HR's plan to turn it into a museum, anyway," Cadence said. She ruffled Brady's hair as she moved by him. "I'm going to head out. The sooner I go, the sooner we'll find this guy."

"Wait! Wait!" Kara held up her hands. She bent and rustled through the bag by her feet. Finally, she produced a long, flat box and passed it to Cadence. "This is for you two," She said. "I know it's kind of lame, but I saw it and immediately thought of you." She clasped her hands together, tucking them under her chin as she waited for their response.

Sighing, Barry moved to Cadence's side. He was at least curious to know what it was. No matter what was going on, a present was a present, Christmas was still his favorite time of year…Barry's face screwed up when Cadence finished tearing off the wrapping and opened the box to reveal red and white swatches of cotton inside. Upon further examination, Barry saw monograms of their initials printed on the front.

"It's his and hers towels!" Kara squealed as soon as the gift was revealed. She started to bounce on her toes, the curls in her hair bouncing along with her movements. "Deity said your new place is amazing and since you only just moved in, I thought it'd be a good gift. And…" she rocked back and forth. "A good excuse to see it?"

Her words were obviously a prompt for an invitation, but Barry found he couldn't focus on the impending invitation. No, he could only focus on the mounting tension throughout the Cortex. Even Caitlin and Brady busied themselves with anything that'd keep them from joining the conversation. J'onn and Alex continued to stroll around the Cortex, casting a critical gaze over everything. Deity, on the other hand, tilted her head as she watched the two. Beside him, Barry felt heat radiate from Cadence—knowing it was from embarrassment rather than anger.

Kara's eyes shifted over her friends' faces, her own smile slowly fading. "Uh…is everything okay?" She asked. "Do you not like it? It's the wrong color, isn't it? You know, I wanted to get a higher thread count because there were more color options but I thought you'd like the whole red and gold theme going on with it."

Barry and Cadence exchanged a glance, prompting Cadence to clear her throat and quickly put the towels back in the box, of which she thrust into Barry's hands. "It's great, Kara," she said flatly. "Thanks." She pulled her goggles back up over her eyes. "I'm going on patrol."

"Oh, uh, okay," Kara replied. Her eyes shifted. "I'll go with, um…" her face fell. Then, sucking in a deep breath through her nose, she rolled her shoulders back. "Anything I can do to help?"

"You can help me monitor things over here," Caitlin offered, with a tilt of her head to the computer systems.

"Okay. Hey!" Kara looked around. "Where are HR and Jesse? And?" She thought for a moment, trying to remember the name of the other speedster she'd only briefly met. "Wally?"

"HR's on vacation," Barry explained. Which was probably one of the brightest side of their current situation. "Jesse went back to Earth-2 to visit her dad. And Wally's…" he ran a hand through his hair, trying to remember. Was he always this slow or was it that his powers aided in his memory? "Wally's hanging out with Iris and Joe, I don't…he doesn't need to be here until things get bad."

"And this isn't bad?" Deity asked. Barry glanced at her, turning his gaze to the ceiling in frustration. That was happening a lot lately. "Your powers are gone, so are mom's. How can it get any worse?"

"It'll only be worse if we don't find this guy," Cadence reminded her. "And we'll find him." She turned to leave.

"Be careful," Barry said to her. He couldn't stop himself before the words slipped out.

Cadence looked at him. "I always am." With that, she teleported from the Cortex.

* * *

The Music Meister whistled to himself as he appeared on the outskirts of Central City. He shoved his hands into the pockets of his slacks and looked around. So many people milling about, he noted. So many happy looking people. But were they really happy? It didn't seem like this Earth was as good as the others in terms of happiness in social settings.

Music Meister tilted his head, eyes scanning the crowd. Where were the couples? No one seemed to be in that lovey-dovey state they all deserved. "Maybe they need a little push," he murmured. A low sound of triumph escaped him when he saw a nervous couple standing near each other. Looking around for a moment, ensuring the coast was clear, Music Meister pressed his lips together and blew as hard as he could.

A frosty wind kicked up that thrust the young couple together. The woman looked over her shoulder, whole body racked with shivers, as she stepped closer to the man. The man grinned, closed the gap between them, and rubbed his hands up and down the woman's arms, making her smile as well.

"That was fun," Music Meister remarked. He started to stroll once more. "I wonder who else I can help." He picked up where he left off, whistling his tune as he looked around for those he could help. A young gay couple caught his attention, they appeared to be having some sort of a spat. "Oh, no, no, no, we can't have that." Music Meister lifted his foot and when he stepped down, he tapped into The Flash's speed to find the nearest florist, grab a bouquet of roses, and run it back, placing it into one of the man's hands.

His companion swooned and leaned over, giving his partner a kiss. Music Meister smiled and nodded. Dusting off his hands, he stretched his arms in front of him. His eyes and fingertips crackled with electricity. "Let's see what else these powers can do." He started to run, then stopped, hearing a loud growl. "Oh, whoa! I guess I'm hungrier than I thought. What's good to eat around here?"

Music Meister streaked up and down the streets, leaving a trail of lightning behind him, until he stumbled upon CC Jitters. He skidded to a stop then walked inside. Glancing over the menu, his eyes lit up at the themed drinks, he had to go with a 'Flash' of course, and looked around, waiting for his name to be called.

Yes, it was the right place. All he had to do was be patient.

"Max Masters?" The barista called.

Music Meister held up his hand, flashing a charming smile. "That's me." He sauntered to the counter and picked up the steaming to-go cup. He raised it to his nose, closing his eyes as he sniffed. "There's nothing better than coffee. I wish it was something we had where I'm from. And, hey, what did you think of the name I came up with here? Kind of has a ring to it, don't you think?"

The barista ignored him, calling out the next order. Music Meister shrugged and walked to a nearby table and sat down. He angled himself to directly face the doorway of the coffee shop and looked at his watch.

Not much longer.

* * *

"So…" Deity planted her feet firmly on the ground, stopping her chair in its rapid rotations. She thought there'd at least be something interesting to do around STAR Labs while waiting for a sign of the Music Meister. Truthfully, she wanted to check out a few more of the rooms, maybe get a run on Barry's Cosmic Treadmill, but it didn't look like that was going to happen.

Brady seemed to have the same idea as he quickly commandeered a computer to watch YouTube videos. She still needed to catch up on what was popular, her Netflix profile already had a queue filled with everything that everyone else seemed to have been born knowing. Brady glanced at her when she spoke.

"What's going on with Barry and Cade? They seem to be mad at each other."

Sighing, Brady pushed back from the computer. "Um…" He sucked his lips into his mouth, making a face. "I don't know if I can say."

"It's not like it's a secret," Deity said. She tossed her head back towards the Cortex. "The air around them is going to explode the moment someone says something wrong. Even Winn was smart enough not to say anything and that's saying something." She laughed at her own joke, knowing how the IT expert managed to cram both his feet into his mouth at the best of times. "Then again, he did seem a bit preoccupied with your suit."

"Yeah, he seemed really opinionated," Brady said with a roll of his eyes.

Deity grinned. "Don't get between Winn and his suits." Brady snorted. Deity smacked him on the knee. "Don't change the subject, what happened?"

Brady thought for a moment. "I just didn't know if my mom wanted to say anything. But…Barry asked her to marry him,"—Deity's eyes immediately lit up—"but she said 'no'." Deity's face fell again. "I know. And now unless it has to do with meta stuff, Barry doesn't really want to talk to her and mom is trying to explain why she said no, but he won't listen and…" he waved a hand. "It's a whole thing."

Deity looked like she didn't understand. She tilted her head, eyes narrowing, thinking about her friends. Even when they were on her Earth with their memories wiped, she could see there was something between them. Anyone could. It didn't make sense they couldn't make things work. They must've been miserable, she realized. "Why'd she say 'no'?"

Brady hesitated then explained, figuring it was better to say some of it and leave the actual explanation to his mom. She may get mad, but at least it was keeping her from being bombarded with them. (And it'd keep Barry from stammering his way through an answer). "She says because he never talked to her about it. And that he was rushing into things."

"How do you not talk about getting married?"

Brady shrugged again. "That's what mom said."

Deity pressed her hands to her knees and leaned forward. "Well, what do you think? Last time I was here, you were practically bursting at the seams to have Barry as your dad."

"Step-dad," Brady corrected her. He'd grown very close to Ryder over the last year and was as glad to have him in his life as he was with Barry. "I already have a dad. But they're both cool." Brady blew a raspberry. "Mom explained it to me, I get why she said 'no'. It sucks, but I get it."

"Do you think they'll get back together?"

"I don't know. I asked them, and they said they don't know. They say it's complicated." Brady ran a hand through his hair, eyebrows coming together. "And I thought things with Conner and Leah were complicated." He noticed Deity's confusion and clarified. "My best friends, they're dating. Sort of."

"Oh!" Deity nodded. She thought, maybe, they were a little young. But, maybe that sort of thing worked differently on Earth. "My best friends used to date, too. They broke up."

"Why?"

Deity suddenly looked sad. She'd really missed a lot from her time away. As if her time on War World had been a vacation. Deity cringed at the thought, the memories of the time she'd spent with the other Hybrids. Whom she thought were her friends, her little family. "Just weren't compatible I guess. They're still good friends though," she finally said. "And anyway, aren't you guys a little young to be dating?" She teased.

Brady frowned, a pink hue lightly coming to his cheeks. "No!"

"So, do you have a girlfriend?"

"Ugh." Brady's cheeks darkened even further. He rubbed his neck and slouched down in his seat. "Not really."

"No one you're interested in, at all? I'm sure there are plenty of cute girls at your school."

"Not that I've noticed." Brady's eyes shifted to the side and he pointedly turned his chair to face the computer. His YouTube video had ended, switching to a live one instead. A news report slowly shuttled in.

"We've got him!" Cisco called out. He and Winn had abandoned their supersuit argument—rather Caitlin forced them to stop once their shouting could be heard up to the Cortex—and aided the others in their search for the Music Meister within Central City. Once he shouted out, everyone moved in to watch the monitors as Cisco brought up the security footage retrieved from his metahuman app. It was from outside Central City's bank where Music Meister was now stood, grinning away smugly.

"Not that he's trying to hide all that much," Caitlin pointed out as she stood next to Cisco watching footage as Music Meister ignited his new heat vision and blasted the doors to the bank clean off.

"Alright, me and Debby will head out and deal with this," Cadence said.

Brady sat up straight. "What about me?" He asked.

"No, way." Cadence said sharply as she fixed her son with a look. "This guy's got both Barry and Kara's powers. I don't want you near anyone like that it's too risky. If he gets your powers too, he'll be invincible. Me and Debby can handle this."

"Are you sure?" Caitlin asked with a concerned look to her friend.

"Sure." Cadence grinned. "I've fought Barry loads of times."

"Except it isn't just Barry's powers you're dealing with," Alex argued as she stepped forward. "This guy has Kara's powers too."

"Why do you think I'm taking Deity?" Cadence asked, stating it as if it was obvious. The two hadn't been getting along as well as Kara had hoped. Alex still seemed a little sour about what had happened way back when Barry and Cade first arrived, and Cadence had snapped at Kara. Though Kara had quickly moved on, Alex seemed less inclined and after Deity's little get away to Earth-1 Alex's mood on the subject of Cadence hadn't improved.

"You should be taking everyone," Alex snapped back.

"We can handle it. I have a plan."

"Seriously?" Deity, Brady and Cisco all spoke up at once before they were each silenced individually by Cadence's glare.

"What's your plan then, Cade?" Barry asked in a level tone.

"Simple," Cadence said before pulling out one of her guns. She opened the clip at the base to reveal a dim green glow to her bullets.

"Kryptonite!" Alex shouted in outrage, making the team jump. J'onn was the only one who stood firm. His eyes flickered from the bullets to Alex's, Kara's, and Deity's faces. "You have kryptonite and you claim to be friends of my sister!" Alex had begun to advance but Deity and J'onn quickly stepped in to hold her back before she could start a fight. Thankfully Kara was across the room with Winn, safely out of the range of the radiation.

"It's only for emergencies. Like this one. So, me and Deity will just go over there, she'll distract and then I'll knocking him down with this," Cadence explained as she slid the clip back into the gun. Then she looked at Barry and added snarkily, "And don't worry, I won't kill him. Just injure him enough so I can get him back here and into the pipeline."

"I'm not having my niece go out anywhere with you and a gun full of kryptonite," Alex growled before Deity tightened her hold on her aunt, forcing her to look over to her.

"Aunt Alex, trust me. I know these people, they're my friends and Cade would never hurt me or Mom. You I'm not too sure about at the moment. But she's on our side."

Alex trusted Deity. She didn't trust Cadence, even if the rest her family did. She couldn't trust anyone that had the power to kill her sister or niece. If anything were to happen to them…she didn't want to think about how that could break her down. With one last final defiant glare to Cadence, Alex shrugged off Deity and J'onn and walked over to join her sister and Winn.

"Come on, let's go," Cadence said as she pulled on her googles and held out her hand for Deity. The teenager glanced over at her mother and aunt. She quickly sent them a reassuring smile, then took Cade's hand before vanishing in a puff of smoke.

Next thing she knew they were outside the bank, watching as Music Meister sauntered on out with a bag full of money slung over his shoulder. He was whistling away, happy as could be until he spotted the two heroes and stopped skipping. A Cheshire-cat grin formed on his face.

"Oh! Hello, friends!" Music Meister cried out in delight as he waved with his free hand. Cadence and Deity looked to each other with matching frowns before homing in on the villain once more.

"Sorry, how rude." He held out his hand, shaking an invisible hand in front of him. "I'm the Music Meister." He snapped back his hand, holding it up. "Don't bother introducing yourselves, I know all about you both from your partners' dreams," he explained all while grinning. Music Meister glanced them over like he would an open book before slamming it shut out of boredom. He dropped the sack of money and did a few minor stretches before getting into a mock fighting stance.

"Now this is the part where we fight, right?" he asked with a tease.

"Keep him busy while I look for the shot," Cadence muttered lowly to Deity. Once she nodded to show she had heard her, Cadence teleported, and Deity shot forwards, coming to a stop before Music Meister. She swung and Music Meister blocked with the strength of a Kryptonian, catching Deity off guard momentarily.

"Nice try, kiddo," Music Meister said with a smug wink before he shoved Deity back with a single push of the hand.

Deity stumbled back but Music Meister made a mistake by advancing on her. Then using her momentum, Deity let herself fall. She reached back with her arms, arching her back inwards. Her hands touched down and then she flipped with ease thanks to her flight ability and her legs came up catching Music Meister from beneath his chin.

The villain grunted in pain, running his hand across his jaw as he took two steps back while Deity landed back on her hands and knees. Then, lifting her head, her eyes turned bright yellow before two beams of light shot from her eyes. A smirk from Music Meister before he vanished from sight and Deity's energy vision hit the bank wall. She blinked in astonishment before standing up.

"Over here!" Deity heard from behind before she turned to face the Music Meister. Another smug smile as he waved his fingers towards her, lightning crackling as it passed between them.

Deity lunged at him but then he moved fast, faster than either she or Kara could move, leaving behind a trail of yellow lightning. Deity watched him go but wasn't fast enough to stop him as he grabbed her leg with Barry's speed before throwing her into the bank wall with Kara's strength.

"Hate this guy," Deity grumbled as she fell from the crater she'd left in the wall, falling onto her hands and knees as Music Meister clapped his hands from across the street.

"Not bad, Deity Ann. Not bad. But you're going to have to stop holding back if you're going to compete with me." So he knew about her, about War World, or least as much as Kara did. Why else would he be making remarks like that and be so smug about it.

A shot sudden then rang out through the quiet street of Central City and Music Meister twisted to the side, clutching his now bleed shoulder. A second shot and he dropped to his knees, holding back a scream of pain through a clenched jaw. It was then Deity spotted Cadence, making her way towards Music Meister with gun in hand. When he moved to get up, she fire a third shot into his upper back and he dropped.

From there she closed in on him, kicking him onto his back once she was close enough. "Say night, night," Cadence said smugly as she stood over a weakened Music Meister with her gun trained on him.

Suddenly Music Meister's eyes shot open and all pain vanished from his face. "Not quite," he said smugly. Cadence pulled the trigger, firing another shot but Music Meister was gone in a flash of lightning before the bullet even left the chamber.

"Damn it," Cadence cursed as she lowered her gun, searching around for Music Meister as Deity sped over to her side, watching her back as Cadence searched.

"Over here!" Music Meister called from across the street. Cadence swiftly turned, Deity ducking behind her as Cadence pulled out her second pistol and opened fire. She unloaded both guns, firing every Kryptonite bullet she had. And yet Music Meister just stood there, grinning away.

"Did you shoot him?" Deity asked as she peered out from behind Cadence, seeing their enemy still standing.

"I did…" Cadence said slowly as she lowered her guns and Music Meister began to chuckle. He then lifted his closed fists and opened them up to reveal all the kryptonite bullets in his palms. The radiation quickly took effect, weakening Deity. She took a step back and Cade followed, making sure to keep herself between Music Meister and the teenage girl. She couldn't work it out, how was the kryptonite not causing Music Meister to drop down on the floor because of Kara's powers. His cells should have been torn apart by the radiation.

"Let me help you out there, Flare. Central City's Dancing Flame," Music Meister said charmingly as he threw the bullets over his shoulder and out of sight before dusting off his hands. "You thought that because I had Supergirl's powers, I'd be weakened by the Kryptonite. Good theory, and true for the most part. But thanks to your lovely boyfriend's powers, my cells are healing so fast, I don't even feel the effects of the kryptonite. All it's done has taken away those Kryptonian powers for a little while. But I've still got the speed." On cue, lightning flashed through his eyes, just like it had through Barry's.

Except now that he didn't have Kara's powers, he no longer had the strength to hold of Cadence. She was stronger than Barry was physically and during many of their sparing sessions she'd been able to overpower him. Now she had the advantage over Music Meister.

She couldn't waste any time, or wait for Deity's powers to return. The longer she waited, the stronger Music Meister got. Cadence charged forwards, making it a few steps before she teleported up above Music Meister. Then with the advantage of the height, Cadence unloaded a stream of fire down on the cosmic being. But instead of sending him flying backwards like she'd expected her stood his ground, the flames surrounding him while he bathed in them. Cadence frowned as she touched down before Music Meister, letting the flames in her hands die out. As they did so, the flames around Music Meister, and that was when Cadence saw it. He was vibrating, like Eobard did, his whole body a blur as sparks of yellow lightning popped up here and there.

He'd been absorbing her flames, using the familiar elements to charge himself. But how could he know how to do that? It had taken Barry and her almost a year just to get the basics of their power combo down and now Music Meister had it working for him without Cadence ever realizing. She stared in frustrated awe as Music Meister stopped vibrating, his ever present smug smile clearing.

"Thanks for the boost," he said pleasantly before then sending her flying with a burst of speed and a fast punch.

"Cade!" Deity shouted out as she watched her friend skid across the road, the air knocked out of her now. The teenager then turned her attention on Music Meister as she felt her powers return. Letting the familiar yellow light consume her fist she held it back and got ready to fly at him when sudden he was by her side, holding her fist in place.

"Careful, now little Deity. You could really hurt someone with that…oh, wait. You already have." Deity snarled at that remark and refused to give in to his mind games. She swung her other fist at him, but he caught it as easily as if it was a small bouncy ball.

With a grunt of effort, Deity tried to pull away, but Music Meister held on with his renewed Kryptonian strength while Deity's hands continued to shine from within his fists. Then a feeling hit Deity, a feeling she'd experience several times now and could identify in an instantly. The feeling she was charging up a Kryptonian. But it wasn't of her own free will, it was like the solar energy from within her was being pulled out, were as usually Deity felt like she was pushing it out. Furthermore, it was draining her like when she'd first used the ability. She couldn't stop and was giving Music Meister everything she had.

"What are you doing?" Deity asked as weakness took over and the golden glow she'd seen around Kara and others now appeared around Music Meister.

"I'm an all-powerful cosmic being. You really think I couldn't work out how to drain you myself," Music Meister said as Deity felt her legs weak and begin to shake.

She'd lost to much energy, she was going to fall. Or rather she would have had Music Meister not insisted on holding onto her while he continued to drain her dry. Then, her eyes lids began to flutter and before long she had passed out. Her body went limp and fell into Music Meister's arms, who gracefully caught her, now holding her in damsel in distress style. He smiled down as Deity's head tipped back, her long brunette hair dangling down as if she were Rapunzel, only paler as the color left her checks.

"Sweet dreams little Hybrid," Music Meister said smugly as he watched the teenager's chest rise and fall slowly. If he wanted to, he could kill her know, but he'd made his point. Now that he had the Flash and Supergirl's powers, as well as a top off thanks to their partners, there was no one who could stop him.

"Put her down!" The rough voice spiked Music Meister's intrigue and he turned around, smiling when he saw who'd joined the party.

"Well, if it isn't the hero with the school boy crush?" Music Meister teased as his eyes narrowed on Brady, who held his slingshot with ammunition already loaded in. "Mom and Dad finally let you out to play have they?" he mocked as he tilted his head to the side. His eyes started to become ringed with light once more. "Well, let's play."

* * *

 **A/N:** Oooh, so what did you think? There's more to come with the next chapter. And let me tell you, writing the Music Meister is so unbelievably fun. I may make a story where he's a bigger character, lol. Don't forget, this crossover is co-written by me and _PowerHero432_ so if you want to see more with Kara/Supergirl and Deity, check out the stories on his profile.

 **Cheers,**

 **-Riley**

 **Review Replies**

 **Ethan:** So far, though this is going to be made a point in the next story, Flash and Flare aren't really treated as celebrities compared to the 'myth' of Central City. At some point it's going to bite them and they won't have a chance to ignore. Then Cade/Flare will get her hot chocolate drink at Jitters. Lol. Clark and Batman aren't going to be super huge figures in this series, but they do pop in and out every now and then. So since Batwoman will be part of the crossover for season 5, it'll have to work up to something.

 **yummers:** Yeah, they do miss each other. And I'm aware Barry's pretty much acting like a jerk, but it'll stand to reason once the scene is shown.

 **PowerHero432:** Yeah, I feel bad for both of them (despite writing it this way, lol) but I feel more for Barry, only because I know the reason why he's turning into a bit of a jerk about the whole thing.

 **DarkHelm142:** Well, I hope the changes continue to keep things entertaining as they go on. Trust me, sometimes that can be equally the most difficult and rewarding part of all this.


	29. Strike A Pose (3)

**29**

 _Strike A Pose_

* * *

Releasing the elastic of the slingshot, Brady let loose the piece of ammo he had aimed at Music Meister. The man was then away in a flash of lightning and the piece of ammo flew through nothing. Figures. He wouldn't stand still long enough to get an idea of what sort of power he'd shoot out. Music Meister clearly was having too much fun with Barry's and Kara's powers.

Acting fast, Brady flipped his slingshot into its bow staff mode and began to circle, waiting for a sign of Music Meister. He got an early warning from the gust of wind coming up behind him and swung accordingly. He'd experienced Barry coming and going so often, he'd almost developed a sixth sense for it. Much like others being able to sense a storm coming.

Brady was halfway through his arch of trajectory when his body jarred to a stop. The motion caused him to loosen his grip on the staff, just to stay standing, and next thing he knew it was whisked from his hands. A hard yank that reverberated in his shoulders, his shoulder joints screaming in pain from the sudden and harsh movement.

Brady looked up just as his staff landed at the far end of the street. Then his gaze shifted back to the man who stood an inch or two from him, grinning away. He wasn't that much taller than him, but Brady still had to tilt his head back look up the smug face above him.

"That all you got big man? Over a year of training for that?" Music Meister sighed dramatically as he stepped back giving Brady room to act. "I mean come on! Where's the Shadowhunter that took on Metallo or helped stop the Meta-apocalypse? Geomancer?! 'Cause if you're not him, then you might as well send out the Breacher and the Ice Queen." A hand shot up to cover his mouth, the tips of three fingers resting on his lips. "Oops, sorry. Is that a touch subject?"

Brady glared from beneath his hood, readying himself as he began to build up the energy he needed for his attack. "Don't talk about my friends like that," snarled the young boy before unleashing a ball of black energy right into Music Meister's chest. The force of the blow sent him into a nearby lamp post. The post then gave way to Music Meister and his strength, snapping like a tooth pick. The blow smacked him into a building before he dropped to the sidewalk with the broken post.

"Were you always able to do that?" Brady looked over to see Deity leaning on her arms, holding herself up as she lay on the street. Brady smiled. She appeared to be getting back to normal. He then caught sight of his mother, leaning against a wall as she finished healing off. Then their eyes connected, and within seconds she was by his side.

"You need to get out of here right now." Brady had been ordered by his mom before. He'd been ordered to tidy his room, do his homework, and clean the dishes after a bit of procrastination on it. But he couldn't remember the last time he'd been told to leave or run. Not since his powers started developing at the very least.

"What?" Brady gaped in pure confusion. Cadence practically ignored him and turned to Deity.

"Are you good to get him out of here?"

"Just give me a sec-"

"We don't have a second," Cadence snapped as Deity climbed up to her feet, Brady moved to assist her, seeing her struggle. He hadn't seen her so weak before. He'd heard about her ability to power up Kryptonians from his mom and Barry but now he was seeing what really happened when they used it. Even his mom didn't look as bad when she and Barry combined forces.

Brady opened his mouth to speak, about to calm his mother down when they heard a groan. Music Meister was back on his feet, rubbing his head. He groaned painfully, similar to that of a child with a tummy ache.

"Take Deity and get out of here," Cadence ordered once more as she began to move towards Music Meister.

"But Mom-"

"I said go!" Cadence snapped breaking into a dead-sprint towards Music Meister.

But Brady didn't run. Instead he held Deity, her arm wrapped around his shoulders, and both watched Cadence as she threw her arms out to her sides. Two streams of fire erupted before suddenly cutting off at the end, as they extended to well over a meter in length. The flames then morphed into what Brady recognized as swords and he saw Cadence's feet begin to glow as her speed increased. Then with a burst of fire from her feet, like a rocket, she blasted into the air. Her arms joined above her head, as did the two swords, and the flames skyrocketed into biggest flame sword Brady had ever seen his mother use. She brought down her arms as she fell towards the ground and the flames threatened to slice the building in two before they vanished from the sky.

Next thing Brady knew, his mother was on the ground, Music Meister standing over her. Seemingly sound asleep. "Mom!" Brady called out, but she didn't move.

"Brady…Move!" Before Brady could he found himself being shoved aside by Deity as Music Meister came up to them in another flash.

His fist in pre-swing as he stopped, only to then collide with Deity and send her off into a nearby car. Brady once again prepared to use another shadow ball but found his wrists in the Meister's grasp before he could. Instinct then kicked in before his training and Brady phased out of Music Meister's grasp only to then be blown down by a harsh gust of wind. It had been the Meister, only he'd just breathed out like Brady did when he was tired.

"Quite the bag of tricks you got there," declared Music Meister as he crouched down next to Brady. "Mind if I borrow some?"

Brady went to phase but found himself sudden frozen, hypnotized by the man's eyes as subtle waves of blue passed over his irises. "I think it's someone's bed time." Brady struggled to keep from falling into Music Meister's soothing voice. He was overcome with the need to sleep suddenly. Much like when he was a young child trying and failing to stay up on New Year's, easily drifting away before the clock struck twelve.

"Yeah, yours." Music Mesiter broke his connection with Brady, ready to steal his powers, only to find the street post he'd crashed into being swung directly at him. He was so delightfully surprised that he didn't think to move and the post hit him straight on, sending him flying like a baseball into the distance.

The clattering of the street light followed as Brady found himself pulled into a sitting up position, his head resting against his mother's lap. "Brady. Brady are you okay?" Cadence quick asked, brushing her son's hair from his face as his dazed eyes looked back up at her.

Brady yawned quietly. He reached up a hand to rub the fatigue from his eyes. "I think I'm a little old for you to be carrying me…" Brady yawned out, his mother's laugh waking him up ever so slightly.

* * *

Music Meister never came back to the fight after his slam to the face. Cadence suspected it was by choice. She knew her own strength and there was no way she would have been able to send someone with Kryptonian strength flying that far. Far enough. But not that far. It had been like something out of a cartoon, where he just flew off as if gravity barely applied to his form. She was surprised a long whistle didn't accompany his trajectory before the sound of an almighty slam of his body hitting the ground.

There was little doubt that had been deliberate, that the Music Meister had been putting it on as part of a show. Throughout the fight he showed he was having a bit too much fun with the whole thing. To the point he nearly cackled with glee each time he saw a glimpse of their powers. With the flight ability he stole from Kara, he probably continued the flight path Cadence had started him on when she hit him with the street post.

Of course, that hadn't stopped Cadence from worrying as she tried to hold Brady up and look for Deity at the same time. Like it or not, her son wasn't as young, short, or light as he used to be. (No matter how many times she waved off his moments of falling onto her of wanting to be held by saying he was 'too heavy' and he'd counter with 'you can pick up a car'). He was growing up, though apparently not quickly enough, since he still needed to lean on his mother.

Then again, he was only eleven, she should give him a break for that.

After finding and retrieving Deity, Cadence took them back to STAR Labs, landing in a heap on the floor after a puff of smoke. Typically, she could land on her feet, or in what Cisco dubbed a 'superhero kneel' but typically she didn't carry two other people with her as she went.

"How is everyone?" Caitlin asked as she descended on the group, like the caring friend and doctor she was.

Cadence offered a smile to her best friend as Caitlin helped her up. Even without that short movement, Caitlin's eyes roved over Cadence with a keen eye, looking for any sign of injury. Alex appeared to be doing the same for Deity, as Kara and Win crowded around her, and Barry and Cisco were equally as quick to help Brady.

"I've had worse fights," Cadence sighed, stretching as Caitlin moved to let her stand on her own.

"That have had better results," Barry pointed out. Cadence fought the urge to glare at him for the very unhelpful remark. Instead, she walked over to check on Brady who had been forced into a chair, still yawning slightly.

"He's got a point," Cisco pointed out. This time, it drew the ire of Cadence's frustrated glance.

Caitlin immediately jumped in before anyone could start arguing. Either she was able to sense the temperature in the air grow around her friend or else she was sensitive to the dire situation they were in. "So, we've a had a plan that didn't work out. It at least gave us more of an idea of what Music Meister. wants to do."

"How do you figure?" J'onn asked, eyeing her closely.

Caitlin swallowed hard, suddenly feeling all eyes turn to her. "Well, uh, we know he's not trying to rob any banks for the money. He's not trying to steal any cars. So his motivations aren't material-driven. And if he was trying to get any revenge on Barry or Kara, he'd be trying to find them even without their powers." She shrugged. "That gives us a few ideas of what he's not doing, thus giving us a better idea of what it is he is doing."

"Which is?" Winn prompted.

Caitlin tapped her cheek with her fingers. "I'm not sure yet." Barry and Kara exchanged disappointed glances while Alex shook her head. "But we'll figure it out." She cast the de-powered superheroes a meaningful glance. "I promise we'll get your powers back."

"Thanks, Caitlin," Kara said quietly. She sighed heavily, folding her arms over her chest. In moment's like that, when it seemed that there was nothing that could be done, she'd take off and start flying. Now she was grounded. In more ways than one.

Cadence then turned her attention back to Brady. A stern, motherly expression came to her eyes as she reached up to pull down her goggles. Brady's lower jaw moved to the side and he looked away, tapping his fingertips together. "Mind telling me what you were doing out there?" Cadence folded her arms, looking at him closely. "'Cause I'm pretty sure I told you to stay behind."

"But I helped," Brady began to argue, flipping off his hood. Unfortunately, his pointed was undermined by the sudden croak in his voice. His checks turned a mild red, as if someone had turned on a lightbulb inside his mouth, embarrassment forcing him to lower his head.

Cadence allowed herself a small smile, shaking her head. She knew Brady helped and was more than proud of it. She wasn't telling him he shouldn't have gone just because he was her son. No, she thought he should be out in the field more often. It was the bigger picture he wasn't grasping. "Doesn't matter, you shouldn't have been out there."

"Things weren't going well, Cade," Caitlin said gently. She bobbed her head, ringlets bouncing around her face. "You needed help."

"It was a hard judgement call we had to make," Cisco added.

Cadence turned her gaze to her friends. "Was it your judgement?" She asked pointedly. Caitlin and Cisco exchanged a glance. She tilted her head in the opposite direction. "Or Barry's?"

Barry shook his head. "Cade, I'm sorry, but I had to make the call, he needed to be out there." Cadence opened his mouth but he quickly combatted her unsaid offense with, "I know you want him to be safe—"

"—That has nothing to do with it," Cadence swiftly defended herself. She pointed at him. "Because if that were the case, you'd try to keep him safe, too, and he wouldn't have gone." Even Brady had to silently agree it was true. Barry's face twitched, hurt from the accusation. "This guy stole your powers, Barry."

"I know, that."

"-And you think it's going to help anyone if he steals Brady's too? I don't know if you've noticed, but Brady has the capability of being a strong meta because he's invulnerable. If he works hard enough nothing can hurt him." It was one of the things about his powers she liked the most. She didn't have to worry about him. The part she liked the least was him constantly walking through walls like Casper-the-freaking-friendly-ghost. "He can be unstoppable. Do you want Music Meister to have that ability?" Barry pressed his lips together. "But I guess that doesn't matter now, you made the call. I mean, it is 'Team Flash', right?"

Silence hung between Team Flash as Cadence silently dared him to prove her wrong. As for team Supergirl, they were all staying well out of the argument. Mostly due to stunned confusion. Four of them hiding out in the corner next to the suit mannequins while J'onn stood by himself across the room, working to figure out what Caitlin had been on to.

But Kara, in particular, was looking back and forth between Barry and Cadence. They were supposed to be a team, best friends, partners in every sense of the word… Even when they didn't agree over how to deal with Ragdoll last time they were in Central City the arguing never got this bad. This was…different. Something happened with them.

Barry took in a deep breath and ran a hand through his hair to steady himself. "Look," Barry started.

"Don't 'look' me," Cadence interrupted. "I already know what you're going to say."

Barry's lips pursed. His eyes flashed. Even without his powers there was a storm brewing in his eyes. His chest rose and fell with each deep breath he took, working to steady himself. He hadn't let her say much in her own explanation, now must've been a sense of karma back at him. Some sort of karmic revenge that was finally starting to come to a head.

"What am I going to say?" Barry asked, finally managing to keep himself steady. Able to speak.

"The same thing you always do, Barry. That we're a team. That we have to trust each other. That we have to rely on each other. And that sometimes it means someone's got to make tough decisions when the time comes. And the rest of us just have to follow along with it and support those decisions all because you're the leader." She turned back to Brady, who's eyes widened at seeing he hadn't been forgotten. Barry's question brought her back once more.

"Are you saying I don't support you?" He asked.

"You said it, not me."

Barry's eyes widened while Cisco and Winn both 'oohed' beneath their breath. Brady even grimaced before getting up from his seat and slowly inched his way toward Caitlin. Anything to be away from drawing his mother's ire. Or fire. Whichever was less painful.

"When I have I not supported you?" Barry snapped. His voice was loud, angry that she'd imply such a thing.

"Oh, come on, Barry." Cadence rolled her eyes. Caitlin started to speak up, but then cut herself off. She could see just from looking at her best friend that there was nothing that'd keep the brewing storm from unleashing. A hurricane that'd slowly been growing. Caitlin had sat and listened to every grievance Cadence had to say since her breakup with Barry and had seen how it was affecting her. Maybe it was time for things to be let out.

"I have been nothing but supportive since—" Barry's voice wavered when he noticed the silent focus on him. He glanced over every face in the room, wincing when he landed on J'onn's hard stare. The man was more intimidating than Joe when he was giving his 'dad-look'. Even Cadence, in the midst of the argument, took a second to see what was happening. His voice trailed off, becoming whispery when he tried to apologize, to change the subject.

His voice then vanished, his train of thought ceasing as his knees shook. All before buckling completely. Luckily Cadence spotted the obvious outcome and closed the space between them, catching him before he could hit the ground. She was angry at him, but the last thing she needed was for him to injure himself faceplanting. Without his powers, it'd probably have broken his nose.

"Barry!" the room cried, the members of team flashing rushing over to help him before a famine groan sounded from the corner.

"Kara?" said Alex as Cadence looked from Barry's unconscious body in her arms, to Kara's unconscious body in Alex's arms. She'd fallen at just the same time Barry had, obviously struggling with the same ailment. Whatever it was that Music Mesiter had done was hurting them more than the others thought.

"What's happening to her?" Winn asked as he began looking her over, checking her for a pulse as Alex held her up. He carefully, gently moving her hair back from her face, unable to keep the concern out of his voice.

Alex shook her head. She had no idea, other than one of the more obvious ones. "Maybe it's all the Kryptonite around here," Alex said with a glare over to Cadence.

"For God sake." Cadence was tired of having to keep everything inside, just as tired she was of having to repeatedly explain herself. "I explained, it's just for emergencies!" Cadence shot at the D.E.O. agent.

"Tell that to my sister!"

"I'll give you something to tell her if you don't-"

"Enough!" J'onn's voice boomed over the room as over half the occupants jumped at his sudden outburst. "You want to argue, you do it on your own time. We've got two unconscious heroes here that need medical attention, might I suggest we make sure they're alright before any of you proceed with any further childish arguing?" While most of the room silently agreed, Cadence and Alex continued to glare heatedly at one another. J'onn cleared his throat and turned a considerably kinder voice to Caitlin as he asked, "Dr Snow, would you mind seeing to Kara and Mr. Allen?"

"Of course," Caitlin said as she led the way into the medical bay. Winn and Deity following with Kara and Cisco and Brady not too far behind with Barry.

"This is not over," Alex snarled at Cadence before marching off into the medical bay after the others, while Cadence remained in the room.

Alone.

A surprising reflection on how she currently felt.

* * *

With a childlike pout the Music Meister sat alone at the corner table of Jitters. With one hand, he dejectedly stirred his straw in his Zoom. What was the point of having this place to go to, to hang out, when there was no one to hang out with? It seemed like Barry and the others would use it as a place to get their daily fix. It should've been an obvious place to meet up. He'd gone there after leaping away from Flare, Shadowhunter and Deity. He could have easily defeated them, what with Flash and Supergirl's powers, plus the boost, but he felt he'd made his point.

And yet his lover was nowhere in sight.

That was the whole reason for all this. To put on a show, to attract his lover like a moth with an enchanting flame. To put their plan in action. But still he was nowhere in sight. It almost made Music Meister think everything he'd done up to this point was pointless. Maybe he should have gone with the dream musical idea, even though his lover said he disliked the idea. Probably just playing hard to get like he always did. But that was why Music Meister had put on this show, to prove he was just as bad and lethal as he was adorable.

He'd hoped his performance with the heroes would have been enough. Apparently, he needed to do more. The powers weren't enough, showing them off wasn't enough. Another showdown ought to do it. But he'd need somewhere big and open, somewhere more public this time. If only that Flash Museum had been built, that would have been an excellent place to put on a show. Alas it didn't exist yet, so a new venue he would have to choose.

But which one?

STAR Labs? Not public enough.

CCPD? Too many guns, fuss and people trying to ruin the show. Perhaps young Brady's school? No, too many alarms and distractions. Maybe somewhere on Earth 38? Cat Co. Madam Grant always loved a good show and story. Though she had been lacking love in the more recent years, making her more angry and bitter, at least on the outside.

Plus, Music Meister thought. The Cat Grant here is a bit more a ditz than I'd ever call anyone. How she manages to get anything done, I'm surprised. Still stirring his Zoom, Music Meister tapped his fingers against his lips.

This was definitely going to take some thought. And he needed it to be perfect too, otherwise he'd lose his only chance at true love, much like the broken Barry and Cadence. Such a shame. They had such promise. But while their relationship was at its end, his was about to flourish like a beautiful summer rose. Assuming he could just get his lover to listen to him.

Besides, they were only strong when they were together. And there were some things Team Flash and Team Supergirl needed to know.

* * *

Once Barry and Kara were set up in the medical bay, one by one the others began to filter back into the Cortex, leaving Caitlin to do her work. Alex remained inside, assisting where she could, seeing as she had the most experience tending to her sister when she was injured. For that reason alone, Cadence reminded in the Cortex. She would have helped but couldn't see her and Alex working without starting another argument.

They clearly weren't destined to get along. During their initial meeting Alex didn't take lightly of Cadence's dropping out of her residency due to her new focus on stopping metahumans. And, just as Oliver had to do for Team Flash, Cadence's words to show Team Supergirl that things weren't always happy and fun with metas and other villains wasn't received well either. Not that Cadence didn't know what being overprotective was. For the first years of Brady's life, she was practically a junk yard dog over anyone that came too close him.

She could see where the D.E.O. agent was coming from, but like Barry she refused to listen to her side of the story. Alex wouldn't let her explain about how Kryptonite had helped them in the field and ultimately saved lives. Not that Cadence completely blamed Alex for her reaction, if there was something out there that could hurt any of her friends like Kryptonite did to Kara then she'd want it gone. But Kara wasn't always on their Earth, Superman was, and sometimes they did needed Kryptonite. And Alex had obviously never given much thought to her sister turning evil, or being mind-controlled, unlike Cadence and even Oliver. That was why when he asked for a sample of Kryptonite Team Flash had given it to him.

It was why Bruce and Clark were the ones who had suggested it to them. The last time Barry, Cisco, Brady, and Cadence had been there at Clark's call, they had taken Barry and Cadence aside to give them the Kryptonite. Bruce had said it was of dire importance if the time ever came, that they had the means of subduing Clark if he got out of control. Barry looked at Clark with a confused expression, not understanding why he was going along with it.

"It's for the best," Clark reassured him. "If anything goes wrong, then I'll need to be taken down. And I trust Bruce's decision to have you be one of the ones who holds the power to stop me."

"My grant towards STAR Labs to further their research on metahumans includes Clark here," Bruce said. "I've done as much research on him that I can, but I know you have higher caliber machines and technology I couldn't come close to." He looked at Clark, who nodded, and Bruce reached into the pocket of his slacks and pulled out a tiny green bullet.

Immediately, Clark stepped away from Bruce, pressing a hand to his stomach, as all the veins in his body started to glow a bright green.

"My suggestion," Bruce said. He continued to hold out the bullet, making a point, before finally closing his palm and sticking it back in his pocket. "Is to create weaponry of some sort. Something he can't easily defeat." He looked at Clark, who slowly regained his breathing, his veins returning to a translucent blue.

Clark nodded back. "I'm okay," he said.

Cadence tapped her fist against a closed palm as she continued to pace. None of this was because they feared Kara, quite the opposite. They got along with her easily. But Cadence had developed a need for a backup plan and a worst case scenario plan too. Not just due to what Clark and Bruce had said. But in general. For everyone she came across. Another reason they kept the Kryptonite around.

At the sound of Caitlin's voice and footsteps, Cadence looked up to see her friend stood in the doorway to the medical bay, tablet in hand. "Guys, this isn't good," Caitlin began, swiping across the tablet as she spoke, continuously rechecking her work. "The speed force levels in Barry's cells have been seriously depleted, as has the solar radiation in Kara's."

"What, exactly, does that mean?" J'onn asked, stepping towards Caitlin.

"They're being drained." Caitlin closed her eyes, as if it were too painful for her to admit. Too painful for her to admit that everything she was trying…nothing was working. The most she could do was run tests and…run more tests. Without more information on Music Meister, they were stuck up the creek without a paddle. "Music Meister is literally stealing their powers. Not just that he took them, but that they're being drained from their DNA. That's what caused the dizziness, that's why they both passed out. Think of it like draining blood. Take too much-"

"-And the body begins to crash," Cisco finished. Caitlin agreed with a silent nod.

"So are they in danger…could they die?" Winn asked nervously, as worry consumed him.

"At this stage I wouldn't think so," Caitlin said soothingly as she stepped over to the IT boy, rubbing his arm. At least she could help there. "But if we don't stop this soon it may be impossible to reverse. Barry may permanently lose his connection to the speed force and Kara, her ability to absorb solar radiation."

"So, why don't Mom, and Debby just charge them up again?" Brady suggested. "They've done it before, it could work now."

Caitlin hesitated. She chewed her lower lip, the classic sign she was worrying about something. Finally, she let out a long breath and admitted, "Even if Debby was in a state to do so, we think all that extra power would just go to Music Meister. It…might even speed up the process."

A collective groan of frustration shot through the Cortex at the revelation. "So all we need to do is find Music Meister and beat him until he gives back their powers," suggested Winn, a scowl coming to his face. "Dibs on the first punch."

"Can you even throw a punch?" Cisco asked with a sideways glance to Winn.

"Shut up."

"And is that really the best idea you can come up with? I thought you were the brains behind the team, like me?" The whole room opened their mouths to object, but Cisco continued regardless, motioning to the medical bay as he did. "I mean, I know she's your girlfriend, man, but—"

Winn immediately started to stammer out a response, his eyes flying as wide as they could go. "—Oh, no, we're not, uh, why would you think—we're not together…no…"

"It's complicated," J'onn remarked, his voice taking on a tone that proved he wasn't happy with the way the conversation turned. Wasn't happy with the way any of the events since Kara's losing her powers had gone. Setback after setback and losing sight of what was important.

"Complicated?" HR announced his presence as he entered the Cortex. Cisco did all he could to keep from visibly recoiling at the sound of HR's voice. "That's not complicated. Complicated is having to work together with your ex in and out of the field, huh, Candace? But we won't mention that breakup, huh?" The conscious members of Team Supergirl looked to Cadence.

She rolled her eyes. This wasn't the time to deal with this, she had to shove it aside and keep them on track. "Okay, so we fought this guy. And he didn't get the rest of our powers," Cadence said with a wave of her hand, effectively getting HR's attention. He seemed excited at the prospect of returning to a new meta crime to deal with. "But how come? He used that…" she wiggled her fingers. "Eye voodoo thing on me and Brady. After that I was out like a light. Brady would have been too if I hadn't woken up and stopped Music Meister."

"Music Meister," HR repeated curiously. "That's not a bad name." Everyone ignored his statement, though Cisco couldn't help but continue to shake his head at the name.

"So you think he got Kara and Barry's powers…because they were a sleep?" Alex asked as she emerged from the medical bay, standing alongside Caitlin.

"It has to have something to do with it," Cadence insisted. Her voice was low, eyes shifting as she mentally moved through all the information they'd come to receive. The circumstances around their powers leaving them. "Why else would he try and put me and Brady to sleep?"

"And when he was using his eye thing on me, he said something about 'borrowing my bag of tricks'," Brady explained. He slowly connected the dots in his head. "I think he was talking about my powers," he explained.

"But he didn't use the, 'eye voodoo', as you so eloquently put it—" Cisco said with a look to Cadence as, as both screwed up their faces at one other. "—on either Barry or Kara. They were…they were naturally asleep."

"But that would mean he can take any of our powers the second we fall asleep," Deity pointed out from her chair. Worried looks passed around the room. "And he can make any of fall asleep when he wants to." She'd managed to get out unscathed but it didn't mean he wasn't coming in to get her powers as well. If he could charge himself…?

"Alright." Cadence rubbed her forehead. She was already tired of this. "We need to find this guy. Now. And before any of us start getting sleepy."

"Agreed, question is how?" prompted J'onn as he thought aloud.

"I can go over to CCPD," Cadence suggested. Different ideas were already shooting through her head. Unfortunately, part of her remembered Captain Singh was waiting for some reports from her, but their current state was much more important. "See if anyone like this has shown up before."

"And then you could ask some of your underworld contacts," Cisco suggested with a forced smile. Cadence looked back at him with a raised eyebrow. "I can't be the only one thinking it," he defended it. "It's helpful, but I can't be the only one thinking it."

"That would take too long," J'onn declared. "Even with your teleporting everything would still take time. Too much time to be in two places at once." He thought for a moment then glanced at Cisco. "Do you know your way around CCPD?"

"Uh-huh," Cisco nodded. "Got myself a badge and everything."

"Right, you and I will go to CCPD and see what we can find out."

"And I'll have a word with some of my contacts," Cadence added to which J'onn nodded in agreement.

"But how are you going to get into CCPD?" Cisco asked. "Even with my badge—"

"—We get it, Uncle Cisco, you have a badge," Brady broke in.

Cisco ignored him. "-They don't just let anyone walk in and start looking through classified files. I mean, c'mon, they're a respected place of work."

J'onn smirked, "I'm good with impersonations," was all he said before nodding to the rest of the group and walking out.

"Good with impersonations?" Cisco shouted, his voice carrying as he followed after the man. "What does that mean?!"

"You'll find out," Winn called smugly after him.

"I'm really starting to hate people from Earth 38," Cisco grumbled on his way out.

"I'll leave you guys to monitor Barry and Kara and watch the city in case Music Meister shows up again," Cadence declared as she turned to the remaining members of both teams. "And you two," Cadence said looking to Deity and Brady with two authoritative fingers extended at them. "You, don't go near Music Meister unless you absolutely have to," she said to Brady who nodded. "And you don't fight him alone," she said to Deity, before then vanishing in her trademark puff of smoke.

* * *

Barry sighed, his eyes fluttering open. A sharp pain shot through his head. The lights swirled around his vision, making him close them once more. What happened? Oh, right. His powers were gone, he couldn't hold himself up…couldn't…couldn't defend himself. Couldn't do anything more than sit back and watch as the people he cared about put themselves in the line of fire just to keep him and Kara safe.

Even without powers, everything was his fault. Barry let out a quiet sigh, before jerking backwards, feeling something press against his eyelid before it was pulled back. Once. Then the other. Then back to the first. Barry reached up and pushed the hand away, blinking open his eyes to see Brady standing above him.

"Oh." Brady smiled. "You're awake."

Barry looked at him incredulously before bringing up the palms of his hands to rub his eyes. He sat up, rubbing at his temples to work away his splitting headache, then swung his legs to the floor. His muscles immediately tensed, seeing Kara on the bed next to him, remembering everything that was going on. The medical bay was too quiet.

"Is everything okay?" He asked.

"Everything's fine."

Barry got off the bed, holding himself up for a second, fending off the head rush he received for standing up too fast. He pushed himself forward and started to leave the medical bay. Brady trotted along with him, almost without a care in the world. "Where is everyone?"

"Mom went to find some people who may know who the Music Meister is," Brady relayed. "Cisco and J'onn went to the CCPD to see if they could find anything." Barry winced at the mention of his former job. That still bothered him more than anything else, that he had to be forced into quitting his job. It was a good reason, he had to protect Caitlin. But to give up his life's work…? He shook his head, fending off the negative thoughts that'd managed to plague him. "Caitlin's still checking your guys' levels, Winn is working on my suit, Alex is…well, Alex is mad, Deity's bored, I think she just wants to fight, and Kara's still asleep."

Barry smiled at Brady's relay of information as the two continued to walk through STAR Labs. Barry wasn't going anywhere in particular, just wandering around. It was what he had to do if he didn't have his powers, he needed to move. To go anywhere. It seemed that the Pipeline, the belly of the beast that was STAR Labs, was his place of choice, finding his eyes drawn over multiple empty pods as they went along.

Empty of the metas they'd managed to capture over the years, ones that had been released for numerous reasons and circumstances. One step forward, two steps back.

"Are you doing okay?" Brady asked, still walking along beside Barry, looking up at him. Barry glanced back, surprised to realize he didn't need to look as far down as he used to. "I mean, are you hurt or anything?"

"No," Barry replied with a heavy sigh. "I'm just frustrated."

"Is that why you don't like my mom?"

The question threw Barry off-guard. It was worked so seamlessly into the conversation and Brady's eyes were continued to be filled with innocence that Barry sometimes wondered if he was much smarter than any of them knew. "Of course, I like your mom."

"But you're mad. So's she. And the way you guys fight I'd think you didn't like each other anymore." He paused. "I mean, I know you're not getting married or anything but you still love each other right."

"I guess."

"How do you know?"

"Because…" Barry took in a deep breath through his nose.

He stopped as he thought about it, realizing only a second later it was the pod he'd been put in when he wanted to fight Zoom. When the rest of the team had been so scared of him that they felt they had no choice but to put him inside. When Barry wanted nothing more than to tear down the one that tore his life apart as simply as ripping a piece of paper apart.

She was the one who had immediately defended him against the others, despite being as afraid of him as the others were. She hadn't said it out loud, but he could see it in her face, in her eyes, when she'd stopped him from racing after Zoom simply by restraining his hand, not letting him run after the taunts. They were a team.

"Because you can't get over someone that fast," Barry finally said. "If so, you didn't really love them in the first place."

"But you were fighting."

"My mom and dad fought sometime and they were stupidly in love with each other. They liked to spend all their time together, didn't like themselves when they were apart because they got bored. They made each other better had fun together. But they still fought. Dad thought mom coddled me too much and mom thought dad disciplined me too much. But they still…" Barry sighed in frustration. A conversation about his parents wasn't what he wanted. "Was there something else you wanted?"

"No." Brady shook his head. Despite Barry's snap, he didn't take offense to it. As a matter of fact, he looked like he just realized something. "Thanks, Barry. I'm glad you're feeling better." He patted the—former—speedster on the shoulder. "We'll get your powers back."

Barry watched as Brady walked away, back to the Cortex. Back to the medical bay. He wasn't sure. He wasn't sure of anything in his life if he were being completely honest. It was moment's like that he wondered how Oliver managed to get up every day. How he could go through the day to see what was going to have in store for him, no matter how dark and dangerous, and continue to work himself to reach his goal of protecting Star City.

Oliver didn't have any powers and yet he managed to singlehandedly save the city for a few years, before opening himself to trust others. To have a team. Something he'd learned from Barry. Which may as well have been the world ending; Oliver coming to Barry for advice about something. It was funny, how different they were, how much they disagreed, how they ran their teams differently, and yet they were still able to rely on each other.

Barry turned and sat on the ramp leading up to the pod, pressing his chin to his hands. He looked up at the doorway Brady had walked out of. Barry couldn't stop thinking about his overall relationship with Cadence. Brady was right, he did care about her, even now. Even after she broke his heart and stamped on it.

But was that his fault? Surely it had to be hers. He'd done everything he could to make things work, had pitched in when he could, never once complained or over stepped his boundaries in regards to Brady. And yet when he asked her to marry him it had been like none of that mattered.

His head had been spinning ever since she said the word, trying to figure out why she'd said it. He'd spend hours just thinking everything over, every little detail he could remember, trying to think if there'd been warning signs he missed. But there was nothing that stood out, other than old arguments they'd put to bed. Their arguments weren't enough to warrant a breakup. Every couple argues, even his parents did so on occasion, not that he remembered it much.

The more he thought about all this the more hours turned to minutes, and minutes into seconds. Time slowing down around him as he focused so hard the rest of the world just slowed down to a near stop. He was getting to that stage, wanting the world to stop and leave him behind. Maybe it'd be easier that way. Though he'd rather time had stopped, back when everything was good. When he and Cadence were still together. Before everything went to hell. Before the break up, before Savitar, Alchemy, Breathtaker's escape… before Flashpoint.

Everything always seemed to come back to that one mistake that he'd made in such a weak moment. It scared him to think he would have done it again too, had Jay not stopped him. How much would he have been willing to change, just to get what he wanted back. Would he do again now, if pushed too far and would Jay be there to stop him again?

It may not have been Jay, but if there was some God watching over him, perhaps this was his way of saying, there'd always be a friend to stop him when he needed one.

This time, it was Kara. Poking her head around the corner, she peered into the Pipeline where Barry was sitting on the ramp.

"Hey, is everything alright?"

"Just…thinking over some stuff," Barry said as he lowered his gaze to his hands, fiddling with them as he rested his arms on the knees that were pulled against his chest.

"Want some company?"

"Sure," Barry said with a shrug.

Kara took it with a compassionate smile and joined him, sitting in the same position. Knees pulled into her chest with her arms wrapped around her legs to hold them in place. It was only when she sat, he noticed the picture frame in her hand. Seeing he'd noticed it, Kara showed him the photo.

"I noticed this on one of the desks in the Cortex." She handed over the picture and Barry took it.

Held it both hands, running his thumb over the glass. It was of Team Flash, from last year at some point if Barry's memory was correct. He and the rest of the team had been smiling away, beaming at the camera lens. Brady in the center with Cadence and Barry on either side, squishing him between them. All three in their suits. Cisco clung to Barry's other side and Cadence had pulled Caitlin into her. It looked more like a selfie than a proper photo and yet it had managed to capture all of them and the happiness they shared.

Barry couldn't help but wonder how long it'd been since they'd all had something to be happy about. It hadn't been that long since Cadence broke up with him, but it felt like an eternity, even longer since he last felt good and didn't have some evil shadow ruining the moment.

"You want to tell me what's going on?" Kara asked softly, gently bringing Barry from his thoughts.

Barry had to take a long breath before continuing. "Cade and I… Well, I'm not really sure there is a Cade and I now." He could tell Kara was screaming on the inside, dying to get answers to the obvious question, but she kept herself at bay with a seriously concerned expression on her face. "I proposed…and it blew up in my face." Again, Kara remained respectfully quiet as Barry began to unleash what had been bottling up inside him for a while now.

"I mean… We were in a good place, you know? A great place. And despite everything else that's going on with Savitar and Alchemy and Breathtaker and the future. Despite all that I still had her. I still knew that for now, I had her. I knew I could fall on that when I had nowhere else to go. And I just wanted to…to take the next step in that…and she said no."

Rage suddenly consumed him and Barry couldn't stop himself from throwing the picture against the far wall. Kara jumped slightly but held back her yelp as the glass smashed and scattered across the floor. A large chunk now missing from the frame as the photo crumpled up inside.

"Sorry."

"Don't be. You have a right to be mad, Barry." She took hold of his arm. He thought that might have been to restrain him in case he had another outburst, but he knew Kara was just trying to comfort him. Despite her power, she'd never force anyone to do anything. It wasn't her way of handling things. "Anyone can see you loved her. And that's obviously why you proposed."

Before he could stop himself, Barry's mind was filled with the dreadful imagines of the future that never left him for long. Him desperately running towards three of the people he cared most about. Savitar killing Iris. Killer Frost killing Cadence and vice versa. Him cradling Cadence's body as she left the world. And the all so clear sight of her left hand…without an engagement ring.

He had to be honest with someone. Maybe then he'd admit to himself why he really did propose so soon to Cade. He couldn't keep saying it was because of love—even though it was a big factor—when there had always been something tinting that perfect moment in his life. Perhaps that was why Cadence said no, sensing his impure reasons. Or maybe it was just life playing another cruel game with him.

Either way, he needed to start being more honest.

"Maybe…I did it for myself, and for the wrong reasons."

Kara's soft caring features quickly dropped into a confused frown. "I...I don't…what do you mean?"

"In the future…something's going to happen… and I proposed to stop it from happening. But it's all so messed up now and I don't know what to do. And everything is just so much simpler when I'm running and I can't do that now."

"It's the same for me when I'm flying," Kara said with an understanding smile. Barry found himself returning the smile, knowing that she truly did get it. Like Cade and how she would stand on the tallest building in Central City and just breath. Both understood the majesty of just doing something so simple, and yet so extraordinary, and letting everything else just drift away.

"Do you think you'll ever get to that stage with anyone? Proposal I mean?" Barry asked, now in need of a break from what was his currently dire life. At least with Kara she still didn't know everything, unlike the rest of Team Flash. He was struggling to look at any of them, much less hold a conversation, without thinking about everything they were all dealing with. With Kara it was like they were just a couple of old school friends, catching up after so many years apart.

"First, I'd need to find someone who's not freaked out by a twenty something year old having a teenager daughter," Kara chuckled nervously, straightening her glassed as she did so.

"What about Winn?" Barry prompted, nudging Kara's elbow with his own.

"What?!" Kara let out a snorting laugh. She shook her head, blonde hair swaying with each movement. "No! Winn...I mean, Winn he's, he's not my…he's not my boyfriend. He's just a boy, who's my friend." She swallowed hard. "He's my…nothing."

"He's clearly not your nothing," Barry pointed out.

"No, you're right he's not. He's definitely not nothing, he's…" She was struggling to find the words. Barry remembered that stage with him and Cadence. Of course, she'd never had that problem and had never been shy about her feelings like Barry. But seeing Kara struggle and squirm now, he couldn't help but find it funny. "My friend. My best friend." Barry gave her a critical look. "He is!" Kara exclaimed before whacking Barry on the arm. Even without the super strength it still hurt, though it was more because of Barry's lack of muscle than anything else.

"Me and Cade were like that before we started dating too."

"But isn't it weird, dating your best friend?"

"Maybe at first. But when we were friends, I felt like we could have been more, and once we started dating I felt more whole." Barry began to smile, reminiscing over how he and Cadence first got together. "Don't get me wrong, it's still strange knowing we could probably, literally, kill each other without much effort." He laughed humorlessly.

"But I suppose we're both used to that," Kara pointed out as the two chuckled.

"So would you? Ever consider asking out Winn?" Barry pushed, holding back a laugh when he saw Kara begin to squirm again.

"No," Kara shot out, nervously, enough to prove to Barry and anyone else she clearly had a crush on him. "That would be like, me asking you out. Or Winn asking Cade." Barry burst out into loud laughter. His first in a while. "Okay, it's not that funny."

"It is, if you knew that Cade would eat Winn alive. And I don't mean that she'd be mean to him, it's just that he wouldn't be able to keep up with her. Trust me, I've been dating her for almost two years now and I think she's starting to make me go grey." He pulled at the strands of his hair to prove his point.

"Yeah, I think it's starting to show now that you've lost your regenerative healing," teased Kara as she ruffled his hair and the two began to chuckle.

Then Barry suddenly found himself stopping. It had been so quick he hadn't even noticed until it stopped. But for a brief moment when talking about Cadence, he'd forgotten they'd broken up. He'd forgotten the pain of it all, the heart ache and had been able to talk about it. He'd been sucked into the simpler times, when they were just starting out as a couple, transferring from friends to lovers. It had been scary but also amazing at the same time, that's why they'd stuck with it.

Until recently.

Thankfully Kara didn't say anything. She just sat quietly next to him, letting him process it all while subtly squeezing his hand to let him know she was still there for him. As his friend. His other friends had been there for him, but he'd pushed them away, not wanted his personal relationship to get in the way of the team. But despite his best efforts it had.

He needed a run. But seeing as he couldn't do that, he'd have to take the next best thing. Talking to his family. "I'm just going to head out real quick. I won't be long, promise," Barry said, pulling his hand from Kara's as he stood up.

She remained seated, nodding with a supportive smile as Barry looked down at her. Having her blessing to leave, Barry made his way out of the Pipeline and down to the garage. Since he didn't have his speed, he might as well try out his driving skills. Hopefully he wasn't too rusty.

* * *

Looking down at the small wrapped box, Brady still wasn't sure he fully understood Barry's advice. But then again when did grownups ever make sense when talking about relationships. He was getting to that stage himself, confused over how he was feeling towards certain people, not sure what it meant. He'd had the talk about his changing body with both his mom and dad. More in detail with his mom.

He tried not to think about that talk, about any of the talks with his mother right now. They only made him more nervous. Instead he tried to think about other things as he made his way along the hallways of STAR Labs. He was heading towards the Cortex, looking for Deity, when her began to hear her voice.

"Come on, Alex. You can't stay mad at her forever," said Deity from around the bend in the corridor. Brady stopped, leaning against the wall as not to be seen. He'd been told it was rude to eavesdrop, but he also needed the practise in case he ever needed to tail a meta and find out what they were up to. He'd done it with a few simple minded robbers before, but he still needed some more practise before putting his skills to the test against a meta.

"Watch me. I can be very stubborn," Alex said, holding back her anger for her niece's benefit.

"Just try to see it from Cadence's point of view."

"The only point of view I care about is my own, and right now I see you and Kara in danger, and I'm not ok with that. So don't ask me to be."

"Okay, so you're never going to see eye to eye with Cade. That's fine. But just try and remember me and Kara aren't always here. And there are other versions of Superman and Mom on this world too. What if they turn evil? What if this world's version of Astra shows up with another army of Kryptonians? And keep in mind J'onn used to stock pile Kryptonite for the D.E.O."

"That's different…" Alex said, but the defeat in her voice was clear.

It was then Brady decided to come out from around the bend. He could tell the argument was done, whether Alex was going to admit it or not. At least with his presence she wouldn't continue the discussion. No adult wanted to talk bad about a kid's parents when the kid himself was around. Though Brady had heard a few things here and there from adults when he was younger, when they thought he was out of ear shot or not listening. He'd spent so much time around people older than him, some that seemed to forget he was there, that he managed to learn how they spoke to each other.

He did, admittedly, have an issue with eavesdropping when he was younger.

"Oh. Hey, Brady," Alex suddenly said warmly as he walked around to the pair.

"Hey," Brady replied flatly, distractedly looking right past Alex and towards Deity.

Alex didn't seem to pick up on his lack of interest in her, she continued to converse with him, rather than move along. "So what do you do for fun around here?"

"Mostly just train and stop bad guys," Brady said with a lift of his eyebrows. "It's more serious than you think."

"Okay." Alex turned a slight frown to her niece, who appeared equally confused with Brady's attitude. "How about school? Learn anything interesting recently?"

"Look can I just talk to Debby? In private?" Brady gave a pointed look to the older woman. Alex did her best not to frown but Brady could see the line across her forehead sneaking through. She shared another look with Deity before then stepping back.

"Alright. I'll…leave you two to…whatever," Alex said before heading off down the corridor.

"That was a little rude," Deity said, frowning as she folded her arms. "Do you not like my aunt or something?"

"No. I just…" Brady began before falling short. He couldn't well come out and say, 'he didn't like her,' could he? That would upset Deity and he didn't want to do that. But at the same time, he wasn't a fan of the D.E.O. agent. With her arguing with his mom and obviously trying way too hard to get along with him, he found it irritating. Even then when they'd just been talking, it was painful how hard she was trying to connect with him. Just like Patty had done.

"Is everything alright, Brady?" asked Deity, watching as Brady lowered his gaze to the box in his hands. Once again, he fiddled with it, threatening to tear at the festive reindeer paper that had taken him several tries to get wrapped right.

He'd was nervous. He'd experienced it before but not often. Normally he felt so calm and cool. Even when fighting deadly metas his nerves never got to him. Sure, afterwards he'd been shaking more than a few times but before or during he'd always been fine. But this was different for some reason. He couldn't understand why. In his head it seemed so simple. He was just giving his friend a present. He gave one to Leah and—annoyingly—Alicia—one just fine. It was just a present. A present he'd picked out with the help of his mother and father and spent a whole month's allowance on.

He'd been so sure it was the right move at the time, but now he was second guessing himself. His mom and dad and even Barry had told him it was a confusing time in his life. The teachers had been saying that a lot recently about how things would start happening to them and they'd be experiencing a lot of changes.

Was this one of them?

"What you got there?" His head shot up from the present in his hand to Deity who was now looking at his hands also.

"Present for you," Brady shot out, as he held out his hands, the small box in his palms. Deity took it happily, sitting down against the wall as Brady joined her. She began to unwrap it and Brady waited with bated breath as Deity peeled away the wrapping paper until there was just the small white box left with the store's logo printed on the top. Without a second thought Deity flipped open the box and her eyes lit up in awe as she saw what was inside.

Okay, maybe he'd spent a bit more than a month's allowance on it.

"Brady," Deity gasped as she pulled out the necklace. It was a thin golden chain with a gold letter 'D' in the centre, dangling at the bottom as Deity held the necklace up. It wasn't genuine gold, Brady wasn't naïve enough to believe that, but it had still been a fairly expensive knock off. Expensive for an eleven-year-old anyway.

"Do you like it?" Brady asked. Placing his hands together in between his legs and squeezing them together as he uncomfortably waited for her response.

"It's beautiful," Deity said as she swiped her hair back, placing the necklace on like Kara had taught her when putting on jewelry. Luckily the clasp was the same as the ones she'd practiced with, so she knew roughly what she was doing. She wasn't one for wearing jewelry, but this was simple and eloquent, the kind of thing she would like to wear. And what was more import, was that it came from her friend. "Thank you, Brady," Deity said as she held the necklace, smiling down at the small piece of gold.

"It's nothing," Brady said with a shrug. A smile played at his lips. He was just glad she liked it, the nerves in his stomach finally starting to settle down.

"Two secs," Deity said, sudden energized and hyped up after receiving her own gift.

In a blur of yellow she was gone, only to return a second later with a wrapped box of her own, that had a similar style of wrapping paper to that which Brady had used. He guessed that despite the numerous Earths that existed across the multi-verse, there was still only a limited amount of Christmas paper available.

"Here," said Deity excitedly, holding out the present.

Brady took it from her, watching her energetic smile as she did. He could see Kara in that smile, making him easily forget that Kara and Deity weren't actually related. He took the gift with his own smile and leaned back in his seat before unwrapping it slowly. He wasn't entirely sure what to expect, but after seeing how enthusiastic Deity was, he assumed it was something good in comparison to his gift to her.

But when he finished pulling away the paper and opened the makeshift cardboard box, he was ashamed to admit his heart dropped a little at the sight. It was just a box of cookies. Christmas themed cookies that looked homemade.

"They're Eliza's Christmas cookies, she's my Grandmother," Deity explained before reaching over and taking one of the cookies for herself. "Trust me, they're addictive, so you'll want to be careful with them," she said with a smile as she bit into the cookie, savoring the taste. That had been the last batch too and no doubt sooner or later she'd end up regretting giving them away to Brady.

"Thanks," Brady said quietly, picking up one of the cookies before looking it over and then dropping it back into the box.

At a guess he assumed he was feeling disappointed. Like he had been when he was half his age now and had asked Santa for a puppy only to never get one. But somehow this felt different at the same time. It was irritating him. He didn't like it. His feelings didn't make sense to him.

He heard Deity calling his name, but he just didn't feel like talking anymore. He sat the cookies aside on the ground and got up. She continued to call after to him, trying to get him to talk but he just walked away, heading nowhere in particular.

Now he knew how his mom and Barry felt.

It wasn't fun.

* * *

When Barry finally returned to STAR Labs, he felt a little better, but not much. His heart didn't hurt as much, his brain wasn't as filled with enough thoughts that made him want to go crazy. No, his mind was set back on Music Meister, as it should have been in the first place. He was ready to get his powers back.

As he stepped into the Cortex he found everyone waiting for him. Cadence was back, standing with Brady who looked pretty damn miserable, and J'onn and Cisco were stood in front of the main desk, looking back as Barry entered. The rest of the members were scattered around the room, all quiet as Barry walked in.

"Sorry," Barry quickly apologized. He stared at the group, his energized resolve slowly fading away. "I was at Joe's." He ran a hand through his hair, over the back of his neck. "Did I miss anything?"

"We were just about to tell everyone what we found," Cisco explained as Barry took up a spot on the wall, next to Caitlin, leaning back as he nodded for them to continue. Caitlin smiled and squeezed his wrist, making him smile back. "Well, unfortunately, we didn't find anything about Music Meister. There's no files at CCPD that have anything to do with this guy. No one with the name Music Meister has ever shown up before."

"What about you, Cade? Did you find anything?" Caitlin asked, looking to her friend from across the room. Regretfully, Cadence shook her head.

"None of my guys knew anything. I managed to get them to reach out to some of their other contacts, but the name means nothing to any of them."

"What, so, this guy just doesn't exist?" Barry asked, lift his head. An edge to his voice. "If the CCPD can't find anything, we may as well assume he doesn't exist. We saw him at the bank, we fought against him. There can't be nothing on him."

"Of course not," Cadence bit back. "Our fight with him proved that. It's just he hasn't appeared before today. No appearance, no trail to follow."

"But there's got to be some trace of him somewhere? Even before he became a meta," Barry argued.

"Facial recognition has given us squat," Cisco relayed, motioning to the TV screen that hung against the wall next to him.

"But we're still trying," HR supplied, optimistically.

Cisco nodded in agreement. "We're still running it, but considering we've had it on the go since he first showed up, I'm doubting it's ever going to give us a name." Cisco heaved a frustrated sigh, rubbing his jaw.

"But he has to come from somewhere," Barry protested, his anger flaring as he stepped off the wall.

"Yeah, but who said he had to come from Earth." Everyone looked across to Deity who had spoken up. She shrugged, hands in the pockets of her jeans. "When he got a hold of me, he said something about being a Cosmic Deity." Then she waved to herself. "And, we all know I'm not a human, and neither's Kara. Maybe it's the same for him."

"Guy's probably just got a God complex," Winn suggested with a shrug. The scowl on his face showed he was still thinking of his first suggestion, to grab Music Meister and punch him in the face as many times as he could.

"He's certainly got a flare for the dramatic," Caitlin agreed.

"Plus, it's not like you guys get a whole lot of aliens around here. I mean, compared to us anyway," Alex pointed out.

"And don't think we haven't enjoyed the time we've got to spend with some of the finer specimens of the universe," HR agreed. He clacked the front of his drumsticks together. "Miss. Danvers, Miss. Danvers, may I say how much I've enjoyed being able to simply be in your presence for more than a minute." The two aliens, surprisingly, found themselves blushing at HR's compliment. The rest of the room rolled their eyes, used to HR's comments by this point. They'd lost their appeal long ago.

"No, I think Debby might be right about this," J'onn argued, stepping forward with a hand on his hip while the other rubbed his chin. He spoke to the room. "Where I come from there used to be all kinds of stories about Cosmic beings. Those with powers far beyond anything natural, who could come and go as they please, across any dimension."

"And you think this Music Meister might be one of those Cosmic beings?" Caitlin asked curiously.

"It'd explain how he could teleport better than mom or Cisco could," Brady pointed out.

"Not only that," J'onn said, building off of Brady's comment. "But his ability to travel between reality and dreams would suggest so to. Not only that but he entered both Kara and Barry's dreams while they were on separate Earths. That takes an impressive amount of power to do, and then to steal their powers on top of that. That's more than a normal alien or meta could do."

"He's right," Kara agreed from next to her sister and daughter. "There was sort of fairy tale like stories of similar beings on Krypton. But they were just treated as a kid's stories." She shrugged. "Something your parents would read you before bed."

"Well this guy isn't a fairy tale, and nobody's going to wave a magic wand and make him go away," Cadence spoke up. "So do you have anything about how to defeat these cosmic beings?"

"Depends on which one you're dealing with," J'onn said simply.

Brady frowned. "There's more than one?"

"Life just can't be easy for us, can it?" Cisco asked.

"Welcome to my life," Winn murmured.

"Some of them you have to trick into doing something and then they disappear," J'onn explained. "Some show up for specific reasons and only leave when they're finished fulfilling that reason. It appears that we're dealing with the latter here."

"Well, that's not going to help us," Cadence groaned.

"Maybe it does," said Barry. "Maybe if we just talk to this guy we can find out why he's here and help him do whatever he has to do."

"This guy is the fastest man alive and the strongest, thanks to you and Kara's powers, and you want to talk to him?" Cadence asked rhetorically as she stepped towards Barry, glaring at him like he was an idiot. "Like he'd give your powers back if we just asked?"

"If it will help stop him—"

"—It won't," Cadence cut in.

"You don't know that," Barry argued with a look to Cadence as everyone else in the room subtly took a step back.

"Maybe not, but I'm not chatting to someone who can kill me as quickly as snapping their fingers." Cadence then did so herself to demonstrate the quickness of it.

"Thanos," Cisco growled under his breath, receiving a glare and a shake of the head from Caitlin.

"This guy is deadly, and his clownish personality only makes him more so. And annoying. We have to deal with this, quickly and efficiently. It's not going to help us if we waste time talking to him."

"Efficiently. I suppose that means killing to you," snarled Barry.

"For God's sake will you get off your high horse already?" Cadence demanded.

"Just because killing's not my go to move-"

"-It's not mine either, jackass! And maybe if you'd just shut up and listen then-"

"-I've heard all I have to from you!" Barry exclaimed.

Cadence shook her head. "You self-centered, idiot."

"You're calling me self-centered?"

"I'm not perfect Barry, and I've never pretended to be. But ever since Flashpoint you've never spoken to me."

"I speak to you every day," Barry snapped.

"But not about what's going on in your head! You tell me the essentials, but you never even once talked to me about getting married!"

"I thought we were ready!"

"But you never asked me, Barry. You _never asked_. Did you think we were just going to get married and everything would be okay? What about bank accounts; are we going to get a joint one? Are we going to move again? Do you know if I want to change my last name? Do you think you're ready to be Brady's father? You don't consult me because you think you know better than me," Cadence said, pressing her hands to her chest as she began to let out what she'd been holding in for a long time now. The self-conscious thoughts she'd tried to keep and out and had been succeeding to until Barry ran away from her that night.

"I never said that."

"You never had to when it was so fucking obvious!" Cadence shouted angrily as she squeezed her eyes shut as she and Barry continued to argue back and forth for the whole room to see.

By this point it was obvious to everyone else that the argument was no longer about how to deal with Music Meister. Rather it was about everything the heroic couple needed to talk about but had been pushing down for the last few days in hopes of moving on and acting as if everything was fine. But they'd picked a bad time to start opening up and there was no chance of solving the riddle that was Music Meister while the two of them were in the middle of their shouting match.

"Hey, remember that one time you grounded me?" Deity whispered to Kara who frowned in response, looking down at her daughter. Remembering how she'd thrown Deity into a D.E.O. prison cell when she hadn't listened to her and broken her last nerve.

"Yeah…" Kara said slowly.

Then her daughter was off, in a yellow blur. Had Barry still had his speed he might have seen it coming and been able to avoid the teenager. But as he was, he and Cadence had no chance, especially since they were in such a heated argument, they didn't even notice they were moved until they hit the floor. Both shouted in confusion before sitting up to find themselves in one of the empty pipeline pods, the door sealing shut behind them.

"Debby, get us out of here right now!" Cadence shouted as she punched the glass wall.

"Yeah!" Barry agreed. He didn't have much threat in his voice, but his anger managed to carry it through and make his point.

"Actually, I think we're all in agreement that you two need time to work things out," Cisco said over the intercom.

"Cisco!" Cadence snarled.

"Don't worry, we'll let you out if Music Meister shows back up, or anything else life threatening shows up. The rest of us will figure out how to find him."

"Cisco!" Barry shouted, up at the invisible voice overhead.

"You two just focus on talking things out and leave the rest to us."

"CISCO!" the two cried out in unison, voices echoing in doom as their words bounced off the walls around them until the intercom went dead.

* * *

"Okay, now that we've dealt with Frick and Frack down there, we can get back to work on what's really important," Cisco announced as he turned to Winn. "Getting this suit finished."

"Right," agreed Winn as the two began to leave the Cortex, heading down to Cisco's private lab. "You know I had some ideas on how to improve the hood."

"Great, cause now that we've sorted out the cloak, I need to fix that utility belt, it looks way too big now."

"You thinking of downsizing?" Winn asked, reference to the belt.

"No, actually I was thinking of testing out an over the shoulder kind of thing, like Chewie."

"You have Star Wars here?!"

The occupants of the room stared after Winn and Cisco as their voices vanished down the corridor. "Well, Barry and Cade might be at each other's throats but at least those two are getting along," Caitlin said optimistically with an awkward smile to the room.

"Yes, it's always nice to make new friends," agreed HR, twirling his drumsticks as carefree as always.

"So other than keep looking for this guy, is there anything else we can do?" Alex asked. "I can't just sit here and wait for the guy to hurt some innocent person with my sister's powers."

"It wouldn't be your fault, Alex," Kara said gently.

"We've asked Wally to get Jesse from Earth 2, seeing as we're going to need all the help we can get against this guy," Caitlin explained with a worried look.

"Don't worry, we'll beat him, and get mine and Barry's powers back," Kara said hopefully as she smiled reassuringly to Caitlin then to Alex.

"Then until this Music Meister shows up again, I suggest we get some rest and prepare ourselves," J'onn said as he made his way into one of the side rooms. Alex and Kara followed him, three wanting to talk in private for a second, while Caitlin looked over the computer with HR hovering around her. As for Deity, she made her way over to Brady, wanting to talk to him after their last encounter.

"Hey, Brady, can we talk?" she asked as the boy stood.

"Actually, I'm going to train," he mumbled, heading for the door.

"Great, I can help, and maybe then we can-"

"I want to be alone," Brady said firmly as he left the Cortex.

Deity didn't follow, instead frowned at the empty archway that led from the Cortex. This was starting to bother her. Everything had been fine between them one minute and the next he wasn't talking to her. The only thing she could think of was her present to him. He'd clearly taken time in picking out the necklace that now hung around her neck. The cookies weren't a very good exchange she had to admit, though gift buying was still a strange concept to her.

They had holidays on Krypton, but none evolved gift exchange, at least none that she celebrated or recalled. But Brady was only a few years younger and although he probably understood that, he couldn't be expected to keep his emotions in check. So, she'd have to go back out and get him something better, more in line with the gift he got her. Something he'd keep forever and look after.

It took her a while but eventually she came up with something and made her way down to Cisco's lab. Walking in, she found the place to be a mess. Gadgets scattered all over the worktops and floor. Piece of fabric traipsing the floor like a runway as well as various uncomplete suits thrown over chairs and tables.

She spotted Cisco and Winn crowded around a computer near the center of the room. A mannequin before them with strange looking suit that was still missing a few features. "What if we move this here?" Winn suggested.

"No, no. That would put too much weight on his left side. He'd be unbalanced, and it would put his aim off," Cisco pointed out.

"Right," Winn agreed before they both went back to staring at the screen in deep thought.

"Hey, Cisco," Deity said as she approached the long-haired engineer.

"Yeah," Cisco said as both he and Winn turned around to meet the teenager's gaze.

Deity twisted her mouth to the side. "Could you help me with something?"

"We're kind of in the middle of something," Cisco said as he gestured to the screen and mannequin.

"It won't take long."

"What is you need help with?" Winn asked, more willing to help than Cisco who was now in full creative work mode. Something that he didn't seem to want to leave until he'd finished his latest suit.

"I need to get in touch with the Atom guy that helped us defeat the Dominators," Deity explained, squeezing her face as she tried to remember his name. "Um. Roy?"

"You mean, Ray?" Cisco asked, turning back around with a frown as Deity nodded. "What do you need him for?"

"Just a favor. So can you help me or not?"

"I could try," Cisco said as he tilted his head back in thought. The Legends weren't the easiest of people to contact, what with them roaming throughout all of space and time. But they had their ways. Could take a while to reach him though.

"That's fine, and could you breach me back over to my Earth real quick?"

"Wait? You're leaving?" Winn asked in surprise before Deity shook her head.

"No! I just need to get something from home is all," Deity explained.

Cisco frowned. "You have a real problem with jumping around the multiverse, young lady." Deity smiled at that and chuckled as the engineer smiled back.

* * *

Barry gave up slamming his fist against the wall of the pod once he couldn't take the sting against his hand anymore. Angrily, he spun away from the glass and looked at Cadence, who glared at the glass, as if she were trying to burn it down. But they both knew it was futile.

The security on STAR Labs may've sucked, but Cisco did a great job with dampening meta powers to keep any prisoner from getting out. They weren't leaving until they were let out. "For real?" Barry murmured. He roughed a hand over his hair. "I can't believe they locked us in here."

"Frankly, I'm surprised they didn't knock us out, first," Cadence remarked first, finally taking her eyes away from the glass but still pointedly away from Barry. She brought up a hand to rub her temple, a headache was starting to form. "I was starting to get on my own nerves."

Barry, who had resorted to pacing the pod, which wasn't far enough for him to adequately relieve his restlessness, turned back to her. He held up his hands, a sign of peace and resignation of everything that'd transpired between them. He was tired. Not just because his powers was gone. He was just plain tired of everything.

"Okay, fine." Barry couldn't take it anymore. Couldn't take the constant torment. He needed some answers somewhere. Anywhere. And if it was the start they needed to finally take down Music Meister in any way. Then he'd take it. Or else life had a funny way of dealing his hand and he was tired of backing away from the table. "Fine. When I asked you to marry me…why'd you say 'no'?"

Cadence leveled her gaze at him. "Because your mom's dead." Her words, so short and blunt made him pause. "And so is your dad. And so is mine." She sniffed. "They're all dead, Barry. They're not going to be at the wedding." Barry continued to stare at her. "Had you even thought of that? Had you thought of any of that?" She ran a hand through her hair. "My dad's been gone for about a year now, I know that's why my mom is here. She told me herself and yet…I ignored it. For a year, I ignored it, every day I expected him to call me or email me a joke. But that's never going to happen. It's never going to happen."

Barry took in a deep breath. "I know," he said. "I know they're not going to be there. I know they're never going to…"

"Do you really?" Cadence pressed. Her voice cracked, tears coming to her eyes. But she didn't let it fall. "Barry, you went back and created Flashpoint because you couldn't handle it. Are you telling me you can handle it now? Do you really know they're never coming back?"

Barry swallowed hard. He knew. He knew the consequences of it. Knew the consequences of trying to change things. To fix things. Knew from the past and from the future. He couldn't keep people from leaving him. He knew that now. If they were going to leave…he had to deal with it. No matter how much it hurt.

Cadence looked hard at him, watching as he struggled to respond. "Is that when you ran back?" She asked. "Is that why you keep running into things now? Because you're still grieving? Or…because you're not grieving? I haven't. I haven't thought about my dad for the last year and now that my mom's around…I don't have a choice to. And it's made me realize that I haven't…that we haven't been happy in a long time."

Barry smiled to himself. Even when they were apart they still managed to be in synch in some way. He'd struggled with the same thoughts so long, he should've known it had to be hurting her, too. "I haven't been to any of my Zumba classes, I haven't been practicing any of my gymnastics, I bury myself in my work and….I'm tired of it. I'm tired of feeling that way."

"So am I," Barry said. He leaned back against the wall of the pod, crossing his arms and legs. "That's why I went back. I had to go back because I was tired of feeling so much pain. I thought if I went back and changed things…then everything would be different, everything would be…better."

Cadence mimicked his stance on the other side of the pod. They were only a few feet away from each other but they may as well be standing on different sides of the world. "How's that working out for you?"

Barry shook his head. "I'm not the only one who's made mistakes, Cade."

"I know. Inconito's body chilling in the basement morgue could tell you that." Cadence shook her head. "It's like I said, Barry, I know I'm not perfect. I made mistakes." She took in a deep breath. "It's like you said before, I'm just stupid."

Barry's eyebrows came together. "I never said you were stupid."

Cadence nodded. "Yes, you did. When you were whammied by Rainbow Raider. You said I was stupid for getting pregnant."

"Cade—"

"—And I know I was stupid. I was stupid for having sex when I wasn't ready for it. I was stupid for putting so much love on someone and in a relationship, that wasn't going to work after high school. I was stupid for moving out to Central City with an infant instead of letting my mom and dad raise him. I was stupid for not giving him the chance to have a better life instead of being a meta and endangering his life every day. I was stupid for falling in with a terrible group of people who, guess what?—" she gave a sarcastic laugh—"are still trying to kill me." She scratched at her temple. "But the thing is Barry, I don't need you to remind me of that."

"Cade, I was whammied," Barry reminded her. "I said a lot of things I didn't mean." He still remembered the way Captain Singh and Oliver looked at him when he spouted off his hate-filled rant against them. But he'd only just started out as The Flash then, was struggling with so many things. Struggling with how to be Barry, how to be The Flash, how to…how to deal with his love for Iris.

It was funny how much had changed over the years. Back then things were fun with metas around. His father was still in jail, but alive, and nevertheless, happy. Joe and Iris were some of the best family he had, whom he spent every day with. He was in love with Iris. Now metas were serious, his father was dead, caught up in his life as The Flash, he hadn't spent as much time with Joe and Iris as he did his Flash family, the woman he loved was telling him why she couldn't marry him.

"That's the hardest part, though, Barry." Cadence looked him in the eye. Once again, tears threatened to fall. "You meant what you said. I know you did. Because I know you. Whammied or not, it was what you've wanted to say. And, as much as I loved—love you," she quickly corrected herself, making Barry's heart rise with hope, hearing her say the words the eased his pain. "It was hard to be with someone who thought I was stupid. Because it just reminded me of everyone in my life who thought I was, all because I got pregnant. I tried hard to get away from it; studying everything I could about engineering, hanging around STAR Labs, changing my careers to something more stable and that I enjoyed, but the worry still nagged in the back of my head. And, in many ways, I felt lonely, because I didn't have your support."

"I've always been there for you, Cade," Barry insisted. "I've always supported you." He paused, remembering their argument from earlier. He licked his lips. "Okay." He nodded, reminding himself to listen to what she had to say, no matter how much it hurt. "When…when haven't I supported you?"

Cadence managed a small smile. "Well, let's just say that Flash "and friends" day,"—she used air quotes around the words—"wasn't so much a walk in the park. And while I think a Flash with some Flare is actually a pretty good drink, I'd like to have one of my own. Preferably a hot chocolate." She licked her lips, briefly closed her eyes, working herself up to the real problem. "You don't support me on the choices I make as your partner. You proved that today, when you sent Brady out there."

"I was trying to help," Barry croaked. "I can't…I can't just sit back and stop helping people, Cade." His voice broke with emotion, with desperation. "Even without my powers, I can't see other people getting hurt. I can't have Central City fall apart. I have…I wanted nothing more than to go out there and punch him like everyone else but I couldn't. I helped in the best way I thought I could."

"And you did the same thing you always do, Barry. You go and make all these decisions and all these mistakes and expect us to sit back and understand why you chose to do what you did. And we do, every time. No questions asked. But when I make a decision and I make mistakes, it's when you suddenly decide to throw everything I've ever done back into my face! Not just with this, but with my past with the Assassination Bureau and…" Cadence closed her eyes. Revealed the biggest secret she'd ever held. "The first time I killed…it wasn't with them. It was an accident."

"What happened?"

Cadence sighed. "Brady and I were sleeping on the streets. We'd only just gotten to Central City and we didn't have a place to go. I stayed up every night holding him to me because I was afraid of what would happen if I went somewhere to try to find some food. But if I took him with me, people would start to ask questions about who I was and why I'm carrying a baby around. And then this guy showed up, demanded money. I don't know if I saw a knife or if it was my eyes playing tricks on me, but I saw something, I panicked, I lost control of my powers and…I burned him. All over." Cadence frowned, lowering her eyes, seeing an image from along ago. "He screamed for a long time. I don't know how long because I ran away. And I didn't look back. And that stuck with me for years. So much that I need to atone for it. When I worked in the hospital I killed again, helped those that were terminal or in terrible pain to go. I'd heal them a little, to give them some peace, before putting smoke into their lungs. Some people asked me to do it." She shook her head. "There's a lot that I've been through that I need to talk about, and a lot that I'm never going to tell you. But I need you to stop punishing me and support me."

"I—" Again, Barry took a deep breath. "Okay," he finally said. "Okay. I can do that. I can try. But, it's not like it's something I can do very fast." He chuckled. "Even with my powers…I can try." Cadence managed a small smile. "Why'd you never tell me this before? Why'd you wait…why?"

Cadence's gaze was so piercing that this time Barry had to be the one to look away. "You just never listen, Barry," Cadence said simply, letting the words sink in as Barry lowered his head.

He could hardly deny everything she was laying out for him. The evidence was all there. She didn't like making him feel this way, but she had to show him what she'd been going through these last few months, how he'd been making her feel. It wasn't entirely his fault, but he wasn't helping either. That had been part of the reason she said 'no,' because she couldn't just keep going on with things while she was suffering on the inside.

"You're preaching to the choir there, sister."

Simultaneously, Barry and Cadence turned their heads to look out the glass door of the pod, seeing that a man was leaning with his back against the door. They couldn't see his face, but his cloths were as frantic as anything Cadence had ever seen. Multi-colored with patches of different fabric here and there on what Cadence guessed would have been a leather jacket. Only without the leather. His hair was then spiked up, the very tips a scorching blue that looked almost gothic when you took away his outrageous outfit.

"I'm in the same boat myself," he said, placing his hands on his chest. A short, sweet sigh escaped his lips. "My dear, sweet, boyfriend, can't hear what I'm saying. I tell him I'm fine staying in and watching a movie, what does he then do? Drag me out to the Broadway. I say I hate cats, he gets me fifty. I tell him not to steal people's – Well you get the idea." As he finished is miniature rant, the man looked over his shoulder to Cadence, letting her see half his face. He looked rather young, hints of hair beginning to grow around his jaw line, with cool blue eyes that were oddly calming, a perky ski slope nose adding to his overall youthful appearance.

"Sorry, who are you?" Barry asked with a frown. The man swiftly pushed off the glass and bum shuffled forwards before twirling around with folded legs to meet the two. He was just as ridiculous to look at from the front as he was from the back.

"Sorry, rude. Manors aren't my strongest suit. Now as for a name, let's see…" He tapped his chin in thought, peering up at the celling as if he was flipping through an imaginary catalogue trying to choose one. "Where I come from, we don't really have names. So, how about…Claire!" Cadence and Barry stared back at the man, not getting whatever they were supposed to from that name. "Short for Clairvoyant… "

Barry made a face.

"Not a fan, I see. Alright, let's see what else can I come up with…" He started to pace, then snapped his fingers. "Oh! Josh? I look like a Josh, right? I've been told by many people I look a lot like Josh." Still Cadence and Barry weren't sure how to react. Staring back at the man in complete bewilderment.

"Okay," the stranger said, chewing on his lip as he thought. "We'll give it one more go. Give the old box another shake." Playfully shaking his head back and forth, the man suddenly stopped before smiling. "I've got it." He spread his hands. "You can call me, Lover."

"Lover?" Cadence said slowly.

"Yes. What a name, huh?" Lover smiled serenely. "I know your friend, Cisco will be upset I named myself, but such is life. Oh." He tapped his temple. "Remind me to tell him that he's going to have a very eventful time in the next couple of months. Things are going to get really exciting for him, if you know what I mean." He winked. "Don't worry it'll make sense later," he said, waving the subject away. "The real question is, what are we going to do about you two?"

"What're you talking about?" Barry demanded.

"Well, we both know this isn't going to last," Lover said as he waved his finger back and forth between the two. "You don't need to be clairvoyant to know that." Abruptly Lover stopped, laughing hysterically as Cadence and Barry shared a look. This guy had to be properly unstable. "Sorry, personal joke," Lover said, wiping his eyes. "But clearly you two aren't going to sort anything out in a cramped little cell. What you need as a hotel pool, or maybe just a bed with a fire." He looked directly at Cadence. "I'm sure you can take of one of those things."

Cadence shot him the finger.

Lover cheerfully ignored the gesture. "But I happen to know, whatever relationship needs, is time to breath." And as the Lover sighed out his last word, the door to the pod began to open. But as it rose up, allowing Barry and Cadence to leave, he vanished from sight. As if the door had cleaned him away like an eraser would a mark on paper.

Neither moved as they stared out into the corridor that lead away from the Pipeline. Both said trying to understand what had just happened. "You saw that guy in the weird jacket, too right?" Cadence asked slowly, still staring out into the corridor.

"Yeah…" Barry said, equally as slowly while nodding his head. "So we should probably-"

"-Go and check on the others?"

"Yeah," Barry agreed before the two climbed to their feet and ran out the pod. Both bolted it up the stairs of STAR Labs heading for the Cortex only to find that everyone was fine and had gathered in the room. From a quick glance at the monitors around the room, it was obvious they'd found Music Meister again. The various screens showed maps with blinking red dots and a few others showed different news reports of the man prancing around Centre City park.

"How did you two get out?" Cisco cried as the room turned to see the couple standing in the archway of the Cortex.

"Some guy let us out," Barry answered as the two stepped into to join the massive group.

"You weren't joking about their security," Winn muttered to Deity as the girl smirked, hiding it when the members of Team Flash looked her way. Not that they could really deny what was being said.

"Where is he, then?" Alex asked, not wanting to deal with any new threats until the present one had been resolved.

"Don't know, he just vanished," Cadence answered before looking to the news feed of Music Meister prancing around Central City Park, zipping all over the place with Barry's speed while lighting the place on fire with Kara's heat vision. "But right now, this guy's our main priority."

"People are in danger and we've got to stop him. He's clearly trying to get our attention, I say we give it to him," J'onn said firmly.

"My thoughts exactly," Cadence agreed. She looked over to Jesse and Wally who had returned, both already suited up. She hoped all the introductions had been given, then had to squash the urge to give Jesse a hug. There was time for catching up on things on Earth-2 later. "You two been briefed?" She asked, then smiled when they nodded. "Then you know what we're up against." Her gaze moved onto Deity. "You good to get back in the field?"

The girl held up her hand, closing her fist as she tried to use her powers. There was flicker of light around her fist before it burst out, never to return. "Sorry," Deity said regretfully, with a disappointed shake of her head. She wanted nothing more than to go in and fight, but even without her powers it'd be dangerous.

"It's fine, join us when you're ready." Her next targets were Cisco and Caitlin. "You two, in or out?" She had an idea of Caitlin's answer, which was confirmed by the hesitation in her best friend's eyes.

"I'm…I'm not ready," Caitlin said shyly, shaking her head nervously as she played with her hands. Cadence smiled back reassuringly, she wasn't going to push her friend unless it was life and death, currently it wasn't so she was fine with Caitlin sitting this one out for now.

"It's alright. Cisco?"

"Yeah, sure," Cisco said, a little surprised and excited he was being asked. He then turned to Winn. "You can help Caitlin if you want." The engineer then leaned over to Caitlin and whispered, "Just don't let him eat my snacks." She smiled back at her goofy friend and nodded.

Finally, Cadence turned to Brady. She looked at him for a long minute then sighed ruefully. "I suppose there isn't anything I can say to make you stay out of this?"

"I doubt it," Brady admitted.

She smiled back. "Alright, you can come. But I want Wally and Jesse watching your back. You all have been training, but you still have the least experience, it's better if you're all together."

"Of course," Wally said eagerly.

"Yeah, you got it," Jesse added.

"I'm coming, too," J'onn declared.

Cisco chuckled, holding up his hand. "Look, J'onn, I admire this special force's thing you've got going on," Cisco said. "But this problem right here, needs someone with…" Cisco trailed off as J'onn folded his arms and transformed in front of them. Taking on his true alien form, standing tall amongst the others. "Green skin and a sick-ass cape," he murmured.

"Call me the Martian Manhunter," J'onn declared, voice taking on an aquatic-esque rumbling as he spoke.

"I think you'll find that J'onn's a lot more than a pretty face," Winn declared, throwing in a wink for good measure.

"Don't wink," Alex snapped playful.

"Sorry."

"When we're out there, we stay together and watch each other's backs," Cadence spoke up addressing the team. "This guy's strong, but he can't take all of us when we work together. Especially since we've trained for this. We've trained against Barry and we've trained against Kara and Deity. They're able to be defeated."

"Hey," Kara said, offended.

Cadence shot her a reassuring smile. "We just need to figure out how. We know he's tried to take Brady's powers before. If he tries to do it again we stop him. Wally, Jesse, I want you two running as much interference as possible. J'onn, Brady, and I will try hit him hard and Cisco keep your distance and be ready to get us out of there if things take a turn for the worse." Everyone nodded in agreement.

"Anything you want to add, Barry?" Cadence said as she turned to him.

"…no," Barry said, taking in Cadence as she commanded the team. It was as if he was seeing her in a light he'd never let her stand in before.

"Alright then," Cade said with a nod back to him.

"Actually, we've got something to add," Winn said as he ran up to Cisco's said and whispered something into his ear. The two then began to smile like giddy fan boys waiting for the next Star Wars movie and ran over to where the suit mannequins were stored.

"Alright Brady, consider this your joint birthday and Christmas present from both Team Flash and Supergirl," Cisco declared.

"Does this mean I'm not getting another gift?" Brady asked. Barry shot him a disapproving glance and Brady lowered his head apologetically.

"Just for that, I don't think you deserve this. But seeing as it would be a crime to keep it from you…" Winn said, wheeling out the latest version of the Shadowhunter suit.

Brady's eyes widened at the sight. It looked like the cloak he'd worn before, but more was certainly added to it. Rather than wearing his own clothes beneath his suit, which before was nothing more than a cover for him, was a pair of brown boots with buckles enclosing the front, a pair of black pants, a gray and white mandarin style top, and his cloak to go over top. Around the mannequin's neck was a pair of goggles with gray-blue tinted lenses, resting nearby were two arm-bands and what looked like a utility belt.

"How the hell did you get that in here without any of us knowing?" Alex asked with a frown. "There's been someone in here the whole time."

"This place is like Hogwarts," Cisco said with a modest shrug.

"You've got Harry Potter too!' Winn said excitedly. "I love this Earth."

"What do you think, Brady?" Cisco asked as the boy approached the suit.

"I think it looks awesome," Deity said in admiration.

"I like it," Brady whispered as he ran the hand over the suit. He turned to Cadence. "And, look, mom! Matching goggles!" She grinned in response.

"Jeez. Hours of work and he just 'likes it'," Winn grumbled.

"Tell me about it, my talents are wasted here," Cisco agreed.

"Mope later guys, it's time to stop the bad guy," Alex pointed out.

"Right," Cisco said. He quickly went through the components of the suit, from the individual holsters that held his sling-shot and yoyo, introducing a frisbee which would turn into a large shield if worked the right way, and containers in the arm bands that held the pieces of ammo for his slingshot, rolling into his palm when needed. "And of course, this." He presented Brady with an item that he turned back and forth in his hands.

"A watch?" Brady asked.

"Not a watch," Winn said. "We managed to fasten a device that'd ensure you to get into your suit in a moment's notice."

"You press your hand against the top and it'll before suiting up along with everyone else. It took a lot of work with nano-particles and studying Eobard's old ring that helped us figure it out. I mean, that quick side-trip we took to see Ray really helped out," Cisco said.

"Wait." Barry frowned. "I've been asking you to make me some sort of a ring—"

"—And a vehicle for me," Cadence jumped in, only to be met with exasperated responses of, "You can teleport!" from Barry, Cisco, Caitlin, Brady, and HR.

"But you can make Brady a Ben 10 Omnitrix?"

"Really?" Cisco looked offended at his best friend. "I'm thinking of a Power Ranger Morpher. 90s baby for life, yo!"

"Cisco." Cadence gave him a look and waved her hand to say 'wrap this up'.

"Right. Sorry."

"Let's suit up."

Once they were all ready and Brady had on his new suit, Cisco opened up a breach and the six heroes jumped through to take on Music Meister.

* * *

 **A/N:** Sorry this all took so long. I've been working a lot lately and I just needed some time to rest and not think about writing or anything else. But PowerHero432 and I've gotten this chapter polished up for you guys. I hope you enjoyed it. And, now you finally know why Cade said 'no'. What'd you think? Sorry, no review replies this time. But thank you all for sending them in!

 **Cheers,**

 **-Riles**


	30. Strike A Nerve (4)

**30**

 _Strike A Nerve_

* * *

Coming to the end to the end of a brief game of hopscotch, Music Meister looked up, wandering what was taking the heroes so long. They should have been there. How long did it take for them to respond to a crisis? He'd cleared out the park quick enough with a show of force. He hadn't hurt anyone, that wasn't his game, but had done enough to scare them off. Oddly enough, the initially imprint of a hopscotch outline with his heat vision hadn't been enough to scare off the citizens. Setting a few trees on fire did, and now he had the park all to himself. At least until a swirling blue vortex opened and the six heroes jumped out. Standing in a line with enough visible determination to make Music Meister turn tail and run.

But a few goosebumps on his big night weren't going to stop him.

"Oh, goodie!" Music Meister squealed. He clasped his hands together, all but jumping up and down. "Flare and Shadowhunter are back. And with a new look too! Oh, this is just fantastic." He strode toward the heroic group, the excited smile never leaving his face. "And you even brought along a few extra friends. The fan boy engineer turned heroic breacher. The last man from Mars. And even my favorite speedster couple; Kid Flash and Jesse Quick. Gosh, you really did bring quite the party, and it's not even my birthday." His laugh was outrageous but quickly diminished as he noticed an absentee. "But no Deity Ann, I see, that's a shame. I was looking forward to getting in a few jabs about blue boy's first crush," Music Meister said with a gesture to Brady.

Brady didn't take that remark well; quickly pulling his slingshot from its holster and pulled his arm back. Music Meister waved a hand at him. "If you're going to be a hero, you may want to work on having thicker skin." He shook his head, turning his gaze to Wally. "And Kid Flash, do you have that name yet? Oh and a suit?! I see they're taking you more seriously now." He held his hands up and framed the group in front of him. "This is exciting, this is such a treat. Hey, why don't we get some favors, huh? Throw a real big party, right?"

"What do you want?" Wally demanded.

"The same thing I want with all of you." Music Meister surged forward and slammed into Wally, knocking him to the ground. Then he was back in his original place, arms folded and smiling smugly at the speedster. "Is everything alright, Wally? You look a little scared." He tapped his chin. "Maybe, of your future, perhaps?"

"No," Wally said. He surged to his feet. "And I'm not afraid of anything."

"Prove it," Music Meister said with a chuckle. "I mean, I should be the scared one, right? I'm the one who's in Central City, your home turf, and…" he tapped his cheek. "And yet, I'm the one who's winning. So, I guess I don't have to be scared at all. Well, you know as they say, the show must go on!"

Brady released his slingshot, unleashing an exploding pelt towards Music Meister's head. With ease, Music Meister avoided it, catching it in his hand before tightening his fist as smoke began to seep out from between his fingers. "Sorry, the grown-ups are talking." His eyes moved over to Jesse. "So, what's it like dating an idiot, Jesse? Must be hard having to lower your IQ standards just to have a conversation with that one." He mimed pointing to Wally, an exaggerated frown on his face.

"This guy really loves to talk doesn't he," Cisco murmured.

"Oh, you have no idea," said the Music Meister as he leaned forwards, daring Cisco to challenge him.

"Well, we're going to enjoy shutting you up."

"That is…if you can catch me," the Meister declared, stepping back as his eyebrows bounced, then he was off, quick as a flash.

"Go!" Cadence ordered and that's what Wally and Jesse did, taking off full speed after Music Meister.

Cadence realized she could try to run after them if she wanted. But keeping up with Music Meister at his current power level would be tricky. She'd burn too much energy too fast, they needed to be smart. They needed to follow the plan. If anyone could catch up to them with Barry's speed, it was Wally and Jesse. Instead, she teleported and got herself into position and left Wally and Jesse to their speed.

Racing through the city streets, the yellow lightning of the three speedsters bounced this way and that as they zipped down alleyways, veered around corners and scaled up buildings. Wally and Jesse did their best to catch up but every time they pushed themselves harder, Music Meister matched their speed, constantly staying just a head of them. At one point, Wally broke off from the chase, hopping to cut the thief off while Jesse continued the chase. Even then the Music Meister was a step ahead, what with Kara's X-Ray vision, he could see Wally coming from a mile away.

"We need a plan!" Jesse shouted to Wally over the roar of the wind around them. She pumped her arms, moving as fast as she could.

"I'm open to suggestions!" Wally called back. A second later, an idea slammed into his head. A trick from his racing days. "I've got it!" He turned a grin her way. "I'll slipstream off you!"

Jesse turned to him, eyes wide behind her domino mask. "What?"

"It's a racing thing. Trust me, it'll work." Wally nodded towards Music Meister. "Just stay on him," He instructed then fell back, purposefully lowering his speed to maneuver himself behind Jesse. Once he moved into position, Wally picked up his speed. He stayed right behind her as she raced along the street after Music Meister. He waited until they'd finished racing around corners every few seconds and hit a straight path back towards the park. He had had his chance.

Using his racing knowledge combined with his speed force powers, Wally pushed himself as hard as he could. Everything about him became a blur and he pressed forward with everything he had. Then, right as he was about to catch up to her, he pulled out from behind and with the added boost raced past her and right up to Music Meister's heels.

Breaking into the park, Music Meister stopped short. He threw his arms and feet out, creating a star shape. Wally couldn't stop himself in time and crashed right into Music Meister's arm. It was like hitting a beam of metal. He his insides crack as he flipped up and over Music Meister's arm, landing hard on the ground. A grunt escaped him as his back crashed to the ground and he skidded across the park, turning dirt up as he went.

Next thing he knew, Jesse landed hard beside him, obviously having fallen into the same trap. She gasped in pain, her eyes widening at the sudden onslaught against her body.

"I'll give you one, Kid. That was pretty smart," Music Meister admitted as he stepped towards the two downed speedsters. "But clearly neither of you are as bright as me." He finished his statement with a wide smile, showing of his almost sparkling teeth.

Wally closed his eyes, shaking his head. He vowed, then and there, that before the night was out, he was going to break every single one of Music Meister's teeth.

Then Music Meister's smile was gone as a black snot like substance splattered across his face. Music Meister's head jerked back. "What the-?" He pressed his fingers into the black substance and groaned. Cries of disgust then followed as he clawed at the substance, digging his nails into his skin, trying in vain to rip the substance from his face. It spread across his mouth, nose, and even one eye.

Wally looked back and smiled when he saw Brady with his slingshot followed by Cisco who raised his arms to fire out a breach behind Music Meister. Next J'onn came flying in, hitting the gleeful thief head-on before the two vanished into the swirling blue mass.

"Shake it off you two," Cadence instructed before sprinting past and leaping into the breach after J'onn. It closed behind her, as Cisco and Brady rushed over to help the two speedsters up.

"I'd like to see her shake off a bunch of broken ribs," Wally grumbled. He winced as Cisco grabbed his arm and picked him up from the ground.

Across the Park, Music Meister crashed to the ground, finally removing the black goop from his face. His smile was gone, now replaced by an irritated and unhappy snarl. Music Meister yelped as J'onn grabbed him, throwing him above his head allow Cadence to propel herself forward with a boost of flames and land a powerful kick into the Music Meister. Then with an elegant black flip, she landed next to J'onn, flipping her hair from her face.

"That son of yours is really starting to piss me off," grumbled the Music Meister as he stood back up, dusting himself off.

"He's got a gift for that," Cadence said smugly, happy to have finally broken the façade Music Meister had been keeping up since he first arrived. No longer was he the happy over confident, careless idiot. He was angry. He had emotions. And emotions could be used as a weapon.

"Yeah, well." Music Meister smirked, shrugging. "I've got a natural gift for putting people to sleep." He locked eyes with the two heroes and let lose his special ability. Blue rings pulsing over his eyes as he entranced both J'onn and Cadence. But again, something hit his face, splatter over his eyes and breaking his connection. "Will you stop it!" he cried out, a child throwing a tantrum.

"Nice shot," Cadence said as Brady came up to her side along with the others.

"Thanks."

"Cisco, you think you're ready to try a 'Room of Breaches'?" Cadence asked, referring to a training move they'd been practicing since she'd taken over Cisco's training from Barry. The engineer nervously glanced at her before nodding.

If they were ever going to show it off, now would be the time. "Yeah, but I don't know how long I can hold it for."

"Just give us what you can," Cadence reassured him. Then she turned to the alien standing beside her. "J'onn, stay with him. The rest of you, follow my lead," Cadence instructed before running ahead with Brady, Jesse and Wally behind her. Cisco took a deep breath and shook out his arms, rolled his shoulders.

"Okay, Cisco, you can do this," He muttered, psyching himself up. "It's just like you practiced it. Only, you're out in the open." Cisco took in a deep breath and threw out his arms with a scream of effort. Multiple breaches opened around Music Meister, six breaches all at once. Cadence leapt through the closest and the rest followed.

From there, one after another they came flying out separate breaches, each landing a hit on Music Meister, preventing him from tearing of the inky substance that impaired his vision. Cadence with her fire attacks and strengthened punches, Wally and Jesse with their rapid punches and Brady with the occasional shadow ball as well as whacking Music Meister's hands from his face every time he reached for the substance.

But Cisco couldn't keep it up for long. Blood started to drip from his nose, beading down to his chin, dripping to the front of his jacket. He groaned, struggling to keep his hands up.

"Cisco," J'onn cautioned.

"It's okay…" Cisco ground out. His hands rapidly started to shake. The strain of using his powers so long with such high energy slowly took its toll. "I can hold it…" His body screamed for him to stop, along with Caitlin's worried scream from his comm. link. He ignored her voice, it was what he'd trained for. It was the whole point of working on his powers, to be ready to go out in the field if he needed to and to help his friends. He wasn't going to let them down now.

* * *

"Cisco!" Caitlin shouted again. She sighed in frustration, placing her hands on the computer desk. Her eyes roved back and forth along the monitors in front of her. Then her eyes moved to the tablet sitting in front of her. "He's using too much energy."

"Caitlin, he's going to be okay," Kara said, placing her hand on the bio-engineer's shoulders. But even her face held an expression of worry.

She could hardly watch. Could barely stand sitting back and watching her friends risk their lives while she was…stuck. One glance at Barry, who continued to pace the floor, and she knew he felt the same. His hand sat on his chin, the other holding his arm up, gently tapping his lips as he went. He winced every time he saw one of their friends get hit by Music Meister before his hands clenched into fists.

"There has to be something we can do," Barry finally said, dropping his hands to his waist. "We have to go out there, do something."

"Yeah, we can't just sit here and watch," Kara added.

Alex shook her head. "No, not without your powers." Kara gave her a pleading look, making Alex's harden in return. "You'll just be putting yourself in more danger than what they're facing. Trust me, a superpowered punch is not what you need right now."

"What we need is to figure out a way to strip this guy of their powers," Winn said. He gestured around the Cortex. "Don't you guys have some sort of a fancy, schmancy gadget or gizmo that can do that? Take away people's powers?"

Caitlin and Barry glanced at each other. The Philosopher's Stone entered both of their minds. Caitlin's desperation to have her powers removed was what caused Julian to be on their tail, which made Barry ultimately lose his job. Now, Barry understood her desperation to use it, to put herself in danger of Savitar and Alchemy. He'd do anything to get his powers back. Would do anything to…to fix everything.

Barry closed his eyes, still feeling the impact of Iris's words.

 _"Hey, Bare," Iris greeted him as he entered the West house. "You haven't been around here in a while." She set her papers aside. "Is everything alright? I heard about that bank robbery on the news and-" she paused, getting a good look at his face. Her movements slowed, she stared at her friend. "What's wrong?" She asked._

 _Barry gave a small smile, running his hands over his hair. He walked to the nearby armchair and pressed his hands against the top. He should've known Iris would've been able to see right through him. He both loved and hated that. Especially when he was so…he wasn't sure anymore. "How'd you know something was wrong?"_

 _"You're not giving that Barry-smile we always see," Iris said. She slowly stood up, walking to her friend, placing a hand on her shoulder. "I know things are hard but…you haven't really smiled since your dad died. And, I'm starting to get worried."_

 _Barry gave a humorless chuckle. "You're always worried about me, Iris."_

 _"Yeah, and I have to be. I mean, did you see the way you were dressed in high school?" Iris's comment made Barry chuckle. "I tried to talk you out of it but you insisted." Iris reached up and shook her best friend's shoulder. "Barry, what's going on? Me and dad and Wally are worried. You're hardly at Jitters, you barely come by, all you do is throw yourself into the field. And now that you lost your job…"_

 _"Believe me, losing my job is the least of my worries." Barry ran a hand over his face, rounded the armchair and flopped down. "Oh God, Iris, I don't know what to do. I feel like I'm going to explode."_

 _Iris moved back to the couch and sat next to him, still rubbing his wrist. "Whatever it is, I'm here for you."_

 _"Yeah, but not for long," Barry murmured._

 _Iris removed her hand and leaned back, her eyebrows coming together. Barry looked back at her, unsure if she was offended or confused. He got his answer when Iris slowly said, "I don't understand. I…I'm not going anywhere, Barry."_

 _"Yeah, you are." Barry slowly nodded. "And I'm not going to be able to stop it." Iris tilted her head, continuing to stare at him. "I went to the future," he admitted. Iris's eyes widened. "I didn't do it on purpose, I never wanted to time travel again."_

 _"Not after Flashpoint," Iris agreed._

 _"It was just after we'd finished fighting Savitar and Alchemy," Barry explained. "I was just running, trying to clear my head, trying to figure out what we could do to stop them. And…and a portal opened, the same way it did when I went back in time to save my mom. But when I stopped, I was in the future."_

 _"The future?"_

 _Barry nodded. "And…and I saw…" he took a deep breath, shoulder slumping as he finally got the truth out that'd been causing him so much pain and suffering. "I saw you. I saw…I'm sorry I didn't tell you this sooner. I accidentally ran to the future and I saw Savitar murder you. And I saw Caitlin and Cadence kill each other. And I saw myself…I wasn't fast enough to save any of you."_

 _"What?" Iris shook her head. "But…I don't…" She took in a deep breath._

 _"I'm sorry."_

 _"How long? How long until it happens?"_

 _"A few months."_

 _"How long have you known?"_

 _Barry didn't respond. He simply stared at Iris, watching the tears that welled up in her eyes. Watched as they spilled down her cheeks. She brought up her hand, wiping the tears off her cheeks. Then her eyes squeezed shut and she looked Barry in the eye with a renewed fire she hadn't seen before. "I don't believe you," She grounded out._

 _"I know I should've told you sooner—"_

 _"—Not that!" Iris snapped. She stood up, slapping her hands to her hips. "Bartholomew Allen!" Barry winced at the mention of his full name. "I can't believe you're doing it again." Barry started to stammer out a response. "There's a whole team of people behind you, ready to be there for you but you keep pushing everyone away!"_

 _"I know."_

 _"No, you don't know!" Heaving a heavy sigh, Iris lowered herself to the couch, tucking her hair behind her ears. "Joe, Wally, and I have been waiting for you to come to us. I wanted to be there for you but dad said you needed to figure thigs out yourself. And you haven't been around. I know things have been going badly for you, Barry; first your mom, then your dad, then your job, then Cade…" Barry looked away. Iris's eyes narrowed. "What?" She sat up straight. "Barry, what'd you do?"_

 _"Something stupid," Barry admitted, rubbing his neck. "I…I wanted to keep the future from happening."_

 _"—Barry—"_

 _"—I know." He didn't need to hear the lecture. "I wanted to keep it from happening, I don't want anything to happen you or Cait or Cade…so…I thought…maybe it'd be a good idea if I proposed." Iris's eyes widened in horror. "I wanted to do it anyway, I was going to, but then seeing what was to happen…" he trailed off. "You don't have tell me how stupid it was, I know."_

 _"They don't know," Iris surmised. Barry nodded. "That's why you've been avoiding everyone. When you're not working you're by yourself, you haven't come to me and dad, not that dad's been around for you to come to, he's been working so much lately."_

 _"I didn't want to put you in any more danger than you already were—"_

 _"—_ _Just knowing you puts us in danger. That's the same reason you wouldn't tell me you were the Flash! And how did that work out for you? We're a family, Barry! And I know that may be hard since your parents are gone. But you have us, you've always had us, and you have Team Flash. We're all there for you." She jabbed him hard on the arm. "You better not forget it." She jabbed him harder, making him flinch away. "And you'd better not keep a secret like that from us again!"_

She certainly knew how to use them, that was for sure. Going into journalism had been a good move for her, mostly because it meant she could tear other people apart with just her sass and clear wording as opposed to just him.

But now that he'd come clean with her, Joe and Wally, he'd have to talk to the rest of the Team, sooner rather than later. He'd been meaning to for a while now, but with everything going on, he just hadn't had the heart. And just thinking of talking to Cade about it terrified him. He was certain it would make things worse, especially if he came clean about the real reason for him proposing. She'd never forgive him for that.

Would he, if it'd been the other way around?

"So, you expect us to just sit here and take it?" Deity demanded. She clenched her hand into a fist, grunting when a puny light came from her hand. "I can't believe this." She folded her arms, starting to pace like Barry had done before. Kara moved to her daughter and gathered her in a hug.

Barry took her space at the computer desk and leaned next to Caitlin, who stared at the monitors intensely. Her lower lip was red and swollen, her continued chewing wasn't helping matters much. "Nothing?" He asked, voice low. He glanced towards the monitors and winced along with Caitlin as they watched the team get knocked down one more.

Caitlin shook her head. "I wish there was something," She said. "But…nothing." She flipped her hair back and looked Barry in the eye. "The only thing we can do is watch…and wait."

Barry sighed. He was hoping she wouldn't say that.

* * *

Punch after punch kept coming, followed ever so often by a ball of searing energy to the chest or a series of fire blasts to the back and even the occasional stick whack against his hands. Music Meister was getting sick of it, his anger building, much as he hated it.

It was his show and he wouldn't have it ruined like this.

With a scream that declared the need for vengeance, Music Meister blasted the black substance from his eyes as two bright beams of light shot into the sky. Now that he could see, he saw Brady coming right at him with his bow staff. With ease, Music Meister caught the staff, swinging Brady around before letting him and his stick fly over into the trees. Next was Cadence, fist flying towards him, until he caught it. With a savage twist he snapped her wrist then followed up with a punch to each of her ribs before delivering a final punch that sent her back into the breach she'd come out of. She collapsed out another, landing in a heap on the grassy ground, struggling to get back up. Last of all were the speedsters, one of which tried to get the drop on him from behind. He reached backwards, grabbing Jesse's arm before he threw her into Wally as he came out another breach. The two crashed to the ground.

With the four heroes disposed of, the breaches closed, and Music Meister turned his sights on the weakened Cisco, who slowly sank to his knees. "Tell me when I'm about to kill you and I'll stop," Music Meister declared, advancing on Cisco. He was going to have fun with this one. Though it looked like a simple blow of Kara's super breath would be enough to knock him out, Music Meister was going to have some fun tearing him down. It's what he got for changing the set of his show so much.

J'onn stepped up to defend the engineer but a backhand from Music Meister sent him flying. "Out of the way ET." Stopping in front of Cisco, he took an inhale of breath and as Cisco raised his feeble fist, Music Meister let out a gust of wind that shoved the poor engineer to the ground. "Looks like someone still needs their superhero training wheels," the Music Meister sang out along with doing a quick two-step, now back to his cheery self.

Things were finally back on track.

* * *

With dismay the group back at STAR Labs watch the screens as their friends were beaten and thrown around like stuffed animals. They were nothing more than toys for Music Meister to amuse himself with. At first things had looked promising, especially once they got the upper hand on him. But now Cisco was down and everyone else wasn't looking to good either as they tried to fight off the Musical God.

"They're getting pulverized," Alex said in defeat, watching as J'onn and the Meister traded punches, ending once again with the Martian being beaten as Wally ran in for another go. "I'd go out there if he wasn't able to shoot down my bullets so easily."

"Not to mention he'd probably break your jaw before you could even speak," Deity murmured.

"Their healing abilities are all that's keeping them going right now," Caitlin added solemnly. "For every broken rib that heals they get two new ones. It's only a matter of time until that healing energy gives out and they have to call it quits."

"There's got to be something we can do," Barry said, gripping the desk tightly. He couldn't stand being on the side lines. It was killing him. Watching helplessly as his friends fought for him, to get his powers back as well as Kara's. He should be out there, doing something, anything. Even just taking a punch or two to distract him while the other recovered. He'd rather be in agonizing pain that standing in the Cortex helplessly watching.

"You think I should go out there?" Deity asked.

"So you can get beaten up along with the rest of them?" Winn asked, a snort coming to his lips. He glanced at her dismissively, then brought his hand up to chew on his thumbnail. "That's not going to help anyone. And how are you going to get there with your powers on the frits anyway?" He added.

The teenage girl pouted, sighing irritably as she ran her hands through her hair. "I know it's annoying, Debby," Kara said, rubbing soothing circles on her daughter's back. She watched the screen intently. Wanting to look away but unwilling too. It'd be like they weren't supporting their friends, and right now, that was all they could do.

"More like painful," Deity murmured, resting her head on Kara's shoulder.

"Don't worry, Miss Danvers. I've seen this lot come back from far worse things than this," HR said in his usual upbeat optimistic tone. It was almost as if he was watching an entirely different channel to the rest of them. The large grin on his face was almost as big as Cisco's when doing Cisco-Cinema.

Something else, Barry noticed, they hadn't done in a long time. Rage consumed him again, this time for allowing his own selfish actions to get them in their predicament. "There has to be something!" Barry said as he banged his hands off the desk, his frustration getting the better of him.

"Well if you're open to suggestions…" The group turned towards the archway behind them, Alex immediately drew her gun the moment they saw the man Barry and Cadence knew as 'Lover'. "I've got a doozy."

"Is that the guy that let you and Cade out?" Kara asked, her arm protectively around Deity in a protective manor.

"Yeah," Barry said, eyes fixed on Lover along with everyone else. He stood in front of Caitlin, suddenly wishing he could carry a gun with the CCPD. The man seemed to drink up with delight, smiling back at the group as he gave them each a friendly carefree look in the eye.

"I've just got to say, sir. That is one fine looking jacket," HR spoke up as he pointed with an admiring drum stick.

"Thank you!" Lover squealed excitedly, tugging at the lapels of his strange multi-colored, patched jacket. He spun in a quick circle then struck a pose. "I made it myself."

"Really, do you think you could make me one of those bad boys-"

"HR!" Barry and Caitlin shouted.

"And you call me easily distracted?" Winn murmured to Alex, who shot him a quick glare over her shoulder to him.

"What?" HR said innocently as he turned to face his comrades. "The man's clearly here to help, I'm just making ideal chatter. A skill you lot really need to pick up on," he said, wiggling his drum sticks towards the two.

"Well, help's a bit of strong word," Lover said sheepishly. He clasped his hands together, stepping towards the group. "More like I'm here to offer my assistance for a price."

"And how are you going to help stop the Music Meister?" Kara asked with a frown while her sister continued to keep her gun aimed at Lover's chest. Ready to fire at a moment's notice.

"Shouldn't be that hard considering we used to date," Lover said with a shrug that was far too casual for the situation.

With a burst power and a blur of yellow, Deity was on the man, pressing him to the wall, her arm against his throat as the other raised back to punch him. Barry, Winn and Caitlin jumped in surprise while Alex tightened her grip on the gun and Kara called out her daughter's name. But Deity didn't care. She wasn't going let this guy push them around, not when their friends' lives were on the line.

"You tell us right now how to stop this guy! I don't care about whatever your price is, 'cause you're not getting anything from us!" Deity snarled into Lover's face, a faint glow forming around her raised fist.

"I see you've still got bit of rage issues after War World," Lover said with a pointed look to the girl.

"Oh, crap," Winn muttered.

"Debby-!" Kara shouted in plea, reaching for her daughter, but it was too late. Deity's face contorted in rage and she swung her fist as the light around it grew, her eyes locked with Lover's. He never once wavered, and as the fist closed in, he let out a pulse from within his eyes, just like Music Meister.

Suddenly the light vanished from Deity's fist and it stopped in its motion. Worried that he had the same abilities as Music Meister, Alex kept her gun trained on him. Looked for a safe shot which wouldn't hit her niece. But Deity never fell. She remained standing. Until finally she stepped back releasing Lover.

"How…How did you do that?" Deity asked, mild confusion both in her voice and across her face.

"Meister can put people to sleep. Me. I can calm them down," Lover said with a sweet smile. "Among other things. But that's my most famous if I do say so myself." He reached up, smoothing imaginary strands of hair back in place. He turned to the rest of the group. "Now about my fee…"

* * *

Cisco was down, Wally was down and even J'onn wasn't looking so good. Then again having been hit herself a few times, Jesse knew how hard this Music Meister could punch. It wasn't helpful that Kara's strength within him had been amplified by Barry's speed. It was like getting smacked by a freight train on speed. To her knowledge J'onn didn't even have the same level of healing as her and the others. Though she figured he must have something considering how many hits he'd taken and continued to get up and fight.

Or maybe he was just stubborn like her dad.

A blast of heat vision from Music Meister snapped Jesse from her thoughts, ducking beneath it as she slid across the ground at super speed. She'd been doing well, keeping him busy while the others regrouped. Cadence was off behind a tree, pushing her ribs back inside her chest, screaming in pain each time one moved, but continued to heal herself. Brady was somewhere in the shadows, waiting to strike and J'onn was with Cisco and Wally. Jesse was grateful for that. It meant she could keep her mind off him, at least a little. Knowing that if Music Meister went for him then J'onn could at least hold him off. It was her fault Wally had gotten knocked out in the first place. Taking a hit that was meant for her, but like the hero he was he'd shoved her out the way.

Jesse quickly shook her head. She couldn't think about that, needed to stay focused on Music Meister. Barry warned her about the dangers of being a speedster. How easy it was to get lost in racing thoughts when a speedster had all day to think. The scientist in her loved it; she could spend twice as long thinking about the latest theories and scientific papers in record time while still having a life. But in the middle of a battle, it became hard to keep her mind focused, especially when thinking about her mistakes.

Getting up, Jesse watched as Music Meister came to a stop. He hardly broke a sweat from thrashing the team around. Music Meister smirked as he began to clap. "Well done, Miss Quick. It's good to see those reflexes of yours are on par with that of your boyfriend's." He was trying to rattle her, just like he'd done with Wally before.

Jesse brushed the thought aside and raised her arm in front of her just like Barry had shown her and began to rotate. She rapidly built up speed, lightning crackling around her arms. Before long she had a cyclone on the go, heading straight for Music Meister. He countered, as expected with Kara's super breath, but even with an increased lung capacity, he wouldn't be able to breath out as long as Jesse could spin her arms.

She had him.

When Jesse felt herself begin to push him back, his forceful breath dying out, she saw Cadence jump in beside her. The fire metahuman then raised her hands, sending a stream of fire into the cyclone that Jesse had created. Spreading like a virus, the flames quickly consumed the cyclone turning it into a vortex of fire that broke through the last of Music Meister's resistance.

Knowing he'd been hit, Jesse stopped rotating her arms, the flames vanished from the air as their whimsical opponent stumbled backwards. Neither Jesse or Cadence wasted a second, both charging forward. Naturally Jesse got ahead with a burst of speed, striking Music Meister with a punch full of momentum. He flew off his feet, sailing ahead of her as Cadence appeared before them. She was already in the air, spinning around gracefully as her leg extended to meet Music Meister. They connected and the sudden change in momentum caused him to spin out of control before landing face first into the ground.

Jesse raced past him, already seeing he was getting back up. She reached for Cadence and her other earthly sister did the same. Their hands connected, Jesse dug her heels into the ground and swung with all her strength, throwing Cadence around her body and back towards Music Meister. Flames erupted from Cadence's feet, consuming her lower half in a blaze of flames mixed with a red orange glow. Like the head of a space capsule plummeting back to earth.

Music Meister moved to avoid the attack, but Cadence teleported and came up directly beneath him, her connected feet catching him right beneath his jaw, flipping him head over heels as she landed just a few feet away. Jesse joined her and the two grinned before turning back to the Music Meister.

"Whoa! If I wasn't on the receiving end of that, I might have enjoyed that little performance," Music Meister declared, rubbing his jaw as he stood up tall. He ran his tongue over his teeth, ensuring they were all still in place then grinned. Even after everything they'd put him through, he was still making jokes, and playing it off like it was all just a game. They only time they'd managed to rile him up was when they got the jump on him right at the start with Cisco's breaches. Since then he'd had the upper hand, teasing them all as they continued to try and over power him somehow.

Every other second Jesse racked her brain, trying to come up with something, anything to give them an edge but she had squat. What good was having powers if she couldn't use her mind at the same time, at least when in the field. When in a lab she could do it, she'd practiced and proved to herself she could, but she needed more practice using that skill in the field. Maybe if she had then she'd have already figured out how to beat Music Meister.

Jesse was so wrapped up in her thoughts that she didn't notice Music Meister until it was too late. He zapped her with a bolt of lightning that rendered her paralyzed on the ground, struggling to move out of the way. Music Meister walked over to her, lightning trailing over his fingertips and knelt beside her. He grabbed her leg and extended it further. "You're starting to get on my nerves, but that's okay, I'll give you a little break." Before Jesse could stop him, Music Meister lifted his foot and stomped onto her leg, immediately breaking it in two.

Brady rolled out from beneath a nearby car and hurried to his mother's side. He grimaced, watching Jesse's leg get broken, knowing it'd take hours before she'd be back on her feet. He took stop of the rest of the team, Music Meister hadn't noticed them yet, they at least had some time to figure out a new course of plan. "How mad do you think Cisco and Winn would be if I broke this?" Brady asked, pulling out the new frisbee shield he'd been given. Cadence gave him a funny look which easily conveyed, 'are-you-kidding?'.

Brady looked up at his mother before relying his idea to her. She nodded in agreement and prepared herself for another assault on the cosmic deity.

With Music Meister pressing down on her broken leg, Jesse groaned in pain, doing her best to hold back the girlish scream that was inside her. She wasn't a kid any more, she was a hero, no matter what anyone else said, no matter what her dad said. She was going to prove that to him and to herself. She held back, bit down, and refused to give in.

"Sorry, Jesse, but daddy's not going to save you this time," Music Meister said, applying more pressure.

"Good thing we're here then." Music Meister turned, his face dropping when he saw Cadence. Brady's staff in hand and more importantly, Brady at the other end, curled up, holding his shield up as Cadence swung him right at the Music Meister.

"Not again," he grumbled as the boy and his shield hit him square on sending him off into the trees. He was gone only for a few seconds before he streaked back across the sky. He landed on the ground in a crouch, a shockwave knocking Cadence and Brady aside before he brought his hands together in a hard clap. The resulting shockwave was the one that did them in, leaving them on the ground with the rest of their fallen comrades.

"Well that was fun!" Music Meister cheered, clapping his hands in delight. The downed heroes all lied around him, groaning as they clung to their sides or just lay sprawled out across the ground. They'd given it everything they had but he was too much. Not just with Barry and Kara's powers, but with the boosts he'd taken from Cadence and Deity early on, he was unbeatable.

Music Meister pressed his lips together, looking around the empty streets. "And yet still he's nowhere in sight…hmmm." He sighed and shrugged. "Oh, well. Guess I'll just have to do something drastic to get his attention. Let's see, you've been pretty annoying," he decided, picking up Brady by the back of his hood. "Pretty sure you won't be missed."

Cadence went to shout in protest but before she could someone else spoke up. "Alright, alright, I'm here!" She looked back to see the man from before, Lover, making his way across the opening towards them. "No need to threaten the eleven-year-old."

Music Meister beamed in a mixture of pride and happiness before throwing Brady aside like a discarded tissue. Cadence quickly teleported and caught him before he hit the ground. "You came!" he squealed before zipping over in a flash to meet his guest of honor. He spread his arms wide. "Well, what do you think?"

"Let's see…beaten heroes…destroyed public property… you jacked up on superpowers," Lover listed, looking around before his eyes landed on Music Meister. "What do I think?" Music Meister waited on the edge of his seat before receiving an astonished slap to the face. "Are you out of your mind?!"

"Wh…what?" Music Meister said in pure confusion, holding his check as he stared back.

"What on Earth made you think this was a good idea?!" exclaimed Lover, gesturing to the scene around them.

"I-I-I just thought-"

"Have you been speaking to that Mxyzptlk again?" Lover demanded, hands going to his hips in irritation.

"No!" Music Meister snapped defensively.

"Really?"

"…Alright, maybe one or two times."

"Uh-huh."

"But that's only because you shot down my music dream idea," protested Music Meister.

"I never shot it down. I said it was cheesy and over the top, but I didn't say I didn't like it."

"Oh," sighed Music Meister.

"More to the point, I think I could have just come and talked to them myself. I didn't need you beating them all half to death first."

"Well, I had to prove a point."

Lover shook his head. "Why do you never listen to me?"

"I listen!" Music Meister protested.

"Yes. That's why you stole poor Kara's powers, made Barry's life twice as complicated as it needed to be and—oh yes—beat up all these friendly people!" Lover guested to the heroes around them, all of whom were know staring back at the couple in disbelief.

"Is this really happening?" Wally murmured.

"I mean for crying out loud. I get you want to help me. I like that you help me. But this is just ridicules," Lover sighed. "And just look at the mess I've got to clean up now." Music Meister smiled eagerly to his ex, resulting a glare in response. "Don't push me."

"Excuse me," Cisco called out, rising his arm.

"Yes, Mr. Ramon," Lover said politely, looking over to the engineer who was sprawled out across the grass, blood covering his lower face. "How can I help you?"

"Yeah, you can help me by telling me…what the hell is going on here?"

"Glad you asked. Though I feel this question would be better answered at home, don't you?" Lover said, addressing Music Meister with the last part.

"Alright," Music Meister agreed before both snapped their fingers. A bright light consuming the group only to then fade away to reveal the Cortex of STAR Labs. As soon as they arrived, Caitlin hurried to Jesse's side and took her from Wally, easing her into the closest chair to her.

Barry skirted around the computer desks and crashed into Brady, enveloping him in a hug. Brady coughed, eyes growing wide behind his goggles. "Barry! Choking! Not breathing!" He breathed a huge sigh of relief when Barry then went to Cisco and Cadence and did the same.

"I'm sorry," Barry murmured into Cadence's ear as he hugged her.

"For killing me?" Cadence gasped, surprised at his strength despite not having his powers. "So am I!" Barry released her when Music Meister suddenly started to clap loudly. "This guy is getting on my nerves," Cadence murmured.

"'Bravo, round of applause. Standing 'O'. That was so good." Music Meister congratulated Lover. "I loved it. That was a hell of a show." He then turned to the heroes. "And you, you all…you really put up a hell of a fight. I didn't think it was possible, but you truly are Earth's mightiest heroes."

"I think that name's taken," Winn commented.

"Okay, man, now's the time for answers!" Cisco ripped off his glasses and slammed his hands on his hips. "How'd you get Kara's and Barry's powers? How do you know so much about us? And more importantly!" He pointed towards Lover. "How'd you get them out of the Pipeline?"

"It's not exactly rocket science Mr. Ramon. I pushed the open button, " Lover stated rather simply.

"My _God_ your security is bad," Winn exclaimed with a look to Cisco as the engineer shrugged it off with a huff. Their security was fine, he just needed to beef up the pipeline a little and add a few more passwords to keep weirdos like Lover out.

Music Meister shook his head. Lover pouted and started to snap his fingers. "Back on me please," he quickly said, bringing everyone's eyes back to him, where he liked them. "Okay, see, we, our people, see everything. We know how to get in and out of everything. And this one here." He gestured to Music Meister, who took a humble bow. "Was trying to help. Sorry he went a bit overboard, but I needed to mess with you—"

"—Are you from another universe or what?" Deity demanded. They needed answers and they needed it now. The mysterious air held around them was just starting to get annoying.

"—Actually, I'm a cosmic deity—"

"-A cosmic being," Lover corrected with a sigh and a shake of his head. "Only you would call yourself a deity."

Music Meister continued. "And you wouldn't even understand where we come from. But that's a story for another time." He waved his hands in farewell. "We have to get going."

"Not before you explain yourselves," Kara demanded, making Music Meister stop in his tracks. He nodded, as if forgetting what they'd even come back for. "What did you want with our powers? Why are you even here?"

"And why us?" Barry added. He was as tired of the others not having any answers. Not knowing what was going on. The one glimpse he got into knowledge, of the future, and he was ready to leave everything behind. Sporadic glimpses were slowly starting to kill him. They were all very intelligent but he was tired of feeling so idiotic.

"Well, it's like I said, I'm a clairvoyant," Lover explained. He clasped his hands in front of him then gestured to Music Meister with a flick of his head. "And he's a trickster. It's the best way I can explain it. And as for why he decided to steal your powers, well, he never really needed them in the first place."

"What?" Wally asked.

Winn stared at the cosmic beings in disbelief. "You're telling me that this whole thing was just a way for you to get your jollies?"

"If only that were true," Lover said flatly. He cleared his throat once more. "No, the only reason all this happened was because you needed a test. A test to know if you're truly ready to take on what's coming for you." He tapped his temple. "And you've got a lot coming for you. That reminds me, Mr. Ramon, you've got a lot of excitement coming your way."

"What are you, a fortune cookie?" Cadence demanded. She flicked her hand at her side, flames immediately erupting, creeping up her arm. "We need answers and we need them now."

"'It's like I told you, we needed to test you to be ready," Music Meister said. "I could've gone ahead and made you all my puppets just with a little song…" he wiggled his fingers in the air. "But I figured this would be a bit more fun. And let me say, I've always wanted to know what it'd be like to be a speedster. And I was so saddened when Krypton was destroyed."

Kara exchanged a glance with Deity. "You know about Krypton?"

"Oh yes, every dimension does."

"We needed to know you had the heart for what you're going to come up against, with and without your powers. Now, if we had the time, we would've gotten the rest of them because, who doesn't like the idea of being able to phase in and out of places and that Speed Force?" Music Meister gave a thumbs up. "I highly approve."

"But we need to talk about some important things," Lover said. He cleared his throat, the pleasant expression on his face turning solemn as he looked directly at Barry and Cadence. "You have a strong team behind you, but there's darkness looming over you as well. Darkness that won't go away until you confront your demons." His eyes flickered. "All of them. Past. Present. Future. But not everything is as it seems, there are more targets then you're aware of. Everything's not as you think it is."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Caitlin asked.

"Yeah, you can't just come in here and not tell us anything," Brady added. "What about Savitar and Alchemy?"

"I think you need to be more concerned about Breathtaker, young one," Lover said. He glanced to Music Meister for clarification, who nodded in agreement. "That seems to be more to your speed."

"Pun fully intended," Music Meister added to low groans and rolling eyes. HR was the only one who grinned and waved his drumsticks, appreciating the joke.

"As for you lot," Lover continued as he waltzed over to the five members of Team Supergirl. "You've also got your fair share of bad days ahead. But just remember, you're stronger together than you ever are apart." He then homed in on Deity. "And you need to let the past go. Don't, and things won't end well, for any of you. Look to the bright future, not the dirty past. You've not lost everything, not yet anyway." A smile formed on his lips, but Deity didn't return it.

"But seeing as you're a teenager and all you lot do is complain, my hopes aren't too high. So I'll see you at the wedding if things aren't improving."

"What wedding?!" the whole room roared in confusion. Not the best subject to bringing up, but he had to make himself clear.

"Oh, and keep an eye on that nice fella who fell to Earth. He's a hottie," Lover said with a grin, shoving aside the looming question.

"Well, that seems to be about everything," Music Meister said. Lover glared at him. "Oh, yes, just one more thing." He cleared his throat, took a step forward and started to sing a high note. As he did so, his eyes pulsed with his hypnotizing gaze, this time moving towards his irises rather than moving away from them. The white-ish glow covered Kara and Barry until it faded.

Lightning flashed through Barry's eyes while Kara glanced at her fingers, both feeling their strength return as their powers were given back to them. "There we go. Well, this was a trip, wasn't it? I had some good time, you had some good times. All in all, it'll be memorable."

"Until the next time you show up," Lover murmured.

"Hold on, what about all the damage to the city? Aren't you going to fix that?" Winn asked, stepping forward.

"Oh sure, just let me snap my fingers and everything will be as it was," said Lover.

"You can really do that?" Winn gasped.

"No!" both Lover and Music Meister echoed. "We're beings of immense cosmological power. Not your clean up crew."

"Idiot," Cisco muttered.

"Oh, I don't care if you are injured, I'll take that keyboard and whack it over your head if you keep pushing me," Winn snapped to Cisco, clearly hearing him.

"Come at me big boy," Cisco shot back, tapping his chest with both hands.

"And we're back to normal," Caitlin murmured with a tired sigh.

"But what about your fee? Barry pointed out with a frown. Lover turned an inquisitive glance his way and Barry clarified. "You said you wanted something for helping us."

Lover waved a hand in the air. "Oh, that! I just wanted you to listen to me," Lover explained with a smile.

"That's it, I can't take any more of this," groaned Cadence as she let her face fall into her hands. She lifted her head and sighed, "You think considering no one on this Earth knows that that I'd go to jail if I killed them?"

Her words made Lover and Music Meister exchange a glance while Caitlin hid a smile, Cisco slowly facepalmed, and Barry turned his gaze toward the ceiling. "We'll be off then," Lover decided with one last glace at the group. "And, everyone, please remember this heartfelt parting message-"

"-What? That love conquers all?" Winn asked with a roll of his eyes. Brady snorted.

Lover smiled. "Oh, if only that were true. No, just that no one knows what the future holds. Even us." He motioned between himself and Music Meister. "We can see things coming, can watch others…but we don't always know how things will end up. If I knew things were going to end up like this, I would've stopped it sooner. We work the best as a team, just as you all do as well. You're never as alone as you think you are."

"And put a little love, in your heart," Music Meister snag out, before he and Lover began to hum away to their own little tune. "And on that parting note, we've got to get going." Music Meister looped his arm through Lover's and gave a salute to the group. "Tootles!" The two cosmic beings faded, with their musical humming not far behind.

* * *

Brady removed his hood, then took off his goggles, carefully placing them on the counter in front of him. Lest Cisco and Winn yelled at him for damaging anything even further than Music Meister had. And while Caitlin was hovering over everyone, ensuring they weren't too badly hurt, Kara and Barry were using their newly regained powers to patrol the city, he wanted some time to think about what Lover and Music Meister had said.

He needed to worry more about Breathtaker? It wasn't like he didn't worry; the thought of his mother being murdered by that group was enough to keep him up at night. More so than his own potential death. But something with the way Lover had looked at him when he said stuck with him. He twisted his mouth to the side, dropping into the office chair next to him. He glanced at the medical bay, watching Caitlin and his mother look over their fallen friends.

He'd spent enough time in the medical bay through his multiple groundings that he wasn't in a rush to get back in there. Besides, there was too much to think about and the downtime was making his past worries come in again.

"Brady?" The young boy twisted in his chair and glanced over his shoulder, spotting a familiar shadow sliding along the wall of the hallway towards him.

"Over here," Brady said halfheartedly, slouching in his seat.

Should've known he wouldn't be able to hide for too long. He crossed his arms and leaned towards the monitor in front of him, pressing the screen to change it to another channel. He'd been watching a lot of the news lately, as boring as it could be, but after experiencing what he'd had that day, it was the last thing he wanted to consume. Deity plopped into the seat next to him.

Brady glanced over to her, confused as to why she was sitting the way she was. Fully facing him, hands behind her back. "Is there something you want?" Brady asked, frowning in irritation as he glanced over to the older girl. He hadn't meant it to come out as harsh as it did, but even so Deity kept on smiling away.

A secret smile.

"What is it?" Brady asked with a sigh, guessing there wasn't going to be a quick and easy way out of whatever was going on.

"I'm sorry," Deity said, making Brady's frown deepen. He opened his mouth to ask why but the teenager apparently anticipated this and cut in with her answer. "The cookies where a lame gift. I get that. I hope you like them though, but after you gave me-" She briefly paused as she held up the necklace around her neck, showing it off in case Brady had somehow forgotten what he'd gotten her. Unlikely. "-This, I figured I'd better get you something better."

"It's fine, Debby," Brady said with a careless shrug. It really didn't bother him. It was something else that was bothering him.

"No, it's not," Deity pressed. "You got me this really sweet, meaningful gift. I wanted to do the same for you." At that Brady's curiosity picked up. His heart picked up too oddly enough.

"Why?" he asked.

"Because we're friends…good friends," Deity said with a sincere smile as she reached forward and grabbed Brady's hand. He felt his cheeks heat up at that. "Which is why I'm giving you this."

Without everting her gaze from his eyes, she pushed something into his hand before wrapping his fingers around it and pushing it back towards Brady. He broke their eye contact and looked down at his hand, frowning still. Then he opened his palm to find a small toy spaceship inside.

"A toy spaceship?" he asked skeptically as he lifted his head.

Deity smiled knowingly. "No. It's a small spaceship…my spaceship." Brady's eyes widened at that as his eyes shot back down, awing as he held up the ship to give it a better look. "I got the Atom guy to shrink it down. Just don't tell anyone I gave it to you. I think if J'onn found out he'd lock us both up." Deity chuckled at her own joke.

"Thanks," Brady said, sounding a little astonished…but all disappointed.

Deity frowned at that. "Don't you like it?" she asked. "Would you rather it was bigger?"

"No!" Brady quickly jumped in. "It's just…" He stared at her for a moment before sighing and placing the spaceship down on the counter. He turned away from the Hybrid, placing his hand on his legs as he leaned forward, trying to think of how to put it.

"Come on, Brady. We're friends, right?" Deity asked, moving closer to him and leaning forwards so she was in the corner of his eye. He was still in thought though and didn't acknowledge her comment. "Right?" she repeated as she nudged his elbow with her own.

"Yeah," Brady blurted out. "But…" He turned to face Deity, his heart pounding in his chest. So loudly he was surprised she didn't hear it, what with her super hearing and all. She started to frown, waiting for him to continue. "I think…I like you." She seemed surprised by that, but not the sort of surprise he'd been expecting. When she remained silent he decided to clarify. "Like…Like you, like you." Then he got the look he'd be expecting.

"Oh," Deity said slowly as she reeled back slightly. "Oh!" Then came the long awkward silence which Brady had been dreading. Was this what it was like for his mom and Barry or even his mom and dad when they first told each other they liked the other. It was killing him, just sitting and waiting. He felt like sinking through the floor and making a run for it. Sure, Deity would probably catch him but the shock ought to give him a good enough head start.

"Isn't there someone more…age appropriate?" Deity asked. "What about that Alicia girl?"

Brady felt his heart drop. He'd told her how she felt, and she didn't feel the same, now he just felt like an idiot. And the last thing he wanted to entertain was anything between him and Alicia. "So basically, you don't like me," Brady muttered, standing to leave.

"Hey!" Deity snapped, grabbing his arm and pulling him back down to his chair. "That's not fair. I like you a lot…just no in the same way," Deity said, deflating at the end when she realized she might have been giving him the wrong idea.

"Whatever," Brady murmured as he crossed his arm, turning his head from Deity so he didn't have to look at her and be reminded about how stupid he'd been. He'd rather go and fight Metallo again then look at Deity right now. At least that was a lot less embarrassing.

"We're friends, Brady. Don't let it be like this," Deity begged, but still Brady refused to face her. "Please."

"I like you, Debby," Brady murmured.

"I like you too," Deity said, mirroring his words as Brady sighed annoyingly.

"Yeah, but not the same way."

"Brady…" A sigh as she tried to find the right words to say. But as far as Brady was concerned she'd made herself perfectly clear. She didn't like him even if he liked her. "Does your mom know about this?"

"Probably," Brady muttered as he kicked the carpet at his feet. Actually, he was sure she knew. One thing Brady certainly noticed being Barry so often was he was getting worse at lying. Awkward silence followed, just the sound of their breathing filling the empty apartment. Another prime opportunity for Brady to phase out and storm off. Though something told him, Deity wasn't about to drop the matter that easily after she'd pulled him back to the couch when he first tried to leave.

"Remember I told you about my best friends, Casey and Sam?" Deity suddenly spoke up. Brady nodded but only turned his head enough so that she was in the corner of his eyes and still distorted. "You remember that I told you they broke up?" Another sharp nod from Brady. "Well, that's because they were like us. They were friends that tried to be a couple. It didn't really work." Slowly Brady began to turn his head towards Deity. "They're still friends, but I don't think it always ends that way. And I think they're still a little nervous around each other. My point is, Brady, I don't want that with us. You and I…we have a special kind of friendship."

"What makes it special?" he asked, mood thick in his voice.

"We're both from other Earths? I'd say that's a barrier most friendships don't survive," Deity said with a head tilt and an amused look to her face. It irritated Brady. How she was treating this like a joke rather than something serious, which it was to him. He turned back away, rolling his eyes.

"But there is one thing I like about my friends' relationship. They both got to share all these big moments in their lives with someone they're still friends with. So, I guess if you want…" Brady swung back around, seeing Deity had lowered her gaze from his, making circles on the counter with her finger.

What?"

"To be clear," Deity pipped up as she lifted her finger and her gaze back to Brady. "This stays between us. And this does not mean we're dating. We're just two friends…who shared their first kiss."

Brady smiled. Tried to keep his excitement, or was it nerves at bay. "I can get behind that."

Deity smiled back. "Alright. But that's it. Just one kiss. Then we put this whole thing behind us."

"Okay," Brady snapped, before silence gripped the two kids staring at each other. "Um. So…how does this work."

"Close our eyes…" Deity said with a small timid smile. Brady did as told, blindly following her down the rabbit hole. He leaned forwards and pursed his lips. He waited a few seconds and then began to feel like an idiot again. He had been just about to open his eyes and start asking what was going on when he felt Deity's lips touch his own.

It was quick. A light brush against his lips but more than he'd been expecting at the same time. Despite its quickness, it still felt like a long kiss. Something he'd seen his mom and Barry do when they really wanted to show they loved each other. Or maybe it just felt that way in his head and it really had only been a mere second.

He opened his eyes and found Deity pulled back, her eyes open and light blush on her checks. It was nothing compared to his own blush though and the smile that was stretching the muscles on his face. It only continued to grow when Deity smiled back at him.

"Friends?" Deity asked with mild worry to her voice.

"Friends," Brady agreed with a youthful smile.

* * *

 **A/N:** Well, this all took a bit longer than I anticipated to be finished but it does bring up some hints as to what's to come for Team Flash and Team Supergirl through our own stories as they go on. We hope you guys enjoyed this crossover (though there's one tiny part left) and what the rest of the stories have in store. There's certainly going to be a lot of momentum with Savitar, Alchemy, and Breathtaker as things moved from them a little. As well as Harrison, Tess, Joe, and Iris though there has been explanation as to why the latter hasn't been around so much.

Thanks again PowerHero432 for being a co-writer with these big projects and helping out when I suddenly had very little time to work on it. At the moment, my updates will move back to Wednesdays (so, yes, you'll be getting another update this Wednesday) but I'll let you know if it ever changes.

Let us know what you think

 **Cheers,**

 **-Riles**

 **Ethan:** I'm glad all that emotion worked out well in terms of reading it compared to when I told you. I was afraid it'd seem like a bit info dump but she'd had a lot of grievances. Honestly, I'm surprised there hasn't been much mention of her revealing she'd killed before, on accident, and assisted ending lives as well. But I digress, it's a lot to go through. Cadence really needed that support to fully step outside of Barry's shadow and now she's finally gotten it along with Brady's new suit.

 **DarkHelm145:** It's alright if you don't like Lover. He was created as a means to have Music Meister have a more interesting motive as well as it being a homage to Glee's Darren Criss and Chris Colfer. Mr. Myxlptlk certainly has been mentioned a lot, but he won't show up in any of my stories that I currently have planned. But then again I'd said the same about Batman and Superman and then I brought them in. Glad you enjoyed Winn and Cisco's interactions, they've been fun to write.

 **Guest:** Glad you've been enjoying it.

 **Yummers:** Here's an update! Hope you didn't mind waiting a bit.


	31. Finally

**31**

 _Finally  
_

* * *

"Karaoke on Christmas?" Caitlin's eyebrows rose, tearing her gaze away from the fill sheet in her hands. "That's a new one." She gave Cisco a small smile, then nodded to her clipboard. "I'd love to go, but I've got too much work to do here."

"It's Christmas," Cisco insisted.

"And if we're going to get this museum off the ground, then I need to get this work done," Caitlin reminded him, her voice holding the same amount of earnest. She flipped the sheets back down, her gaze shifting over the numbers and tallys in front of her. She wasn't paying too close attention to it, she knew Cisco knew it. There was only so much she could do to avoid him and the elephant in the room before he pressed about it. "And it's a lot of work that we've bene neglecting."

Cisco gave her a funny look, folding his arms. "You didn't think this museum was a good idea."

"Honestly, I'm really skeptical it's going to work. But it's what HR wants to do and he's really insistent and—"

"—And you're avoiding things, Cait." Caitlin didn't snort, she never made a sound that 'so unladylike' as her mother deemed it, but she did make a face of displeasure. It was the most reaction Cisco was going to get from her. "I know…I know this time of year is hard for you, Cait. Because of your dad—"

"—Cisco," Caitlin broke in.

"It's not like it's not hard for the rest of us," Cisco continued. "I don't see my family during Christmas, Barry's parents aren't around, Jesse's here by herself, we just got told that we may not make it through this fight with Savitar and Alchemy and, at this point I think we all deserve to have some fun time to ourselves. And you do, too."

Caitlin tilted her head back, closed her eyes. Cisco, as much as she loved him, had a very bad habit of working on her nerves when she wanted to be left alone. He was trying to be there for her and she appreciated it. Really. He was always there for her. Always. Through everything. Not many people knew how much she equally loved and hated Christmas. He was patient with her each time it came around. Was the one who worked hard to get everyone in the right spirit when it came closer.

But she, simply, wasn't in the mood.

"Sorry," Caitlin finally said. She turned her back on Cisco, moving her attention over the Medical Bay and all the drawers and closets that were opened, mentally counting the items inside. "'But I have too much stuff to do. Have fun for me." She heard Cisco sigh and added, "You'll find another duet partner. Maybe ask Kara."

"Of course, Kara can sing."

"Her name is Supergirl, it kind of is implied."

Silence stretched between them for a moment. Then Caitlin heard Cisco shift closer to her and heard him place something beside her before he placed a hand on her shoulder, squeezed it, and left the medical bay. Caitlin waited for his footsteps to fade before taking in a deep breath and getting back to work. She moved across the Medical Bay, writing down each and everything they had in inventory and what they needed to order. That was always the tricky part; ordering more things for a laboratory that was supposed to be defunct in some way.

Or, had been defunct. Now that they had the grant from Bruce to be put into metahuman research—which Barry seriously needed to get on implementing—STAR Labs had every means of getting all the pieces of technology they needed to create even more scientific advancements they could sell the patents to later. Not to mention she needed to keep track of all the medicine they used for Barry, Cadence, and Brady when they became injured. Not to mention the resources wasted when looking over Barry's and Kara's vitals and running their tests to ensure their Speed Force and Kryptonian levels were okay.

It had been hard to see, even as a bystander. Watching as the two heroes were left powerless and watched their friends put themselves in danger. Caitlin saw it every day, unable to go out and fight herself. Unable to put herself out there in case….in case she was unable to keep control. If anything happened while she used her powers, she wouldn't be able to forgive herself. To that extent, she understood Barry's hesitation of killing. It was something that couldn't be taken back and would consistently sit on her conscience. She couldn't handle the idea of what'd happen.

"And I thought Alex worked a lot." Caitlin looked over her shoulder and smiled at Kara as she stepped into the medical bay. She looked around, pressing her glasses up her nose and smiled at Caitlin. "I'm guessing you're a bit of a workaholic."

"What gave it away?" Caitlin asked.

"Other than the fact that you're not coming to karaoke with us?" Kara tilted her head, eyes shifting. Then she nodded. "The pile of food wrappers in the trash can, honestly. It's the same down in the DEO. Winn works down there so much that his desk is _filled_ with bags from Noonan's." Caitlin smiled politely. "Wait, do you not have Noonan's on this Earth? You haven't _lived_ until you've had one of their sticky buns."

"You should try the ones from Jitters," Caitlin suggested. "I bet they'd give Noona's a run for their money."

Kara nodded. She took in a breath, placing her hands on her hips. "So, you're really not coming with us?"

"No. I have too much work to do."

"Are you sure? It's going to be a lot of fun. We go to karaoke all the time."

Finally, Caitlin put down her clipboard and turned to face Kara completely. She lowered herself into the empty office chair next to her. She flicked her hair from her face. "Well, karaoke's not so fun when you can't sing. And I'm not being modest, I can't sing. Just ask Barry, he was with me the last time I went. And not even being drunk could help me."

"Really?" Kara laughed. She couldn't quite imagine Caitlin ever getting drunk. She seemed to have her life together too well to do it. Then again, with the amount of stress they were all under, they couldn't be penalized for letting lose every once in a while.

"Really. And you know Barry's an amazing singer, you saw it in your dream. No one can compete with that. So, it's probably good that I'm hanging back here."

"Is it?" Kara folded her arms. "I came in here to thank you for everything you did for me and Barry while we didn't have our powers. You didn't give up on us. But…" The area between her eyebrows wrinkled together. "It seems like something else is bothering you."

Caitlin waved her hand. "I'm just tired. I have a lot of work to do to help out HR and I have to do inventory and to scan the city and…I can't take a break." She couldn't take a break from the pain she was trying to hold back. That slowly encased her in darkness as the time of year drew closer. Seasonal depression was a serious thing and it was hell.

"Well, I was just hoping I'd maybe be able to convince you to change your mind and come out with us," Kara said. "And yes, thank you as well." She turned to leave then spotted a box sitting next to Caitlin and picked it up, turning it over in her hand. "What's this?"

Caitlin looked over it, eyebrows twitching in confusion. She took it from Kara's hand and twisted it back and forth in her hands. "I don't know. I guess Cisco left it for me." She flipped it open and read the note inside. "So we don't have to worry about losing you again. Every time you go outside, solar energy will recharge it."

Kara and Caitlin exchanged a glance. Then Caitlin moved the note aside and her face was immediately illuminated by the bright blue glow coming from a snowflake imprinted on a necklace. It nestled within the velvet lining the inside of the box, as light as a bird. Kara gasped when Caitlin pulled it out and held it up to the light.

"That's so beautiful," Kara said. "Cisco _made_ that?"

"It's an inhibitor," Caitlin explained, immediately recognizing the look of the circuitry inside the glow being similar to the BOOT. "So I don't have to worry about using my powers."

"It looks like something's written on the back," Kara said. She gently tapped the necklace so that it bobbed around. "A date?" Caitlin grasped the necklace and turned it around. For the second time, she gasped, running her thumb over the date stamped on the back. "Is that your birthday?"

"No," Caitlin murmured. She stared at the numbers, honestly dumbfounded. At a complete loss for words. He remembered? "It's…when I was…" she took a deep breath and held the necklace in her palms. Tears came to her eyes. He remembered.

"Caitlin?"

Caitlin swallowed hard. "When the Particle Accelerator went off…I was pregnant," she admitted. Finally speaking the words out loud since that night. "I wasn't too far along, I only just told Ronnie…this date, it's the day the baby was going to be born."

"Oh, Caitlin." Kara couldn't understand what it was like to lose a baby like that. She'd never been pregnant, had adopted Deity when she came to her Earth. But she couldn't fathom losing Deity now, the pain associated with it would be too much to handle. But to lose a child before they were able to grace the world? Kara put her arm around Caitlin's shoulders, hugging her to her side. "I'm so sorry."

Unclasping the back of the necklace, Caitlin lowered it over her neck. It rested heavily against her chest, cool to the touch, she could feel her power stripping away. Just as she wanted it. She needed the Philosopher's Stone to have it done permanently. But if there was a temporary fix, Cisco had created a hell of a fix.

"Come on." Caitlin set the box aside and stood up, brushing off the seat of her pants. "Let's go to karaoke."

"You're really coming?" Kara's eyes lit up.

She didn't wait for a response, just grabbed Caitlin tightly and used her super speed to race her out of STAR Labs and to the karaoke bar. The moment they arrived, Caitlin broke away to the table Barry, Cadence, Cisco, Ryder, and Iris were all leaning around. Winn was already onstage, singing ( _I Can't Get No) Satisfaction_ by the Rolling Stones with enough energy to get the bar moving.

"Hey!" Ryder greeted her as she approached, waving a beer her way.

"You made it," Iris added. She reached over to pull a chair over her for. "We didn't think you were going to come. Cisco said something about you having a lot of work to do."

Caitlin looked at Cisco, whose eyes lowered to the necklace around her neck. Then, embarrassed, he turned away, running a hand through his hair. Cadence noticed the necklace as well. Though her eyes widened in surprise, she kept herself under control and managed to calmly say, "That's a real pretty necklace, Cait."

"Thanks," Caitlin replied. She moved around the table and tapped Cisco on the arm, he faced away from her, focusing hard on Winn's performance.

"I hope Winn doesn't think his singing is as good as his engineering," Cisco remarked, shouting over the cheers and music that thumped through the speakers. "'Cause, I mean, he's got no energy, has no stage presence, doesn't know how to connect with the audience."

"Are you going to start booing now, too?" Caitlin teased.

"I might."

Caitlin chuckled. She grasped Cisco's elbow. "Can we talk? Where it's quieter?" Cisco hesitated, but allowed himself to be pulled away from the table. As they moved by their friends, Caitlin saw Cadence whack Barry on the arm, making him cry out in pain, and hiss, "You see? I'm not crazy."

"Cade, leave them alone," Barry replied, rubbing his reddening skin.

"But—"

"—drop it."

Cadence pouted, practically deflating over the table while Barry, Ryder, and Iris all burst out laughing. Caitlin took Cisco to a quieter corner of the bar while Wally and Jesse got up on stage to sing Salt-N-Peppa's _Push It._ Caitlin laughed, watching Wally really get into the dance moves he threw out along with their performance, Jesse's laughter breaking into the song.

"Joe didn't want to come?" Caitlin asked Cisco, both watching the stage.

"He said as much as he would've paid good money to see Barry sing and dance, that he had other plans," Cisco explained. "Which is weird because what plans could he have without us?"

"Well, you know he does have his own life, Cisco."

"Does he? I mean, even Harrison, Tess, and Maya are doing something for the holiday. Some sort of Christmas part Maya got them invited to. Which, of course, we can only hope to ever go to."

Caitlin made a face. "But you hate dressing up," She pointed out to her best friend.

"I can do it when I have to. And for those swanky things, I can do it. Remind me to ask Cade for an invite to another one of those galas, the one went to in Metropolis was dope." Cisco finally smiled at her. His eyes darted down to her necklace then back up to Caitlin's face. He cleared his throat and took a sip of beer. "I see you got your present."

"Cisco, I love it," Caitlin said, honestly. "It's one of the nicest gifts anyone's given me."

"I thought of putting your father's date on it, but I figured it'd be a bit more heartfelt if…you know…" Cisco cleared his throat again. He sat up straight. "I know this time of year is hard for you, because of your dad, because of Ronnie, because of your baby. I wanted you to have something that'd make you feel good."

"You were affected to, Cisco," Caitlin reminded him. "When the Particle Accelerator went off, you were in the hospital for a long time. Your family only visited you once."

Cisco gave a humorless smile. "And you came to visit me every day, even though you should've been resting. Let me tell you, I never got tired of watching you try to hold your hospital gown closed while you shuffled into my room with that IV drip." He laughed. "Remember when the doctors got mad at us because we snuck in all that Big Belly Burger?"

"And they tried to ban us from going to see each other because we kept being late for our check-ups? I wasn't going anywhere. I'm _not_ going anywhere. Not now. No matter what happens."

"Me neither," Cisco agreed. He reached across the table and took Caitlin's hand, squeezing it in his own. "We're going to help you figure things out, Cait. Even if you want your powers to go away, we'll figure something out. I promise."

"Thanks." Caitlin then leaned back. "Oh! I haven't forgotten your gift."

Cisco pressed a hand to his chest. "Good, because I was slowly starting to think I'd have to replace you as my best friend. I mean, Barry's just about there but he thinks Star Trek III is better than Star Trek Iii and I don't think I'll ever get over that." Cisco closed his eyes and held out his hands. "Okay, I'm ready. What is it?"

"It's going to be a little late," Caitlin apologized, making Cisco open his eyes and pout. "But I do have something I think you'll like just as much." She carefully pulled off her necklace and dropped it to the table. Looking around, she made sure no one was watching them, she lifted her hand and curled her fingers into her palms. As she did so, the magnificent blue glow that faded from her necklace formed around her hand.

Cisco watched for a few moments before his eyes shifted to the window, where he grinned, seeing snowflakes gently start to drift to the ground, making those who were outside bundle up even further or stop in surprise at the change of weather.

"Are you sure you want to get rid of your powers?" Cisco asked after a few moments of watching. "Because I just imagined an amazing snowball fight we could totally dominate."

"Breach and Snow?"

"Of course!" Cisco smiled as their laughter subsided. "Merry Christmas, Caitlin."

"Merry Christmas, Cisco." She reached across the table and pulled him into a tight hug which he reciprocated.

* * *

Cadence clapped and cheered as J'onn climbed offstage, making way for Iris to get her chance to sing a song. She turned in her seat to find Deity plopping down next to her. Which was strange, as Cadence noticed she and Brady seemed to be inseparable as the night went on. Nothing too out of the ordinary, but Brady was a bit happier and exited than usual. And he was one who absolutely hated to sing, especially now that his voice seemed to crack with every other word he spoke as it changed.

Now Deity looked practically miserable as she sat next to the fire meta-human. "You know it's practically illegal to frown during Christmas, right?" Cadence teased, taking a sip of whisky.

Deity looked alarmed. "Is that a thing on this Earth?"

Cadence laughed. "Relax, I was kidding. But what's with the sourpuss. I'm pretty sure most people don't frown when they're singing. I mean, unless you're _that_ bad."

Lips pushing into a pout Deity said, "Do you know how hard it is to have a mom who's so good at singing and dancing?" She asked. "I can't go up there after she performs." She motioned to the stage where Kara crooned the audience with a rendition of _Moon River._ "I know she's practically invincible, but come on! Can't she be bad at something?"

Cadence laughed. "Oh, I know the feeling." Deity looked skeptical. She tilted her head, eyebrows moving upwards cynically. "My mom, before she mellowed out, was the epitome of perfection. Her hair had to be perfect, her clothes had to be perfect, the house had to be perfect, everything had to be perfect. And it was hard to live up to. Thankfully, she doesn't have a singing bone in her body and she can't dance so that helped a little." She paused the murmured, "Except when she tries."

Deity laughed. "What about you?" She leaned forward, looking Cadence in the eye. "You can dance, we know that. But can you sing, too?"

"I'm alright," she said. "And unlike a lot of people, I'm not being modest." She pointed towards the stage. "Hence why you haven't seen me up there yet. But if you ever need a backup dancer, I'm your girl." She looked up as Ryder walked over with Brady, who smiled at Deity then looked away. "What's up?"

"I'm taking Brady to your mom's house," Ryder explained. "Apparently she's got something for him that can't wait. After that I'll take him to mine and then have him back for Christmas."

"Okay." Cadence frowned in confusion, trying to figure out what her mother could've done that time. "That's fine. But, again, you're welcome to come over for Christmas."

"I'll let you know." He moved aside so Brady could give Cadence a hug and kiss goodbye, then laughed when Brady impatiently started to push on Ryder. Obviously, he was anxious to know what he gift was. "See you later. Bye, Deity. It was good to see you again."

"Bye." Cadence glanced at Deity, who blushed and looked away from Ryder, placing her hand on the side of her face to block her view of him. Ryder and Brady left and Deity dropped her hand from her face to glare at Cadence, who laughed. "It's not funny! Stop laughing."

"Sorry, but that's never _not_ going to be funny," Cadence admitted. "But I think I'll cut you some slack. I have your gift for you." Deity immediately perked up, eagerly sitting up straight, eyes darting around to find said gift. Cadence opened her purse and pulled out a wrapped box. "Actually, it's from me and Barry."

"He just put his name on it, didn't he?" Deity guessed as she took it, then started to rip through the wrapping.

"Yeah, he didn't really know what to get a teenage girl." Cadence watched as Deity finished pulling open the gift to reveal a music box. Once she flipped open the lid a mess of shooting stars started to spin as a classical tune floated out. "Do you like it?"

"I love it," Deity gushed, turning it back and forth in her hands.

"I figured you'd like the box by itself, but now that you have some jewelry you can use it as a jewelry box, too." Cadence smiled as Deity did her best not to roll her eyes. "Though I'm not quite sure how long it'll last during fights with other aliens."

"I'll take care of it. I promise." Deity set the box aside and leaned over the table to give Cadence a hug. She let go once the notes of a new song started, signaling her to get up to the stage. Cadence shooed her away before Alex took the then empty seat.

"That was really nice," Alex said, setting down her beer. She kept it close to take a sip when needed, but not so close that she'd find herself downing it too quick. Alex tucked her short hair behind her ears and added about her niece's gift, "The music box, I mean."

"Yeah, I thought she'd really like it," Cadence said. She crossed her legs at the knee. "Plus, I thought it'd be a good way to apologize to her for nearly knocking her head off the last time she came." Alex gave her a funny look. Cadence waved it off. "Long story."

"Seems to me like there's a lot I need to catch up on," Alex agreed. "The differences between Earths…it so funny to see what's the same here and what's different." She cleared her throat. Cadence waited for her to get to her point. She could sense it, Alex wasn't being quite forthcoming. "Deity seemed to really like it when she was here. With everything that you've done for her, I mean. You're great with her. And it shows, with how great you are with Brady, too."

"Yeah, it seems like I'm just adopting more kids left and right." Cadence made a mental note to call Frankie and tell her 'Merry Christmas'. She still hadn't gotten back to the young meta since the last message she'd left.

"It can't be easy."

"Definitely not," Cadence agreed. But it wasn't something she'd ever want to change. If that was her way to be a hero for Central City then she'd do it. Tired of the runaround, Cadence said, "You can be as mad at me about the Kryptonite thing as you want—"

"—I took it out on you," Alex said. "And that's not fair. I just…I don't like the idea of someone having something out there that can really hurt Kara. I don't like seeing anyone use it, like there's not much thought to it."

"Like a regular gun can hurt you?" Cadence asked.

"It's not just the bullets it's the Kryptonite in general. Knowing there's a lot out there that keeps her from being normal…" Alex frowned, struggling over the word. It wasn't that Kara _wasn't_ normal, but… "I've seen her at her weakest and I can't see it happen again. Knowing people have that weapon against her kills me."

"I can understand why you'd be upset. And thank you for the apology, but, honestly, I don't think we're ever going to get along," Cadence admitted. "At least, not until you get over what's making you overcompensate." She looked Alex in the eye. "I get you're overprotective, anyone would be. Put my friends and family in danger and I'm like an atomic bomb. But I think it stretches more for you. And I hope you figure out what it is."

Alex smiled, shaking her head. "When would I have the time? With the DEO, this new Kryptonian we found, and everything."

"But it's worth it."

Cadence glanced around the bar, laughing as Deity finished her song and Iris then dragged Barry onstage, resisting the whole way, to sing _All I Want For Christmas Is You_ while Cisco and Winn continued to argue over something—probably the mechanics of Caitlin's necklace from it sitting between them. Kara sat along with them, laughing at each other's rebuttals as they argued back and forth.

She looked to J'onn, who was conversing with Caitlin as if they were old friends—Caitlin always had that knack of getting along with people. Or, as Cadence also thought, she had a thing for older guys. She looked at Deity, who sat along with Alex on her other side, cheering along with the crowd as Barry and Iris sang. She looked up at the stage while Iris and Barry sang, catching both their eyes. Iris grinned and pointed at her while Barry managed a smile. His first genuine one to her in so many weeks.

Abruptly, Cadence smiled back and pulled out her phone. She dialed her mother and leaned over, hoping to block out the sound as the songs kept going. Finally, her mother answered with her familiar trill of, "Hell-o?"

Cadence smiled. "So, do you want to tell me what gift you've got for Brady that you didn't tell me about?" She asked.

Maya made a clicking sound. "Did Ryder tell you? I've always said that boy can't keep a secret."

"I could've told you that." Cadence laughed. "He was hardly able to keep it quiet after I told him he was pregnant."

"Honey, that had nothing to do with him saying anything, the shell-shocked look on his face did him in. You'd think he'd had gone off to war from the way that boy was looking." Maya huffed. "So, how much did he tell you? I have to say, it was hard keeping the secret this long. Having to keep him fed and out of the way and making sure Brady didn't see—"

"—Mom," Cadence said slowly. She tightened her grasp around her phone. "Don't tell me you got Brady a dog. I _told_ you I didn't want him getting a dog."

"I didn't get him a dog," Maya said, sounding offended. "You told me loud and clear. Don't get him a dog. I didn't get him a dog."

"Mom. What'd you get him?"

"I got him his best friend."

Cadence's eyes shot open. "You found Conner?"

"Oh, you're acting like it was hard. It only took a few phone calls and signing some sort of a Non-Disclosure Agreement thing. But it wasn't hard. I just thought he'd be a bit happier if he got the chance to see his friend." Maya paused. "I mean, all this meta stuff has been getting him down. Is everything okay?"

"Everything's fine, mom. You did an amazing job. Have a good time at your party."

"You too, Cadey. I love you."

"I love you, too." Cadence smiled and hung up.

Yes, it was worth it.

* * *

Barry paced the floor of his apartment-former. He rapidly tapped his phone against his palm. How annoying it was to be the Fastest Man Alive with all the time in the world and every second felt like an eternity. Even watching a text be sent out made nerves shoot through his body. What if it didn't send? What if it took too long to get a response? What if he didn't get a chance to say what he needed to say?

He looked at the face of his phone once more, smiling at the picture they'd taken of everyone before Team Supergirl headed back to their Earth. It was sad to say goodbye to them after what they'd been through. There weren't too many people who knew what it was like to have their powers stripped away and be so powerless when things were so dire.

Kara even wiped tears away from her eyes before giving Barry a huge hug. Thankfully he had his powers back or else he was sure it would've really hurt. "Thank you, so much." She then moved to give Cadence a hug. We couldn't have done this without you."

Barry smiled and nodded back. "Our Earth is always open for you guys," he reminded her. "Whatever you need, just pop on over."

"And same to you guys," Kara agreed. "We'd love to have you back in National City." She smiled and stepped closer to Barry, lowering her voice to ask, "So, is everything okay with you guys?"

Barry's eyes shifted. He took a deep breath and said, "We'll see." He reached out and hugged her again, bid farewell to Deity, Alex, Winn, and J'onn and stepped back, watching as they moved through the breach. That'd been hours ago and Barry had spent most of the night patrolling the city.

He needed to run, needed to use his powers again. Needed to get back to feeling like himself. Needed the time to clear his head and figure out what he was going to do next. So he ran and ran until he had it all figured out.

Barry stopped pacing once he heard the door to the apartment open. Cadence glanced at him as she stepped inside, closing it behind her. "I got your text," she said. "What's up?"

She barely got the words out of her mouth before Barry started speaking. Nervous energy making him rush forward. "So, look, love isn't perfect," Barry said. "But you can't let your love for someone cause you to be afraid of what might happen. You've gotta take the good with the bad, no matter what. And that includes…admitting the mistakes you've made and knowing when to apologize for those mistakes. Knowing when to…when to admit you were scared and that's what's been holding you back.

"It can be scary, it can be dangerous, but all that matters is that you're together. And when you find a love like that, you've got to hold onto it. No matter who tries to stop it. I know that now. And, I'm sorry. For everything."

"And I'm sorry, too," Cadence agreed. "But, in my opinion, it's not that we've made any mistakes, Barry. We have a communication problem. We don't talk about things. Not about the important things. I can talk to you about strategies of metahumans, why I don't like on my pizza, and what I want to do with my paid time off, but I couldn't talk to you about how said I've been since my dad passed. And you couldn't talk to me about your dad, either. That's not a good thing."

"I couldn't," Barry said. "It hurt too much."

"And if we could talk you'd know that I completely agree with you. It hurts too much to talk about my dad so I don't. But keeping things bottled up like that isn't going to help either of us." She shrugged. "So, what do we do now?"

Barry took in a confident breath. "We move forward," he said. Then a niggling thought entered his head. "I mean, unless you don't love me anymore. Which is fine, if you don't, I mean, it's not _fine_ , but I-uh-I'll understand." Cadence slowly started to smile. "If, you, uh, if you managed to get over me that fast—"

"—It took me almost ten years to get over Ryder, Barry," Cadence interrupted. "I'd hope It'd take a lot longer for me to get over you." She gently shook her head. "I'm not over you."

"I'm not over you," Barry agreed. He stepped forward and took her hand in his. His eyes searched hers. "I was telling the truth before," he said. "That love is scary. And it's not perfect. And we'll make mistakes. But I want to keep trying. No matter what Music Meister and Lover said about our future. I want you in it."

"Every hour, every minute," Cadence teased. But Barry kept going, slowly starting to sing, voice growing stronger as the seconds passed.

 _This world can race by far too fast  
Hard to see while it's all flying past  
But, it's clear now,  
When you're standing here now  
I am meant to be wherever you are next to me_

 _All I want to do  
Is come running home to you  
Come running home to you  
And all my life I promise to  
Keep running home to you  
Keep running home  
To you_

Finally, when the song finished, Barry reached into his pocket and held it up for her to see. Cadence gazed back at him, eyes sparkling. "Cadence Nash," Barry asked. "Will you marry me?"

Cadence stepped back, dropping her hands from around his neck. She folded her hand over his, holding his hand upright, keeping the ring between them. She smiled up at him. "I've always said I'd only get married once. And I want to be sure it sticks. So," Cadence squeezed his hand. "Bartholomew Henry Allen—"

"—You don't have to full name me," Barry started to interrupt. Cadence ignored him and kept going. "Oh, so, you're going to just, okay." He couldn't keep the smile from his face.

"Will _you_ marry _me_?" Cadence asked.

"Yes," Barry replied. He gently bobbed at the knees, sucking in a breath between his teeth. "But, I'm going to put the ring on you."

"You better," Cadence agreed and held out her hand. With shaking fingers, Barry slid the ring onto her ring finger before pulling her in for a kiss.

Finally.

* * *

 **A/N:** Whew, a completely happy chapter for Team Flash. They haven't had that in a while so here you go. Honestly, I actually thought of not having Barry and Cadence end up engaged at the end of this (considering what I'd already changed from the WestAllen version) but realized it made sense if they did, considering they worked through their problems.

Otherwise, everything is picking up with the next one. There are still going to be deviations from the show with the Savitar/Breathtaker plots moving forward and I can already see how the story ends. I don't know how many chapters it'll be, but I don't write stories to be longfics, I write them to tell a story and it ends when it ends, no matter how many chapters they are.

 **Cheers,**

 **-Riley**

 **Review Replies**

 **Ethan:** The guy that 'fell to Earth' is Mon-El on Supergirl. Nothing to do with this story. I originally thought of skipping Music Meister but we came up with a better plot to it and I knew it had to stay for things that will happen later to make sense.

 **DarkHelm145:** Haha, glad we got you to enjoy Lover in the end.

 **Guest:** And now he can see her as his fiancée!


	32. A Team of Misfits

**32**

 _A Team of Misfits  
_

* * *

Barry experienced a lot of things in his life. Some good. Some bad. Some in between. While there were those that would say the Particle Accelerator explosion would fall on the bad side of his life, directly leading to the death of his father and some of his closest allies. But without the explosion, he wouldn't have had some of the best people come into his life. Those same people that simultaneously yelled at him after he finally revealed to them what he'd seen in the future. He'd been unsure of when was a good time though Iris made it an easy decision for him; if he didn't tell everyone, she would.

"And do you want _me_ to be responsible for that heartbroken look on dad's face?" Iris demanded.

Barry cringed as soon as the words left her mouth. That look, that _look_ of utter disappointment and heartbreak he'd only seen a few times. When he was young and had just moved in with him and Iris and had said repeatedly that Joe wasn't his father and never would be. When he was older, much older and had said the same after an emotional bout of seeing his father in jail and dealing with Eobard Thawne for the very first time. It was horrifying to see the look on his face both times he'd said that. A look of pure, unadulterated pain that showed how deeply words could cut and how far they could wound. Wounds that weren't easily healed by apologies, but by time and understanding.

 _"You're not my father."_

It was even as horrifying to see the look on Joe's face each time Barry set out to save the world; first with the Singularity that had opened then with Zoom. Joe's fear of losing those close to him was real. The pure fear of an adult possibly seeing their child going off to their death. He'd gained a son in both Barry and Wally and throwing in the rest of Team Flash, Joe was a time bomb waiting to go off is something happened to any of them.

That's why Barry completely refused to meet Joe's gaze when he finally uttered the words. "I went to the future," and explained everything he'd seen there. Everything he'd hidden and had plagued him when he allowed himself to slow down long enough. Joe was initially silent in response, Wally reacted with shock, stammering out a question that the sister he'd only just met and gotten to know was going to die, Jesse questioned about the other two. Cisco, Caitlin, and Cadence yelled.

A lot.

They demanded to know why Barry kept it a secret, why he hadn't told them sooner, hadn't given them the chance to prepare for it. Caitlin yelled the most, upon the realization that she was indeed going to turn into Killer Frost. That surprised Barry the most, how much anger she managed to explode upon him at once. Then once it was gone, she returned to that sweet Caitlin they all loved, wanting to know what the plan was.

"Plan?" Barry repeated, blinking rapidly.

"Yes, a _plan_ ," Cisco insisted. He leaned against the computer desk, arms folded as he stared Barry down. His eyes smoldered with an inextinguishable fire of determination. Or was it denial. Frustration? Frustration at all the lies they continued to tell each other, all the secrets they continued to keep while thinking they were doing the right thing? Wanting to keep his friends safe meant more to any of them than anything else. For Cisco, Barry noted, it meant the most. He heard enough stories from Caitlin and even Cisco's own admission that he hadnt' had many friends growing up. Hadn't had anyone who understood his passions in life. At STAR Labs and with metahumans he had the life and the friends he'd always wanted, the same life that would come ripping apart in a nearby future his best friend had kept form him. More than anything, Cisco couldn't allow himself to believe all the closest people were him was going to die. "We're not going to sit back and let this happen."

"It's the first time we've got a chance to see what _may_ happen," Cadence said. She'd stopped yelling, but the fire in her eyes, the true fire that Barry could see flickering, was only just starting to burn. "And we can change it to what _should_ happen." She looked around the room for support. They appeared interested in what she was saying, but skeptical. Anything that had to do with time travel was difficult to understand. Even Barry didn't fully get it and he doubted he ever would. "No one's ever said changing the future messes things up in the present."

Harrison folded his arms, speaking up before HR could get the chance. "You're saying this is going to happen within the next few months?" He took in a deep breath when Barry nodded. "Statistically speaking there are thousands of ways the future can go and the choices we make today, even having this conversation right now can change the future like _that_." He snapped his fingers for emphasis.

"Or, if you want to go into a bit more depth, Retrocasuality," Tess explained, "is what we're referencing here."

Joe's eyes widened in surprise before he let out a surprised laugh. The same wheezing laugh he gave when teasing his children. This time, however, there was a tone of disbelief behind the laugh. The same amount he'd shown when Barry told him about the future in the first place. Only, that time, accompanied by the tears that came to his eyes when the truth hit him hard. "I'm sorry, that can't be a real word."

"Oh, it certainly is," HR said, sticking his drumstick in the air. "It's a psychological term that's spread around far and wide on my Earth. Have you not—how can you not have heard the word." He placed his hands on his hips, shaking his head. "You guys, you—you scamps, you need to listen to me a little bit more. What it is—"

"—No offense, HR, but I'd like to hear it from the actual professor of psychology," Cisco broke in.

"Right, yes. Well, please take it away Ms. Morgan. I'm sure you can explain it better than I can."

Tess smiled her thanks. "Retrocasuality is also known as Backwards Causation. It speaks about implications within your life. Where cause and effect is looked at, especially how effect precedes the cause in time. Metaphorically. It's the idea that you may be able to change something about your present that was originally set in motion in your past. Or that you might be able to use the future, even though it 'hasn't happened' yet, to also change something from the present. It's an exercise that's used in psychotherapy to help those who feel they're stuck and unable to change or grow."

"Where the future can affect the present and the present can affect the past," Harrison summarized.

"So…Barry's returning to the past may have been what caused this future?" Jesse asked. She tapped her chin, eyes shifting in thought. "Not just Flashpoint? Not just all these other metas and Savitar's appearance."

Tess hesitated. She sucked her lips and said, "The trouble with retrocasuality is that it hasn't actually been proven. Just like this future that Barry's seen hasn't been proven. It's one of many futures that can be created."

"That's what Jay said," Barry agreed.

"So what do we do?" Iris asked.

Barry looked at her. Her voice was filled with shaky determination. She had more time to come to grips with her impending death, when he had told her before. She blew up later. Barry had returned to the West house to give Joe, Iris, and Wally the good news about his and Cadence's official engagement and found her sitting on the front steps, shrouded in a blanket to keep the chill out.

The chill had hit Barry straight in the bones as he approached her. Iris didn't move until he sat down next to her. Then, abruptly, she turned and started to wail on him, her small fists landing blows on his chest and arms that he didn't bother to defend himself from. He deserved it. Then she'd collapsed into his arms, sobbing hysterically over the future that was to come. Barry could've held onto her and reassured her 'everything's going to be okay, I promise' but couldn't find himself to do so.

It wasn't what she needed to hear.

She needed to let her anger out.

It was why Barry was and wasn't surprised when Brady punched him across the face. Brady had been unusually quiet since hearing the truth. He was coming more into himself with being a member of Team Flash, giving his opinions and suggestions when the time came. This time, however, as soon as Barry explained what he saw, Brady fell silent and stared at him. A Blue Screen of Death, Cisco dubbed it. Shocked to the core.

After the meeting with Team Flash had ended, Barry went to Brady and pulled him back into the hallway leading to the Cortex. "I couldn't help but notice you weren't saying much. I know this is hard, but it's not—"

 _Thwack._

Brady reared back and punched Barry hard across the face. Startled, Barry stumbled aside, throwing out his hand to hold himself up before falling over. Barry rubbed at his jaw, gasping for air. Brady could punch harder than he thought. He looked at the young boy whose eyes steadily glared back at him.

"Is this why you proposed to my mom?" He asked.

"I, uh," Barry stammered.

He couldn't get the words out. Funny how he could do it before, when talking to Kara. Maybe it was because she was so impartial to everything that was going on. Being from another Earth gave her her own set of problems. Barry couldn't imagine telling Deity first, he'd probably received an even stronger punch to the face. He was sure Cadence sensed it in some way, when he watched her expression change after he explained. Saw there were dots connecting as to why he'd spontaneously proposed to her.

True to her style, she didn't confront him about it. Probably understood his motivations behind it. If she were angry, he had no idea. Brady had kept his own feelings so secretly guarded that when he had the chance to let it out, it was a message he certainly didn't miss.

"I hate you," Brady spat before running from the Cortex.

Barry's muscles twitched, itching for him to race after Brady but kept himself from doing so. How many times could he follow his first instinct to run and not have it turn out badly? No, that time he waited for Brady to calm to a point where Barry didn't risk getting punched again. It took a week for Brady to come around and apologize. Barry forgave him, of course, then apologized on his own merit. Brady needed to hear it. That had been what he was missing, truly apologizing for all the secrets he'd kept from the Team.

Now with everything behind him, there was nothing keeping him from focusing on the future. And the future was coming to him sooner than he thought. Once Barry and Cadence proposed to each other, it didn't take long for them to announce it to the rest of Team Flash with encouraging responses. Brady had screamed, "Finally!" at the top of his lungs before falling into a series of whoops and cheers that rivaled any of what Cadence had done during her cheerleading stint in high school.

Joe, Iris, Wally, Jesse, Cisco, and Caitlin, of course, were just as excited for the group, immediately enveloping them into a group hug that left even Joe teary—and was still teary when he told Barry off for not mentioning to him he planned on proposing in the first place. The only ones they were nervous to tell was Harrison, Tess, and Maya. Barry more so nervous about the former than the latter. He didn't have a close relationship with them—and understood how Cadence felt around Iris, Joe, and Wally—and had no idea how they'd react.

If Maya's immediate planning of an engagement party was indication, things were fine. Finally, things were looking up.

* * *

Cadence ducked into the CCPD break room at the end of her shift, pushing through a crowd of her co-workers who were also ready to go home. The night shift would be coming in soon and she didn't want to get caught speaking to them anytime soon. Not that she didn't enjoy bantering with her co-workers, but sometimes she wanted nothing more than to compress from the day by herself. And, her feet were starting to hurt. Sitting at a desk all day was detrimental to her health, she'd seen enough studies about it and had even given out that advice. Walking around Central City all day had that same affect. It was detrimental to her health, her feet throbbed as much as her heart did, having taken on a case of a child who was so used to being home alone that they hadn't seen their parents in a few days and had no idea where they were to be contacted and could fend for themselves. They were only five.

It was horrifying.

Cadence let out a long sigh, running her hands through her hair, kicking off her shoes

"Is this a bad time?"

Cadence looked at Julian as he approached her. He appeared slightly off balanced yet at the same time incredibly rigid. Like a marionette whose strings had just been jerked upwards. Julian smoothed down his tie. "I didn't expect to see you here," he remarked. "I figured you'd be out there enjoying your party." He held out his hand. "I believe congratulations are _now_ in order."

Cadence shook his hand firmly, showing off the engagement ring on her ring finger. She wondered if he could tell she was consciously keeping her strength in check, making herself be gentle so that she didn't crush his hand. "Thank you," She said stiffly, unable to let go how he'd been mocking of her and Barry before. Who continued to say congratulations to someone when he _knew_ they weren't engaged and had been on the verge of breaking up? It didn't help that Julian had kept the smug smile on his face the rest of the Captain Singh's wedding, making it harder for either her or Barry to really sit with the truth. "Did you need something?"

"Pardon?" Julian said. Trepidation crossed his face and he brought his hand back to the pockets of his slacks. He cleared his throat. "Oh, right, yes, I, was hoping I could trouble you for your files on Frankie Kane's case."

Red flags immediately went up in Cadence's mind. "What about them?" Julian may have apologized for what he'd done to mess up her case and drive Frankie out of town, but something about it still didn't seem right with her. Not to mention, he was starting to come too close to them at STAR Labs. He knew about Caitlin, she'd admitted it to him, how much longer was he going to hold that information above them before he finally pulled the pin on his grenade. "What do you need them for?" An incredulous laugh escaped her lips. "In the middle of an engagement party, no less."

"Standard procedure, I suppose," Julian said, casually. He cleared his throat once more, bringing a hand up to rub the back of his neck. A move reminiscent of Barry, it didn't fill her with any comfort. If anything, it made Cadence regard him with even more suspicion than before. She and Julian didn't talk about anything not conclusive to work when at work. Nor did they speak outside of work. The conversation wasn't new and yet it was making the hair on the back of her neck stand up.

Something wasn't right but she couldn't quite put her finger on it. "I finally have the time to put in the finishing reports of the case and I'd like the insight that you gave for said reports," Julian explained. His eyes flickered over her. "You're the meta expert."

Cadence's suspicion ten-folded. "I'm no expert," she said. She hoped it came across as modesty and he'd put it aside. But, knowing Julian, it wasn't going to happen. He was as persistent as Cisco was when he wanted to order his favorite pizza. That was evident with how persistent he was to prove Frankie was a meta and that she'd been the one to hurt her foster father. "It's in _your_ job description, remember?"

Julian stepped closer to her. "Yes, but you're the one who has had more experience with what metahumans can do. I just clean up the aftermath and determine what happened to a victim." He kept his eyes locked on her, watching her as closely as she watched him. So far, she didn't detect any dishonesty from him. "You've seen what's happened when the victims have ended up in the hospitals and other forms of medical care." Cadence continued to stare at him. Julian sucked in a quick breath, moving to the door so quickly it startled Cadence. "If I can't get any answers from you then I guess I should just ask Caitlin."

That got her attention. She practically barked at him when she asked, "What about Caitlin?"

"You mean you don't know about her?" Julian's smile was shark like. There was blood in the water and he certainly smelled it. "She hasn't told you she's a metahuman. And here I thought you were best friends. Thick as thieves." His lips twitched around his teeth. "Don't tell me that not even Allen has told you anything about it." Cadence pressed her lips together, trying to figure out what to say that wouldn't give anything away. "I'm not one to judge, but keeping secrets doesn't sound like a good foundation for a marriage, yeah?"

"What about Caitlin?" Cadence demanded, unable to keep the growl from coming to her voice. Whether it was Caitlin or Cisco, putting her friends into any situation that would cause their lives to be ruined did _not_ sit well with her.

"She's a meta. She told me. And not just a meta, but that one they call Killer Frost?" Cadence did her best not to react, but couldn't help but take in a sharp breath. "I see that sounds familiar to you." Julian folded his arms and leaned on the counter next to her. He dropped his voice to an almost menacing level. "What do you know about Killer Frost? What do you know about Caitlin?"

"I don't know anything, Julian. And if she were a meta, this is the first I'm hearing about it—"

"—bollocks. You're having me on. You know more about this bloody meta than you're telling me. And you're doing the same thing Allen's done." Julian ran a hand over his mouth, tapped his fingers against his chin. "He begged me not to say anything about Caitlin and I agreed to it so long as he quit his job at the CCPD. I'm sure you've heard about that."

"Barry's mentioned it once," Cadence said flatly. "What does that have to do with me?"

"Well, you're marrying the bloke—"

"—What does _Caitlin being a meta_ have to do with me?"

Julian eagerly pounced on Cadence's words. "You admit it then?"

Dismay washed over Cadence. Her face dropped. She hadn't meant to say anything, hadn't meant to have the words slip out. Hadn't meant to seriously betray Caitlin. The worst thing was, she knew Caitlin would've forgiven her in a second for the slip-up. She would give a kind smile and simply draw her best friend into a hug and comfort her when _Caitlin_ was the one who needed to be comforted.

Julian spoke before Cadence could respond. "So, she's a meta. What about your little engineer friend? They both work at STAR Labs so he'd be aware if she were a meta. Know where other metas are. Aand they work with the Flash, I'm sure they know his identity as well." Julian rubbed his palms together. "Imagine what'd happen, if I were to break who The Flash was, as admirable as the people of the city think he is, he's not above the law."

"The Flash has been helping the city."

"Like Flare has?"

That made Cadence shut up. Central City, unfortunately, still hadn't recovered from seeing the 'Dancing Flame' burn down a building, injuring some and traumatizing others. No matter what Cadence did to save anyone, there was always going to be an air of distrust around her and the thought alone kept her up at night, made her sick to her stomach, horrified her to no end. And it had just been thrown back in her face. Julian's words made Cadence shut up, but it didn't keep her from glaring. Didn't keep her anger from spiking so quickly that it affected the room around them. She was sure smoke was seconds away from pouring form her ears. Julian frowned, glancing towards the ceiling. He pulled at the collar of his dress shirt, beads of sweat appearing on his forehead. "Bloody hell, I know it's Christmas time, but they don't have to turn up the damn heat so much."

Cadence steeled herself, made sure her voice didn't break when she replied, "What do you want?" She asked, voice growing low, throaty.

"For starters, I need all the information you have on metahumans," Julian said, immediately snapping to attention. His voice sounded almost robotic. That proved it. He knew _exactly_ what he wanted. "Not just form your most recent CPS cases, but from your medical examiner files as well. I reckon there's a lot of information in there as well. I assume it has Allen's signatures and information from the cases you've worked together."

"Some of them," Cadence mumbled.

"That's the first thing I need. The second thing I'll need is, in your words, all the information you have on Killer Frost. Her power set, how she's able to use her powers, what'll defeat her. Everything of that sort."

"And in return? What do I get out of this?"

"Relax, I don't want your job. I could care less about some ankle biters neglected by their parents," Julian dead-panned. "It'll make them tougher. Though I guarantee some of them are just children who's mums and dad's buy their love." He cleared his throat. "If there's anything else I need, I'll let you know. I'd like everything you can give me on my desk by the end of the week. I'm not too much of a—"

"—dick?" Cadence guessed.

Julian smiled, though it didn't reach his eyes. "I was going to say 'jerk' but your colloquialism is a good choice, innit?" He continued. "I'm not too much of a dick to not let you enjoy your engagement party. Cheers." He turned on his heel and left the break room.

Cadence hummed to herself, clenching her fist around the edge of the counter she hadn't been aware she was crushing. It shattered, splinters embedding themselves in her fingers. Turning her palm up, Cadence watched blood drip over her fingers before deftly plucking out the splinters, the wounds sliding shut the seconds the wounds were empty. There was too much to think about and not enough time to give the right amount of energy to each thought. It wasn't fair, honestly. Every time something good happened, something more nefarious was right behind to turn everything on its head and create a tailspin so fast they were still recovering days later.

Cadence closed her eyes, thinking to Julian. He'd been very specific about what he'd needed of her to keep Caitlin safe from…whatever he was planning. Cadence's lips curled, her teeth clenched. Keeping things quiet from those around them clearly wasn't working to keep any of them safe. Their secret identities made it easier to walk the streets during the day, made it easier for them to just be themselves and not put on a show every second of every day. But to know those that were starting to come closer and closer to throwing everything of what's become their normal away…

It was ironic, in a sense. When she first got her powers, she did everything in her power to pretend she was normal. She trained and worked on her powers by herself in secret every day—taking time after school, before her cheerleading, soccer, and swim practices, using other times where her parents went to events to do it. She remembered the first time she learned how to teleport, focusing all her energy from going her bedroom to the living room. From the attic to the basement. Remembered when she armed herself with a fire extinguisher and a flame retardant blankets wrapped around the trunks of trees on their property to work on target practice.

And now, her new normal of being able to do something with that work was close to being taken away. Cadence shook her head, pushed herself from the damaged counter and left the CPPD. She took in a deep, calming breath the second she was outside, the sun setting over Central City putting her in a better mood than before. That was, until a gust of wind caught her attention.

She turned to Barry as he straightened himself, pushing back his hair. "Hey." He took one look at her face then frowned in concern. His eyes bored into hers, filled with so much concern and love that made Cadence smile, immediately feeling nothing but warm relief wash over her. He stepped closer to her. "You look stressed. Is everything okay?"

Cadence didn't respond to his question, instead, she watched him then shift his gaze to the CCPD, as if only just noticing it there. She gently smiled, wondering if he'd come to see her because he was already unable to handle watching Brady and Conner.

Brady had been nothing short of ecstatic when he found that one of his Christmas gifts was Conner being back in Central City for a short visit. How her mom managed to pull it off, she wasn't sure. (Just as Cadence _still_ wasn't sure how she, Harrison, and Tess all managed to put together an engagement party in such a short amount of time). It'd be sad when Conner had to go back into hiding, but at least for the time being he could have some closure over having to say goodbye initially.

Finally, Cadence grasped Barry's hand, watching as he let out a wistful sigh through his nose. "You really miss working here, don't you?"

"What makes you say that?" Barry tore his gaze away from his former work place. He blinked at her.

"The fact you're managing to stand completely still," Cadence said honestly. With the Speed Force coursing through his veins, Barry, almost, couldn't sit still. So much so that a knee almost always was bouncing, he cracked his knuckles, paced, did everything at top speed. Sitting still was impossible for him. "Did you really come to walk me home? Did cabin fever get to you already?"

Barry grinned. "I had to get out of there. Your mom was starting to—"

"—Drive you crazy?"

"—she's a little excited, I'll give her that," Barry admitted. "Every five minutes she asks me something about the wedding and I don't have any answers."

"Oh." Cadence waved her free hand. "She's just ready to show off her new future son-in-law. Believe me, she gets worse. We'd hardly started dating and she was as enthusiastic about Ryder." Then a wicked smile came to her face. "Either that or she wants to marry you herself."

"Don't put any ideas in her head," Barry said, laughing. "I only just managed to get away." His smile waned. "So…is everything okay?"

"Yeah." Cadence quirked an eyebrow. "I just had an interesting conversation with Julian."

"Amazing," Barry teased. "We only just got engaged and you're already flirting with another guy."

"Amazing. We only just got engaged and you're already jealous," Cadence swiftly returned. Her smile faded as well. "It wasn't about me, it was about Caitlin."

Now Barry's face screwed up in confusion. He could see her trying to push Caitlin and Cisco together, honestly, he wondered about it himself. But Julian. Especially when he was trying to blackmail her. He couldn't quite tell if Cadence was serious, she did enjoy messing with him. "Do you really think he's her type? I mean, they're both smart but he's so…."

"Unbearable?"

''I was going to say _completely_ unbearable but that works."

"I didn't have a problem with him until this whole thing with Cait," Cadence admitted. She sighed in resignation, squeezing his hand, pulling him behind her as they started to walk down the street, falling in step with the rest of Central City. She spoke quietly so only he could hear. "He knows she's a meta and it's only so long until he finds out about the rest of us. He wants as much information about her as possible. If I don't give it to him, he'll out Caitlin to everyone."

"Just like him wanting me to quit my job," Barry agreed.

Cadence nodded. "I want to see how much he knows."

"Do you think it's safe?"

"No." Her honesty made him start. "if we don't have an idea of what we're up against, we may as well just turn ourselves over to Breathtaker, Savitar, and Alchemy right now."

"Maybe that's not a bad idea," Barry mused. Cadence looked at him in surprise. Turning themselves over was giving up, wasn't it? And they never gave up. "It'd give us a leg up on what they're up to, figuring out a plan once we're in their clutches. It worked once before."

Cadence nodded. It _had_ worked once before; when Breathtaker had kidnapped Team Flash and Team Arrow almost three years before when he took over Central City. When Barry had been furious to find out she'd been trying to kill him the entirety of their friendship. It took a long time for him to fully forgive her for it. And while they had been in held captive, they figured out the Assassination Bureau's and Suicide Squad's weaknesses to break free before defeating Breathtaker enough to reverse the damage he'd caused.

"Yeah, but they've been watching us closer now, I don't think the same thing will work again," Cadence pointed out. "And as for Savitar and Alchemy, as long as they have the Philosopher's Stone, they've got the advantage."

"Then we'll just need to find a way to get rid of the Philosopher's Stone." Barry said it with so much conviction that Cadence almost believed him. Almost. About 99%. But that was only due to a healthy 1% of doubt anyone would have. When it came to the end of the world and lives in jeopardy, a healthy sense of doubt was expected.

Cadence moved closer to Barry's side, dropping her hand from his to loop her arm around her waist, making him wrap an arm around her shoulders, pressing a kiss to the side of her head.

At least for the moment, things were okay.

* * *

"I still don't understand why you needed to gather information on Killer Frost," Savitar commented.

With his knees pulled up to his chest, arms looped around them, hands grasping each wrist, he would've looked like a man taking a stroll in the forest just outside of Central City. If not for the continuous gleam of malice in his eyes and half scarred face, anyone walking by would've thought Barry Allen was taking a nice stroll in the woods with Little Red Riding Hood.

That is, if Little Red Riding Hood had an ominous billowing cape with glowing eyes beneath. Breathtaker, on the other hand, was the big bad wolf and the lumberjack rolled together. Strong and filled with malice. He turned to Savitar, eyes boring into his. Hypnotic.

Savitar grimaced and turned his head away. He wouldn't allow himself to become hypnotized and brainwashed. "I told you, I know everything about Killer Frost, I don't need a rehash of the information I already have."

"Patience," Breathtaker said. "This is simply to see if our powers of persuasion is still strong enough to break through Albert's will."

"Believe me, Albert's not going to get away anytime soon," Savitar remarked. He stood up, stretching his arms overhead. Each of his vertebrae in his back cracked, allowing him to let out a long groan. He leaned back against the tree, bringing up a foot to rest on the trunk, folding his arms over his chest. "I only need him to do one more thing. As long as you can hold your influence over him, so that the Philosopher's Stone can take effect, I can do it." He took in a deep breath through his nose. "Barry and the others are moving at the exact pace they should be moving. Everything's going to work out. I'm kind of proof of that."

"Then why the need for Albert?"

"I needed someone close to them that they wouldn't expect."

"It appears they wouldn't expect you either."

Savitar grinned and flipped his long fringe from his face. "That, too," he agreed. Then his smile faded. He ran his fingertips along the scar that covered his face. Took in the lumps and bumps that previously had been a quite handsome face, if he did say so himself. Fortunately, that hadn't been taken away from him. Still, the anger he felt burning through his stomach was enough fuel to his fire for revenge. He wasn't going to let it overcome him. No, not when he was so close.

There was a bright flash of light and Julian appeared before them. He held the Philosopher's Stone in both hands, it illuminated the dazed expression on his face. Savitar grinned, walking to his lackey. He grabbed the stone and held it firmly in hand, taking in a deep breath as he felt the power of the stone course through his veins. Yes, he was so close to unlocking its full potential. And he couldn't wait until he had the chance to show Barry and the others what he could truly do.

"I have her getting the information we need," Julian said in monotone. "Once we have it, then we'll be able to move onto the next step."

"Perfect." Savitar grasped Julian's shoulder and shook him. "Just what we needed. He looked to Breathtaker for confirmation before passing him the Philosopher's Stone.

Breathtaker took it and the stone and it changed form a brilliant blue glow to a demonic red, pulsing repeatedly. His large hands enveloped the stone. He held onto it for a few minutes longer then handed it back to Savitar, the color of the stone changing back to a blue.

"I have my team ready," he said. "They've been put in place and have been watching Team Flash for the right moment."

Savitar's smile finally faded into a deep frown. "You've been saying that for days now. When are we moving in to strike? You know that if Team Flash are together they're strongest together." His gaze lowered and he spat, "Their care for each other is what keeps them going."

"Patience."

Savitar's head whipped up. "I _have_ been patient!" He spat. "I've been patient while we've sat back and done nothing. They're coming closer to figuring out what we're doing. Since those Cosmic Beings came to this Earth, it's only a matter of time until they figure out their warning."

"Your connection with Barry is strong enough to—"

"— _I am Barry_!" Savitar spat. His voice echoed along the empty forest. "In all matter of what existence truly is. I am Barry. I have his memories, his face, his powers. But I'm stronger than him. And with this,"—he lifted the Philosopher's Stone—"and with his powers, I'll be unstoppable." He nodded toward Julian, who continued to stare in space, not moving from his spot. "Then I'll be done with him and Barry and deal with the aftermath." He chuckled. "I have to tell you, it's not going to be pretty."

"Incognito's passing was indeed sad," Breathtaker said, finally speaking once Savitar calmed down. "But he knew the risks of joining me. He believed in what we were doing and willingly gave his life for the cause."

"And White Hot?" Savitar asked. "Cadence isn't dead. Why not coerce her into working for you again? Why the need for White Hot?"

"I need the power and until I can get Cadence to see reason, I need the one who is willing to help me. I need that power set, that ruthlessness and sheer power. There aren't many other metas who hold the ability. For millennia I've watched metahumans become complacent. Too used to the powers they have and allowing themselves to fall back into the shadows rather than exhibit themselves to be the powerful creatures they are." Breathtaker clenched his fist. "Incognito understood that."

"The question is, did he have a choice." Breathtaker and Savitar turned to find Black Blade suddenly appear from between the trees, turning visible as he went, stepping out from the shadows. "Incognito, like Stratos and Mindboggler, were at low points in their lives when you found them. You preyed on them to make them feel their only point in life was to work alongside you as you destroyed the world."

"Destroy?" Breathtaker sounded surprised. "I simply want to make it better."

Black Blade cocked his head, didn't seem surprised by the response. "By killing all humans." A statement. Not a question.

"If the humans don't want to perish they'd understand not to treat those with extraordinary powers with disdain and rather with the worship they deserve."

Black Blade tilted his head, spun his katanas at his side. Though they didn't move at any remarkable speed, a whooshing sound could be heard with each rotation of the blades. "The boy," he commented. Savitar lifted an eyebrow. "What is it you want with the boy?"

"Me?" Savitar lifted an eyebrow. He waved his hand, waving off the accusation. "Nothing. He's not even on my radar."

Lifting his sword, Black Blade pointed it directly at Breathtaker. "I meant him."

"That, is something we'll have to see in time," Breathtaker replied.

Black Blade continued to spin his katanas around his palms. Then he held them still, knuckles cracking around the grips. "Not if I have anything to do about it."

If Breathtaker had a mouth beneath his hood—something of which no one knew—it would've curled back into a smile. "I was hoping you'd say that."

* * *

 **A/N:** Okay, writing Savitar and Breathtaker in this chapter was so fun. You have no idea. And, finally a long look as to what's going on with them. And the return of Black Blade as well, There's so much more with the villains that are coming in this back half of the story because…we're in the third arc of the story now. And with that, we'll see much more of the villains and how their plans progress.

Let me know what you guys think!

 **Cheers,**

 **-Riley**

 **Review Replies**

 **Ethan:** Yep, they proposed to each other. I was originally going to have it where Cade proposed to him that time, but figured this was better as a mutual thing after they finally determined (which you correctly pointed out) that they have a major communication problem. I had actually thought to have their semi-break up to last longer but decided against it. Not only because I felt it would've been dragged too long, but there's only so much darker I'd have this story, go. None of these guys have bene happy in a long time and that needed to change.

 **Guest:** Glad you liked it.

 **DarkHelm145:** I hope the beginning of this arc is just as good for you. Finally, we're getting some answers for things.

 **PowerHero432:** Yes, the title _did_ say it all! Haha.


	33. It All Came Back To Earth-1

**33**

 _It All Came Back To Earth-1  
_

* * *

 _ **EARTH-2**_

"Right this way, Mr. Allen."

"Thank you."

Earth-2 Barry pushed his glasses up his nose and followed the security officer down the dark, damp hall to the visitation room. He cleared his throat, tightening the knot of his tie to ensure it wasn't coming lose. Then he ran a hand over his hair, stopping for only a second, dropping his hands to his sides. There was no point, he realized. The same thing happened every time, but he still couldn't help himself. There were too many people who would say he was crazy for going.

He never had said he was completely sane. He was the one with his head in the clouds, the one who was always racing after metahumans and the like so that he could provide justice to everyone that deserved it. Even those metas that were a victim of their circumstances deserved justice. It was why he was in the prison in the first place.

Just visiting.

Honestly, he hoped he never actually ended up there. Hoped he didn't have to go visit again anytime soon. The walls were too dark, the air was too damp, the guards watched him too closely. There were too many people he'd seen unfairly put away. Thankfully, this would be one of the last times he'd have to go. After that day, things should be easy. Should go back to normal. As normal as his life could be.

"You have ten minutes."

Earth-2 Barry nodded as he dropped himself into the chair waiting in front of the glass partition. He reached out and picked up the phone mounted to the wall right beside him. Around him, other visitors were already speaking to their loved ones. Earth-2 Barry took in a deep breath, waiting for the phone to be picked up on the other end.

When it was, Burnout simply lifted an eyebrow and said, "You really have to stop visiting me. It's just wasting your time."

"I don't see it that way," Earth-2 Barry replied. He pushed his glasses up once more. "I've visited a lot of people in prison and I've never seen it as a waste of time."

"It's a waste of your time to see me, I mean," Burnout insisted. "I'm the one who's actually guilty of my crime. You really can't do anything to get me off this one." She shrugged carelessly. "Now, I admit I should've been a little more careful when it came to the clues I left behind, but what can I say? The chase is just as interesting as the crime."

Earth-2 Barry lowered his head, shaking it. "I don't believe that." He quickly corrected himself. "I don't believe that _you_ believe that."

"Then you don't know me very well." Burnout lifted an eyebrow. "Anthony Bellows is dead, Barry. There's proof of me being there all over the place. Now, I'll admit I was careless in a few areas but this isn't something that concerns you."

"It does when I know you didn't do it," Earth-2 Barry insisted. Burnout gave him a confused glance. Hadn't she _just_ told him evidence pointed back to her. Unrefutable evidence. He worked for the CCPD for God's sake, even he knew a sure thing when he saw it. "I mean, I know you did it, that much is obvious—the evidence—like you said—it was—you couldn't—I mean—"

"Please get to your point," Burnout interrupted. "This is really starting to get eat up my visitation. And I'm expecting someone." To add to her point, Burnout looked at her wrist, as if looking for a watch then sighed heavily. She leaned back, turning her gaze toward the ceiling. Barry leaned forward, to see what she was looking at—a clock, and thunked his forehead against the glass. "Yeah, you might want to be careful about that."

"You're waiting for someone," Earth-2 Barry remarked. He thought for a moment. "You're waiting for your son."

Burnout's expression immediately changed. What was once cool detachment changed to that of blazing fury. She leaned close to the glass, her breath fogging it up. "You don't know what you're talking about. You need to stop coming here. And you need to leave me alone." She moved to hang up her phone.

No. It couldn't end yet. Not until he got the chance to say what he needed to say. Frantically, Earth-2 Barry stated to tap his fingers against the glass, rapidly, until Burnout huffed, keeping herself from slamming the phone back to its receiver.

"What?" She asked.

"I know you didn't do it on your own merit," Earth-2 Barry explained. His words came out in a rush, rapidly falling out his mouth only to be replaced by more words. "I know it wasn't what you wanted to do. Breathtaker and the rest of the Assassination Bureau"—he watched her grasp tighten on her phone. And if it weren't for the anti-meta shackle around her ankle, he knew it would've immediately burst into flames—"They're the ones who are more into the whole thing. I know that. I know you're just using it to try and fill the void—"

"—Fill the _void?"_ Burnout interrupted. And yet, she still didn't hang up.

"Cade," Earth-2 Barry said. And nothing more.

He simply said her name and watched Burnout's face turn pale, fall. Nothing more than sadness reached her eyes. How long had it been since anyone called her by her actual name? If the mind-meld was any indication, between her and Earth-1 Cadence, a lot time. It had to hurt more than she allowed herself to feel. Just as it hurt whenever he felt Earth-1 Barry's struggles with his parents, over his creating Flashpoint, over everything.

And, part of him, the true Earth-2 part of him, knew Earth-1 Barry was going to be struggling for a long time. How many times was he to wake up in the middle of the night from a nightmare that he wasn't even having? That the other part of him was suffering through because he wouldn't allow himself to fully talk or think about it. Burnout had to be going through the same thing. It was impossible to ignore it.

"Don't call me that," Burnout murmured.

"It's your name."

"No one calls me that. Not anymore." Burnout shook her head. She took in a deep breath. "How'd you find out?" She asked. Earth-2 Barry's eyebrows came together. He wasn't quite sure he knew what she meant. Thankfully, he didn't have to wait too long for her to press forward. "How'd you find out I was here? It wasn't mentioned…part of my plea…"

"You haven't been convicted of anything yet," Earth-2 Barry insisted. He lowered his voice, glancing at the officers continuing to stand around them. Hearing a baby cry, Earth-2 Barry glanced directly to his right to see a baby no older than one reaching out towards his mother, who wept silently behind her side of the glass, held tightly by the woman's husband, who bounced her up and down on his knee. "And the longer you go without being convicted, the better chance you have to get out of there. I know that Breathtaker—"

" _How_ do you know?" Burnout insisted.

Earth-2 tightened his grasp on his phone. He heard the plastic slowly start to crack. He was running out of time, if he didn't get everything out now…it'd be harder for things to keep moving forward. There was too much that needed to be said, if he didn't get it out soon then things would turn catastrophic.

"The crimes don't fit the motive," he explained. "Why would you continue to do Breathtaker's bidding if you have all the money in the world?" Burnout's face returned to the stoic expression, practically carved of granite. "Then I looked at all your past crime scenes…including what happened with Zoom and Killer Frost. You never did those things for the person that was controlling you. It took me a while to figure that out, that you were working on your own, for your own terms.

"Why would you need to continue killing people? You didn't. You didn't even need the money. You have more than enough money to figure out how to live on your own. To get your son back if you wanted. So it had to be something else that's pushing you forward. But you continue to work with them anyway. And it took me a long time to realize it's just because you're lonely."

Burnout continued to stare at him.

"You don't have anyone else in your life," Earth-2 Barry explained. "And because of that, you feel there's not much more for you to do than what you already know. You're not gaining anything from this. The money means nothing to you or else you would've spent it on anything you could. It's just something in your life to fill the void…" he took in a deep breath and drove the point home. "Of what you've been seeing from Earth-1. Of what you've been seeing since the mind-meld."

Earth-2 Barry watched Burnout's face closely. She didn't blink for a long time. She lowered he phone from her ear, took in a deep breath, and looked away from Earth-2 Barry. She clenched her teeth together, her breaths making whistling sounds as the seconds passed. Finally, she brought the phone back to her ear and looked him in the eye.

"You've been doing the same, haven't you?" She asked. Earth-2 Barry's eyebrows twitched. He didn't respond. Her question had proved it. He was right, about everything. Truthfully, he hadn't wanted to be right. Because it meant the next part was going to be even harder to face. "You've been throwing yourself in your work. Doing everything you can not to go home because of what you've seen. Because of what you know. And…" she thought for a moment. And for that brief moment, a smile came to her face. "Your parents keep asking you about our job. About what you've been doing. _How_ you've been doing. About your love life. All of that. And you have no answers for them. Except the same ones you've been giving before, the ones you don't correct."

Throughout the conversation, Earth-2 Barry felt a lump start to rise in his throat, thickening as the seconds passed. Barely able to hold himself together. He sucked in a shuddering breath, which was magnified on Burnout's side of the phone. And yet, she continued to look him in the eye. Her hand shook.

"You shouldn't have come here, Barry," Burnout said. The finality in her voice made Earth-2 Barry sit up straight. His heart thundered against his chest. He had to get her to understand, had to get her to see reason. "There's nothing you can do."

"I'm going to get you out," Earth-2 Barry said. "I have to." He saw the officer on Burnout's side moving closer to her. Motioning for her to hang up the phone. Their time was just about up. "I'm not going to give up on you."

"You have to," Burnout said. She glanced at the Officer that moved behind her shoulder, motioning for her to hang up. "There's nothing we can do." She hung up the phone and stood up, holding out her hands. Earth-2 Barry watched as the Officer slid handcuffs over her wrists—not needed, Earth-2 Barry thought, for the anti-meta anklet she had—and snapped them on tight.

Watched as she glanced at him one last time before ducking her head and allowing herself to be led away, back to her cell. Earth-2 Barry hung up his phone and nodded to the Officer on his side, ready to leave. And so he followed the Officer out of the prison, the Officer stopping only in the front door to watch Earth-2 Barry go to his car.

For a long time, Earth-2 Barry sat in his front seat. Staring into space. Staring at nothing. Staring at the golden hue the sun washed over the city. The hue that seemed to fade when Zoom had control over everyone within the city, reigned it with terror all the while trying to find a Wells that had managed to escape to another Earth.

Now Zoom was gone, things were going back to normal, and yet he could still see things were falling apart.

And it all came back to Earth-1.

* * *

 _ **EARTH-1**_

Barry grinned over his shoulder as she raced along the streets of Central City. He zig-zagged through the morning traffic, leaping over benches and other obstacles that came his way. Seeing a flash out the corner of his eye, he saw Wally and Jesse running along behind him. Saw their streaks of color—red and orange—slowly coming up behind him. Slowly, as Barry was still too fast for them to catch up.

Their training was coming along smoothly, with more time Barry was off the force, the more time he had to train them. Wally equally gave his attention to school and his own training, often taking time between his classes to beg Barry to race him. Jesse, on the other hand, continued to travel back and forth between Earth-1, 2, and 3, as she fulfilled her duties. Trained on Earth-1, visited her father on Earth-2, and helped Jay protect Earth-3.

Facing forward again, Barry continued to run. Continued to do everything in his power to keep the nagging thoughts form entering his mind. Flashes of the nightmares he continued to have. It had been particularly bad that night. A nightmare that lasted until all hours of the morning. Giving him hardly any time to sleep, making him move through the rest of his day in a daze, wondering if he was still dreaming.

Every time, Barry would jerk awake. His eyes would fly open, a sharp breath would escape his lips, his breathing was ragged, voice hoarse from the screaming he'd subconsciously tried to suppress and simultaneously let out. All because he couldn't get the images out of his head, of his friends, of the love of his life dying. All because he was always too slow. One second. One half-second. A full minute. Too slow, every time.

And every time Barry shot awake, bringing a hand down from behind his head to wipe away sweat, Cadence would be awake seconds later, looking at him with eyes filled with concern. And each time he'd simply just say, "Bad dream. Go back to sleep," pressing a kiss to her forehead as he did so. Nevertheless, Cadence would still watch him, waiting for him to go to sleep himself before doing as she was told. It wasn't always possible.

"Yeah, like I can go to sleep after that." Cadence rubbed her shoulder, where a red continued to blaze against her skin. He'd thrashed around more often that time. "You punched me so hard I'm surprised I didn't fly off the bed." She sat up and glanced at the clock, shoulders slumping when she saw it was seven. No pint in going back to sleep if she'd be up to start her day in a half hour anyway. She yawned and reached out, rubbing Barry's back as he swung his legs to the side, resting his feet on the cool floor. "Are you sure you're okay?" She asked. "You were screaming all night. And I'm not sure how many more times I can hear you moan Savitar's name without getting concerned."

Barry chuckled. Shook his head. "That's not funny."

"I'm not being funny." Now awake, Cadence flicked on the lamp on her bedside table, casting an amber glow around the room. "Barry, you haven't been sleeping. And I know this is all about Savitar and Alchemy. We all want this to go away, but avoiding it isn't going to help things." Barry twisted his mouth to the side, dropping his head even further. The knots in his back ached every time he took a breath. Knots that'd only release themselves once he truly found peace. "I think we know that first hand."

 _And it almost tore us apart,_ Barry thought. He didn't say it out loud, didn't need to. The resignation that made his shoulders drop even further proved it. Instead, Barry rolled back around and stretched out on his side of the bed, looking up at Cadence who stared back down at him. "Now that we're awake, do you want breakfast?" He asked.

Cadence rolled her eyes. "Don't change the subject, Bartholomew."

Barry's eyebrow quirked upward. "Bartholomew?" He repeated. He couldn't remember her ever addressing him by his full name. Not including when she proposed to him. His eyes flickered to the ring that sat on her left hand, shining gently in the light. It was still hard to believe how things continued to work for them. "Am I in trouble?"

"'Trouble' is if you wake me up again tomorrow," Cadence warned. She rubbed at her eyes, sounded exasperated. "This is the fourth night in a row."

A smile curled on Barry's lips. "I know something _else_ that happened four nights in a row."

Cadence made a face and rolled her eyes while Barry chuckled at his innuendo. As true as it was. "Being smug is very unbecoming, Barry." She leaned over and gave him a kiss, making his smile widen. "Especially when I'm trying to have a serious conversation with you." She pushed off the covers and padded toward their bathroom. "Just for that, I'm using up all the hot water."

Barry rolled onto his back. "I take quick showers anyway," he called.

"That's why you always stink," Cadence called back.

It was then Barry's turn to roll his eyes…before he lifted his arm to sniff under his armpit. He didn't think he smelled too bad, but what did he know? His suit made him aerodynamic, less susceptible to friction, and made it so that he was never recognized…but it did start to smell quickly. He really needed to get on Cisco creating a super washing machine for their clothes.

 _Speaking of clothes…_ his eyes swept their room, where all his things were scattered around, waiting to be put back in their proper place. He'd been so busy with the future he hadn't thought of unpacking. And, truth be told, part of him worried something would tear them apart again, and he'd move back to Cisco's couch the second he started to unpack. _No time like the present._

Barry got to his feet and zipped through the room, filling his closet with his clothes and putting all his other knick-knacks in the correct places. Then he raced down to the kitchen to clean things up while Brady put on the finishing touches of their breakfast; fluffy pancakes and syrup.

"You spoil us, you know that," Barry greeted, coming to a stop behind the young boy.

"I spoil _you_ anyway." Brady flipped a pancake to his plate with a quick flick of his wrist, holding spatula. He gestured to the comically filled plate beside him. "That's yours. These are mine and moms." He moved the plates to the table and sat down, immediately picking up the jug of syrup and uppended it onto his plate.

Barry watched for a few seconds. The puddle growing larger and larger as they passed. "I think that's enough," he said.

"Not yet," Brady replied. He held the syrup bottle even higher, making more pour out. His eyes stared intently at the long line of syrup oozing over his plate. The sweet scent filled the then breezed through the kitchen, greeting her son with a kiss to the back of his head. "That's enough," she said. Brady hummed in content and put the bottle down. He motioned to the tank sitting on the counter. "Don't forget to feed Gordon."

"Gordon?" Barry repeated. It took him only a moment to realize it was a play on the name 'Flash Gordon'. Nevertheless, he couldn't help but feel a minor sense of possession over the turtle. "His name is McSnurtle."

"I'm not naming my turtle something dumb like McSnurtle."

" _Your_ turtle?" Barry repeated. He was sure it'd been his as soon as it came through the door. He looked to Cadence for help but she merely held up a hand. The universal sign that she wasn't going to get into it. "For real?" It was something as small as a pet that could easily be replaced if needed, still, Barry was surprised she didn't back him up.

"The second HR brought it here, it became his," Cadence pointed out. "Good luck getting it back.".

"Now, if you go me a dog…" Brady sing-songed.

"Don't start." Cadence started to eat then stopped. Her eyes narrowed, sweeping around the kitchen as if noticing it for the first time. Barry hadn't noticed there was anything amiss, happily tucking into his breakfast. He glanced up, from eating a slice to find his girlfriend's—fiancée's—arms folded. His eyebrows twitched up in question. _What?_ "Barry, are you pregnant?" Cadence abruptly asked.

Barry's eyes shot open in surprise. He glanced at Brady, who mimicked his mother's stance, folded arms, tilted head, and all. The situation would've been funny if it weren't so preposterous. Science aside. "What? _No!_ No, I'm not preg—no. Wait." His heart started to race. "Are—are _you_ -I mean, we're not—are you?"

Cadence smiled. "Aww, you haven't stammered around me in a long time," she cooed. Barry felt himself blush as Brady mimed sticking a finger down his throat. It wasn't his fault he seemed to stutter and stammer every time he was around someone he thought was attractive. As Iris and Cadence pointed out anyway. (Though the former didn't seem to notice she was one of those women once upon a time).

"I'm not pregnant, Cade," Barry insisted. There goes _that_ idea. They certainly were not ready to be having any children but having the thought put into his head wasn't too bad. If he was going to move on…

"Are you sure?" Cadence teased. She motioned around the kitchen. "Because, I noticed you cleaned up our room, too. You're kind of doing this nesting thing that I did when I was about to give birth to Brady. So if you have something you need to tell me…" Her words trailed off with a trill at the end.

"This isn't funny," Barry said.

"Are you planning on having kids?" Brady added, getting in on the jokes. Though Barry could see the smile on his face was _much_ too inappropriate for his own comfort. Brady waved his fork towards Barry. "Better start planning now. I don't know if you noticed, but we're expensive."

"Believe me, bud, we've noticed. I don't need another one of you." Cadence reached out and tweaked her son's nose, making him push her hand away. Then she eyed Barry carefully. "Look, I we're trying to work on this whole communication thing, right?" Barry nodded. "I don't think we're ready for couple's counseling yet, but you're kinda making it hard. Since you're not really talking about your nightmares."

Barry shrugged again. Tried to be nonchalant. Everything in his life was nonchalant now. "Well, I've seen a lot of terrible things in my life and...now, they're just a part of me."

"Yeah, but we haven't been there for all those terrible things," Brady piped up. He looked to his mother, who nodded in agreement. Barry took a breath through his nose. Sometimes he forgot Team Flash, at the beginning, was just him, Caitlin, Cisco, and who they thought was Dr. Wells. It had been so long ago and since Cadence and Brady first came into their lives…he couldn't remember much of life without them around.

"We've seen some of it though," Cadence said. "This is different. It feels different. And there's something you're not telling me. I know it." She then glanced at Brady. "Unless this is something like how he knew you were going to propose to me. I have no idea how he managed to keep that a secret for that long."

"Me either," Brady piped up. "That nearly killed me."

"Yeah, and that sucker punch you hit me with nearly killed me, too." Barry couldn't help but let sarcasm slide into his voice. As much as he deserved it, it really did hurt. Coming from someone who could phase as a power, he, at the moment, wondered if Brady were able to become super solid as well.

Brady snorted. "It might've hurt, but definitely wouldn't have killed you." He pointed to Barry, emphasizing his point. "Not that I couldn't have done it if I wanted to." He shared a smile with Barry and Cadence, finishing the last of his breakfast. "Is everything okay, Barry?"

"Everything's fine," Barry replied. He then quickly added, "Nightmares of the future aside." Which was the truth. It took a few moments for Brady and Cadence to look convinced. "Anyway, what about you? How are you feeling with the whole future thing?"

Brady still hadn't spoken about it too much. It worried Barry a bit, only because he had gone through the same thing once his mother died. The difference being he was all talked out, after having been to therapy session after therapy session, interrogation after interrogation. This was different, Brady's mother hadn't died yet. Knowing the future was a tough pill to swallow, it was harder, knowing it was something the eleven-year-old-boy had to dread when he should've been excited to get older and experience new things.

But it was a risk they had to take, Cadence pointed out during one of their many conversations about making Brady an official member of Team Flash. "He'd already put his own life in danger multiple times, and we do it every day. We don't talk about it, but it's something that's a reality for him."

"I don't know," Brady said with a teasing grin that easily matched his mother's. "It hasn't come yet."

Cadence rolled her eyes as Brady laughed at his own, albeit lame, joke. "Go away," she prompted.

"Going," Brady agreed. He immediately jumped up, putting his dirty dishes in the sink.

"Where are you going?" Barry asked, cluing into the conversation. He was sure Brady didn't have a soccer game or a soccer practice for another week. Off on break for the holiday. New Year's was coming close. Then again, his mind had gone in so many different directions as of late he probably would've forgotten any of his own appointments.

"Just hanging out with Conner, Leah, and Alicia," Brady explained.

Barry's eyebrows quirked upwards at the mention of Alicia's name. Not only did he notice there wasn't any trace of malice that was usually heard when Brady spoke of her, but he did notice Brady hesitate a tiny bit while speaking. Most others wouldn't notice—though mother's intuition seemed to be real as Cadence looked at her son strangely as well—but with Barry's personal passage of time, it was an obvious difference.

Sensing their looks, Brady shrugged and continued to rinse syrup off his plates. "She's kind of a package deal to Leah so, whatever. But we're going to hang out and practice lacrosse." Brady grabbed the fore mentioned stick from the side of the cabinet and his keys before racing from the apartment. "Bye!" He called over his shoulder.

"Bye," Barry and Cadence called back. Barry waited for the door to close before saying, "I think he's up to something."

"He's always up to something," Cadence concurred. "It's just not worth the energy to worry about it all the time."

Barry only had the chance to eat for a few more minutes—twenty max—enjoying one of the few slow moments in his day before he received Wally's text, asking to go on a sweep of the city. _For training, of course,_ Wally added. Though in Wally-speak, it meant he was asking permission to go wild and stop some bad guys. And why not? Even Barry needed it sometimes.

That's what brought Barry to racing around the city with the other speedsters on his heel. Since everything with the Music Meister and Lover had ended, he'd smiled a lot more. And running always made him smile the most. There was just something so revitalizing about it. Like nothing else mattered so long as he was running.

Barry turned the corner of the street and came face to face with a plume of smoke in front of him. He slowed a little, not enough to be seen by normal vision, but enough so that he could take in the scene in front of him. Was someone else starting fires again? Trying to throw the city's perception of Flare off-kilter once more? No, he realized after a second. The people streaming out of the building, running as fast as they could weren't stopping and staring. Weren't watching what was going on. Even those that were spectators listened to the CCPD as they shouted for them to "get back" because it was "too dangerous" to be "too close".

No, it was a real fire. Barry didn't think before he charged into the building with Wally and Jesse behind them. Already dressed in their suits for their patrol, they didn't need to waste any time racing back to STAR Labs. The second Barry came to a stop inside, he noticed the immediately change in temperature compared to outside. It was hot, and would've felt hotter had he not been wearing his suit. The fire had been raging for a while.

"The fire departments aren't close to making it," Barry explained to Jesse and Wally, who waited to be told what to do. Even in an emergency, they were still being trained to on what to do in certain scenarios. A real fire had to be handled differently than flames that Cadence could produce and control towards them. "Go make sure everyone's outside."

Wally and Jesse nodded before taking off. The second they moved, Barry realized he should've warned them to go slow. The added oxygen from their movements made the flames in front of him burst toward the ceiling. The sudden flash of light made Barry throw his arm over his eyes and back away. Dots swirled in front of his vision, he needed to move fast.

 _"Help!"_ Barry zipped to the sound of the voice. A closed door leading to an office filled with smoke. He peered inside, just as the voice shouted again. _"Someone help me! I'm trapped in here!"_ It sounded familiar.

Wally and Jesse arrived beside Barry, whooshing aside the smoke, giving Barry a direct view into the office to see Detective Patterson lying under debris that'd fallen from the ceiling. Barry sucked back so hard he started to choke, smoke entering his lungs. He turned away, bringing his closed fist to his mouth to cough.

"Everyone else is out," Jesse reported. "Sorry it took so long, we grabbed as many as we could to lessen the trips." Her chest heaved, whether it was from effort or the building heat around them, Barry wasn't sure.

Wally stared at Detective Patterson, his eyes growing wide as the seconds passed. Since arriving in Central City, Wally had quickly fallen into the family that was the CCPD. And while Detective Patterson had moments of being abrasive, Wally respected the man. He wouldn't let anything happen to him. And he wouldn't let Detective Patterson come close to seeing his identity either. "We have to get him out of here. This place is up in flames any second."

Barry shook his head. He wouldn't let that happen. Not just because of Detective Patterson, but also due to what'd happen if the warehouse burned down. People would lose their jobs and it'd be another cost for the city to fix. In a second, Barry noticed the dark marks around the sides of the door. He pointed it out to the two speedsters. "You see this soot around the door?"

"Yeah," Wally breathed. He started to subtly cough, covering his mouth with his hand. Beside him, Jesse started to take in shallower and shallower breaths. With her hands planted on her hips, she radiated an air of calm, but Barry could see the tension start to form in her body. She was starting to get scared.

"The room has no ventilation," Barry explained as quickly as he could. They didn't have a lot of time. The flames were already starting to warp around them. "So if we open the door now, the sudden in rush of oxygen will cause an explosion."

"A flash over," Jesse agreed, to which Barry nodded at. "That's what kills most fire fighters. When they try to ventilate a fire, and don't have enough access points, the resulting oxygen increase catches them off guard."

 _"Hey!"_ Detective Patterson shouted again. His voice weaker now. He coughed louder and louder, sucking in smoke as he worked to get out of the way of the debris covering his body.

Wally glanced at him then back at Barry. "So what do we do?" Even if they raced in after opening the door, he didn't think they were fast enough to outrun a flashover. Certainly weren't fast enough to get to Detective Patterson beforehand, he was completely surrounded by flames.

"Create and exit point for the heat and smoke and remove the oxygen at the same time," Barry explained.

"Which will put out the fire," Jesse agreed.

 _"HELP!"_

Barry put himself into position, lifting his arms. He started to rotate it, moving faster and faster as the seconds passed. A wind started to kick up from his movements, sending smoke in all directions. Jesse coughed hard, turning away. Wally, on the other hand, stood his ground. "When I say, open the door." Barry instructed. He continued to wave his arms. "Now!"

Wally opened the door and Barry continued to swing his arms, attacking the flames with the rapid air currents. Within seconds, the smoke and flames were gone, prompting Barry the opportunity to run inside, grab Detective Patterson, and run back out. The two came to a stop to the thunderous applause of the CCPD and civilians that stood aside.

Detective Patterson blinked hard, working to figure out where he was. One second he was in a burning building, screaming for his life, another he was outside. Detective Patterson placed his hands on his knees and coughed hard. He nodded to the Flash. "Flash, thanks," Detective Patterson gasped.

Barry nodded and ran away with Wally and Jesse running after him. They didn't stop running until they were in STAR Labs, removing their masks. Jesse continued to cough every few seconds, prompting Barry to put a hando n her shoulder.

"Are you sure you're okay?" He asked her.

Jesse nodded. "Yeah, I'll just find Cade and get her to remove the smoke from my lungs," She said. "Or ask Caitlin to check me out. But it's not too bad. I've been through worse." 'She gave a small smile. "Wait until you see the HeatWave on my Earth and Earth-3."

Barry smiled and nodded, though he had no intention of every running into those men. Different Earths or not, Mick Rory was not someone he wanted to cross. Thankfully, Jesse's coughing was already starting to subside. Barry even found himself starting to smile at his own rescue for the day.

Wally, on the other hand, recovered quickly, practically bouncing off the walls of the hall that led to the Cortex. "Man, that was so dope," he crowed. He addressed Barry. "How do you stay so calm? You're like scary calm in the middle of a fire."

Barry gave a modest shrug. "Just experience. It's why it's important for you to follow me and learn everything you can."

Wally nodded. "And _then_ I get to kick ass." A statement, not a question. Once he was off training, he'd be ready to take on anything that came his way.

"Yeah, right," Barry agreed. He greeted Cisco and Caitlin with a nod. They nodded back; Cisco with his eyes on the morning talk show he was watching while gently blowing on a mug of coffee and Caitlin sitting at her own desk, staring at a spreadsheet on her computer. From Barry's glance, she was looking over their Meta Encyclopedia. "Just keep doing what you're doing. You're doing great, you guys. There's always going to be something going on so you're going to get as much training as possible."

"Yeah," Jesse said slowly. She glanced at her boyfriend then asked, "But when do we get to go out on our own?" Clearly both wanted to go out on their own, not just Wally. "On Earth-3 I go out all the time but…"

Barry held up his hands. "Just have some patience you guys."

"But Brady's been out on his own," Wally practically whined.

"Trust me, if Cade and I had our way, he wouldn't have." Heart attacks weren't common for 27-year-olds and he'd certainly had a few of them since learning the things he'd done to stop Metallo and Geomancer to name a few. "The times he went was when we really had no choice. Just…trust me. It's coming, okay?"

"Fine." Wally sighed. He looked at his watch. "Oh man. Jess, we've got to get going." He addressed Cisco's curious glance, attracted by the weariness that suddenly came to Wally's tone. "We're meeting Joe for breakfast."

Barry looked at the time himself, leaning over a nearby computer, his eyes widening. "Right, and I've got to meet Iris. I don't want to be late." He closed his eyes, taking a step back when Wally and Jesse both disappeared in flashes of light and gusts of wind.

"I think at this point we've all just come to expect it," Caitlin called from her desk. She ran a hand through her hair before rubbing her eyes. Her words punctuated with a yawn. "Cisco and I have started telling you that things happen a half hour later because of it."

"For real?" Barry asked. His voice took on exasperation. _You'd think by now they'd understand that even if I have all the time in the world, there's still a lot I need to do?_ He smiled.

"For real," Cisco agreed. He turned his attention to Caitlin. He swirled his finger in a circle. "And what about you, little miss? What's going on with you?"

Caitlin eyed him warily. "What do you mean?"

"This isn't the first time you've come to work yawning all over the place and rubbing your eyes. I'm not sure the racoon eyes are your thing, but you seem to be doing a pretty good job of it. I think you need to smear your eyeliner a little bit less, but it's a good first try."

Caitlin glanced at the sides of her hands and sighed heavily, seeing her makeup had become smeared. "It's just another one of those nights," she explained. She opened the drawer by her desk and rummaged around in the purse she placed in the bottom. "I keep feeling like I'm sleeping for a long time and then I'm exhausted. But I'm not remembering my dreams either. It's just… black."

Barry took in a deep breath. He hated to ask, but he doubted he as the only one suffering from knowing the future. And, truth be told, he sort of hated how calm everyone was being about it. Cadence acted like it was a long way off and why bother worrying about the future. Cisco and HR buried themselves in Cisco's lab to work out different ways to stop it—or else Cisco did while HR bugged him, and…Caitlin and Iris hadn't said anything otherwise.

"Does it…?" Barry started. He took a deep breath, licked his lips, steeled himself. "Does it have anything to do with what I saw?" He gestured feebly forward. Gestured towards the future. "Maybe you've been having nightmares and just don't remember it."

"That would explain my bout of sleepwalking," Caitlin murmured, more to herself than the others. Barry and Cisco exchanged confused glances. "When I wake up, sometimes I'm standing in the middle of the kitchen, or in my closet, or I'm at the front door."

"Jeez, Cait, do you need us to make you a bell?" Cisco asked. He nodded toward the necklace around her neck. The snowflake on the front glowed brilliantly. "It'll go brilliantly with the other piece of jewelry you've got."

Reaching up, Caitlin grasped her necklace and shot him a fond smile. "I don't think things are _that_ drastic. But Barry may be right. We're thinking about the future a lot and even though we have a lot more stuff to preoccupy our lives…I must still be subconsciously worried about it."

"Well, don't worry. Because we're going to stop this, okay?" Barry reassured her. "I promise."

"I know, Barry. Thanks." Caitlin smiled back at him.

Barry looked at the time once more and groaned, running his hands through his hair. "Great, now I'm _really_ going to be late."

"Before you go," Cisco shoved his hand into the air and waved it around. "Have you seen Cade?" Cisco's eyebrows came together in concern. "It's not like her to miss out on a patrol. She loves them almost as much as you do."

Barry heaved a sigh and admitted, "I think she wants to lay low for a while. Just until everything blows over. The news reports about Music Meister weren't very nice to her, even though she did a lot to help."

"She always does a lot to help," Caitlin said soothingly. As if Cadence were there and she were directly speaking to her best friend. "The city owes her a lot for what she's done. And us, too. She's saved us more times than I can count."

" _You_ , maybe," Cisco corrected her. Barry and Caitlin both glared at him, making him smile sheepishly. "I mean, yeah, she's been great."

"So to have these people think she's a threat must be really hard. I'll talk to her later. Don't worry, Barry, just make sure you're not late to meeting up with Iris. We may be used to it, but Iris has had to deal with your tardiness for years, and I don't know how much longer it'll be before she can't take it anymore."

"Don't remind me," Barry said. "I'll see you guys later." He raced to his mannequin, placed his suit on it, changed back into his clothes—mentally cursed out Cisco for not making his ring yet—and hurried to the Central City Picture News.

He came through the front door at a steady pace, but his sudden appearance still made Iris jump when she noticed him standing by her desk. She'd been so engrossed in her work that her nose nearly pressed against her computer screen.

"Barry!" She placed a hand to her chest. "God, you scared me!" She turned and whacked him on the arm with the notebook she was holding. "Stop doing that!"

Barry laughed, wincing in pain against the slap to his arm. Iris grinned back at him. "You tell me to stop running in here, I do what you ask, and you _still_ get mad at me. I can't win with you!"

"You never could, Barry," Iris teased. She crossed her legs at the knee, motioning for Barry to sit next to her. "I'm just glad you're finally coming to terms with it." She then sighed, tapping her pen against the notebook that sat aside her, filled with scribbles. "Sorry, I was just finishing up some notes on my story."

"Anything interesting?" Barry asked.

Iris gave a sardonic smile. "Not unless you count figuring out who won the basketball game last night any fun," she said. "Now, don't get me wrong, I can watch March Madness until I'm blind, I love me some basketball, but writing this all out is _so_ boring. I don't know how Linda did it."

"Speaking of Linda, why isn't she writing it?" Barry asked.

Iris gave him a funny look. "She's moved to California, remember? She got a better offer writing in Los Angeles. Last I heard, she was working on becoming an actual news reporter. On TV and everything." Barry thought for a moment, wondered if that was something he should've known and chalked it up to Flashpoint that he didn't. Or it was just, simply, that he hadn't been paying attention. "I mean, since she and Wally broke up, things had been kind of tense so…"

"Yeah, I can understand that," Barry said. At least he managed to say it without a trace of bitterness. "Anyway, I don't mind waiting. I always enjoy watching you do your reporter thing. Even when I had to stay up with you all night on a deadline in high school."

Iris laughed. Her laughter slowly faded. "Yeah, well, at least I'll have these, you know. All the bylines. I'll leave something behind. A legacy."

Barry shook his head. He grasped Iris's hand and squeezed it firmly. "Hey, everything that's going to happen in the future, we're going to fix things, alright. It's not going to happen." He looked down at their hands. Funny how years ago, that would've been his dream. That his future would've been him holding her hand and preparing for a wedding. _Their_ wedding. When he'd been absolutely in love with her. And he still completely cared about her, just in a different way. It was where his life had been moving, before other moments set in motion changed everything. Changed his future, his present.

Who knew what else they could change? "No matter what, we're going to do everything we can to make sure nothing happens to you guys. Okay?" Iris didn't response. "I don't want you to worry about this."

"I'm not worried for me, I'm worried for dad," Iris defended. She shook her head. "He's…he's already gone through a lot. Francine's…she's gone. And now Wally's a speedster and he's putting his life on the line and you're constantly putting your life on the line and now me…" she shook her head. "I don't think he can take it. Part of me wishes I hadn't told him, but he needed to know. We all needed to know."

Iris slid her hand out from Barry's. "I don't want to obsess over the future and what may or may not happen. I just want to deal with what's happening now." She thumped her notebook. "Even if it means obsessing over sports figures." She lifted a finger. "Remind me to never go into sports, no matter how good the pay is and if I get the chance to meet LeBron."

The two laughed.

Iris opened a new notebook and pulled out a tape recorder. She turned it on and moved it closer to Barry. "Are you ready?" She asked. "I'm going to be asking you a lot of questions."

Barry smiled back. "Ask away."

* * *

Wally and Jesse stopped at the corner of the CCPD, waiting for the light to change. Like Barry, Wally enjoyed moving as fast as he could, pushing himself to run faster and faster. But he also had moments of enjoying how calm and slow things could be. Especially when that slowed down time was when he _wasn't_ in class. As much as he loved engineering, nothing got to him more than how long seconds and minutes took. Especially when he was in classes he didn't prefer and could get through the work in the five seconds it took to flip through a book.

Wally smiled down at Jesse, who smiled back up at him. Even if they sat back and watched Barry take down whatever they were stopping that day, it brought them one step closer to being the heroes they could be.

"You're in a really good mood," Jesse remarked, squeezing his hand.

"It's…it's just a rush, you know," Wally said. "Being able to finally be out there and see action again. I just…I can't wait to be able to do this for real. Instead of just training all the time."

"Well, training isn't so bad," Jesse reminded him.

"Easy for you to say, you get to see some action when you're out with Jay," Wally said. The light changed and the young couple started across the street to the CCPD. "And the Trickster's always up to something over there so you get more time to practice everything."

"That's what you think," Jesse said. "Jay trains me just as much as Barry does. If anything, I put in more training hours than you do. It's all just to get us ready to go when something happens. And, in Central City, something _always_ happens." Wally didn't seem convinced. "Would you relax? Think of it this way, the more time we train, the less time we spend in the Medical Bay. And the less time we spend in the Medical Bay, we have more time to spend with each other."

Wally pretended to pout. "So you wouldn't even visit me?"

"Only if you're good." Jesse stood on her toes and gave him a kiss on the cheek, making Wally smile widely. "it's not like they're saying we're not good," Jesse then said to reassure them. Wally had to admit that was true. _They give us our props every time we do something right_. "It's just that…we do need the training. There's always something that we can improve on."

"That sounds exactly like something Barry would say."

"And Barry has a point. Just as Cadence has a point that we need to work on our fighting without relying on our speed."

"God, they sound like our parents sometimes, you know."

Jesse smiled. The two went into the CCPD and towards the bull pen, waiting for Joe. As they approached, they heard Detective Patterson's voice drift out, prompting them to move closer.

Wally's smile faded once he realized he, and whom he recognized as Officer Kim, conversing about their save that morning. Jesse glanced at him, squeezing his hand once more. This time, Wally didn't respond to it, instead he continued to listen.

"I just don't understand why you're defending the yellow guy," Detective Patterson said. "I mean, yes, he goes everywhere The Flash goes. But this morning for example, he's just standing back, waiting for the warehouse to burn down. And what about that other speedster that was with them?" Wally looked to Jesse, who deeply frowned as well. "He didn't do anything."

"Or she," Officer Kim pointed out, raising an eyebrow. "We don't know if these speedsters are men or women. They could be women." Jesse smiled smugly. "And in any case, they're learning the ropes." She shrugged in a give-them-time sort of way.

Detective Patterson wasn't moved. He simply snorted and rolled his eyes. "Okay, but when we send rookie cops out onto patrol, we don't expect them to perform," He pointed out. A laugh escaped his lips. "I mean, come on! We're professional."

"Look." Wally and Jesse both jumped when Joe rounded the corner of the Bullpen, across from them, to address Detective Patterson. Even from their distance, Wally could see the 'Papa Bear' expression on Joe's face. "I think the yellow guy is going to surprise you. Once he gets some more experience, he'll give the Flash a run for his money. And the other speedster is doing just as well in her own right."

Jesse beamed once more.

"See," Officer Kim pointed out. "She's a _she_."

"And how would you know that Detective West?" Detective Patterson folded his arms. He looked at Joe closely. "Oh, right, you spend a lot of time around those STAR Labs nuts."

Joe visibly bristled. "Those _nuts_ are the only ones who know anything about metas. If I didn't work with them, the entire city would be at a loss of what we're up against. Including us. Cisco Ramon is the one who created the specified shields we have for going against metas." He then adopted a friendly smile and added, "And you know metas are Barry's jam."

Silence stretched between the three CCPD employees. Three different levels of seniority in the group. Detective Patterson and Joe had a civil relationship with each other, Wally knew from listening to Joe's stories about the force. Yet, their views on metahumans are what drove a wedge between them, just as it did with Chief Paulson.

When Detective Patterson spoke again, his tone was even measured. "Last I checked, Mr. Allen didn't work here anymore," Detective Patterson pointed out. "Not to mention, I don't really see Mr. Albert being allowed to work along with those at STAR Labs either." He raised an eyebrow towards Joe. "Becoming a little possessive on sources?" Joe made a face. "And, anyway, I just think these new guys just aren't that fast. Maybe they're just cowards."

"You don't get paid to think," Joe snapped. "And Kid Flash ain't no coward!"

"Kid Flash?" Detective Patterson threw his head back and laughed. He threw his hands into the air for good measure. "See, the name says it all. I say just send them to Keystone. We already have a Flash." He waved his hand, pushing himself off the desk he'd been perched on. At the same time, Wally and Jesse raced out to the front of the CCPD and pretended to walk inside for the first time a few seconds later.

Joe walked out the bull pen, shaking his head. His face lit up when he saw them. "'Wally, Jesse!" He glanced around, appearing apprehensive. "Did you hear any of that?"

"Any of what?" Wally asked, as innocently as possible.

Joe's smile widened. "Nothing," he said. "Just a cop being stupid. Are you ready for breakfast?"

"After the morning we had, I'm ready for _two_ breakfasts," Jesse said with a grin.

Joe gave a hollow laugh. "I'm not made of money, Jesse."

As soon as the female speedster's name was mentioned, a breach opened in front of her. She didn't have a chance to react before something heavy rocketed out of it, landing in her hands. Jesse cried out in startled pain, from the sudden weight that crashed into her. Then her breath caught in her throat, looking over the item. The shiny, metallic box that resembled nothing but a cube with a button atop. To Wally and Joe, who stared at the box with confusion, it was nothing.

To Jesse…to Jesse, who knew exactly what it was, she could only look at the box with trepidation. Her breath caught in her throat, breathing immediately becoming irregular. She struggled to breathe, feeling as if she were taking in more smoke.

"What is that thing?" Joe asked. His upper lip curled as he studied the box. Wally leaned close and looked it over as well. Nothing too interesting about it. And yet, his girlfriend looked like she'd just seen a ghost. "It looks like a bomb."

Joe's hands tensed. "Careful mentioning the word 'bomb' around an officer," Joe reassured them. "My heart still hasn't gotten over the last time we had a rain of bombings all over the park." He looked at Jesse, who continued to stare at the cubes in her hands.

"What is it, Jesse?" Wally insisted.

"It's…it's a Locater Cube," Jesse murmured. "They…they have them on our Earth when you need to find someone. Or…when someone needs _you_ to find them." She turned it over and ran her thumb over the serial number, recognized it. "It's from dad."

"Your dad's sending you a cube to find you?" Wally asked. "Doesn't he know you're on this Earth? You were just visiting him."

"No…" Jesse pressed her thumb into the button and a translucent map of the world opened. Joe and Wally immediately barricaded themselves around Jesse, hiding the technology from prying eyes. "He…" she watched as the view of the map switched from the world to a dense jungle area. It looked to be pinpointing on something, swirling, swirling…finally, a red dot frantically blinked in the center of Africa. "He wants me to find him," she choked out.

"Well, where is he?" Wally asked.

Jesse swallowed hard. "Gorilla City."

* * *

 **A/N:** Well, it's been a while since we saw anything on Earth-2 and here we are again. Things certainly are picking up. But, as the story goes on, you'll see a _lot_ of changes from the show to make my version of Savitar, Alchemy, etc. make sense. So some lines will be the same, but some instances of things will be different, as you've seen in this chapter.

 **Cheers,**

 **-Riley**

 **Review Replies**

 **Ethan:** Julian never had to say what Cadence would get in response; it was implied. If Cade gave him the information he needed, Julian wouldn't out Caitlin/Killer Frost to everyone, just as he'd done when forcing Barry to quit. And, yes, Julian is a prick. He's meant to be that way, so it means if everyone hates him, then I'm writing him well. Lol.

 **DarkHelm145:** You'll find out soon. ;)

 **PowerHero432:** Yep, yep, ass-kicking on numerous fronts.


	34. Gorilla At Large (1)

**34**

 _Gorilla At Large  
_

* * *

"Hi," Leah greeted as soon as she opened the door to her house. She stepped backwards and allowed Conner and Brady inside. Closing the door behind her, she motioned towards the living room. "We're just in there. Alicia only just got here."

Brady briefly nodded at Leah's statement. He didn't pay much attention to what she was saying, too awestruck by the extravagance that was Leah's house. Very similar to his mother's childhood home—of which they visited at least twice a year—but something he hadn't expected from Leah or her parents. Now that he thought about it, he didn't remember ever being at her house before. _Probably her parents not wanting anyone around._ He leaned back and forth, glancing at the kitchen and what appeared to be a den—with a lamp stuck to the ceiling in the far back corner. So preoccupied that he didn't notice Conner's awkward greeting.

They first moved to hug each other, then stopped, Conner leaned in as if he were about to give her a quick peck on the cheek, then the two simply relied on high-fiving instead. Nevertheless, the shy smiles on their faces quickly blossomed to big grins. Brady finally snapped back to attention at the sound of the door closing behind him, he turned from the pictures lining the walls of the hallway.

"Are your parents home?" He asked.

Leah's shoulders raised and lowered in a nonchalant shrug. "My parents are never home," she said flatly. "It's the only reason you're here." She turned on her heel and led them to the living room. "Otherwise, I'm sure they'd be constantly popping in, wondering what we're doing."

Brady frowned, tilting his head. He'd been under the impression that Mr. and Mrs. Brooklyn were parents by name, not by what they did. Leah commented every now and then about their dislike of metahumans. But as far as he was concerned, they didn't know she was a meta. And if they did…they hadn't done anything to show it yet, other than the comments they make about the metahumans and how unsafe Central City was because of them.

"It's not like Central City is any more unsafe than Gotham," Leah would comment, speaking of her former home. Her home life was something she didn't talk about much.

Brady exchanged a glance with Conner, who looked as disturbed by her offhand comment. He knew what having a bad life was. It was only a matter of time until he had to go back into hiding. So far, no one knew Conner was in Central City, but it was only so long it'd stay a secret and things would get worse. Not just for him, but for his mother and Oliver as well. Then there was Brady's home life; everything he had was perfect, now that he was able to get past his mother's lies about his father for years, but he knew it was a bit messed up his life was put on the line every day to save the city from criminals.

If anyone figured out who he was, he was sure his mother, Barry, Ryder, Harrison, Tess, Cisco, and even Caitlin would all go to jail for child endangerment. _Or whatever it's called,_ Brady thought, trying to remember the words he'd heard thrown around the many times he'd had to speak to CPS as he was growing up.

"Finally," Alicia huffed when Brady and Conner arrived in her line of sight. She slumped back against eh expensive cushions of the equally expensive couch and folded her arms. "I've got to get this stuff back to my dad. He'll, like, explode when he, like, sees it's missing. And I'm going to be the one in trouble when he, like, goes nuclear."

"I thought you said your dad would let you do whatever you wanted," Brady pointed out, sitting cross legged on the floor in front of the coffee table. He couldn't help but notice how shiny the veneer coating was. Compared to the furniture in his own apartment—his mom made sure to remind him to use a coaster if he had a drink—it may as well have been a diamond. Once more, Brady's gaze lifted to the walls of the living room, no pictures there, but many framed awards.

Alicia rolled her eyes and slid to the floor between the couch and the table. She leaned forward, resting her arms over the folders sat in front of her. Obviously to stack her claim over the information inside, doing her best to keep it as confidential as possible. "I'm sure that doesn't include sneaking into his personal files and stealing stuff off his work computer." She pouted. "If he finds out, he'll cut off my allowance."

"How much allowance do you get, anyway?" Conner asked.

"My mom says I can't tell or I'd be bragging."

Conner smiled politely and nodded to the folder. "Are we all agreed that we don't tell anyone what we find with this?" Brady and Leah nodded. "Good." He reached out to take the folder, but Alicia pressed her weight on it even further.

"Wait," She said firmly. "Just…one more time…what do you need this stuff for?"

Brady tried to stay patient. His fingers twitched in anticipation. Who knew how long it'd take until Leah's parents returned? He didn't want to get caught with anything they may find. Let alone, any of them getting in any trouble for it. There have been some things that have happened as of late he had no idea how to explain. Being questioned like this was certainly one of those things.

"My mom and Barry need it for their cases."

"So why don't we just give it to them?"

"Because, I don't think they're supposed to have it." That was the most honest Brady was going to get about it. Especially when the information resting inside the folder was what needed to get to STAR Labs. And how would STAR Labs get that information without having to admit they broke into CCPD computers to do so—or had an informant to do it for them. All the 'what ifs' were starting to make his head hurt. "Or else Barry and my mom and Joe would've had it already."

"Detective West?" Alicia's nose wrinkled. "He, like, does the metahuman task force, right? Shouldn't he already have this stuff?"

"Not unless your dad really doesn't want the rest of the CCPD to know," Conner pointed out diplomatically. Brady nodded in agreement. "He doesn't want metas in the city at all, Detective West is trying to do is get the bad ones off the street. That's different."

"It's like Lex Luthor," Leah added. "They say on the news that he tried to have the Vigilante Registration Act go through in Smallville. He's probably having the same thing happen here. But with metas. Your dad's initial Registration Act didn't go through but…adding someone in politics to his plan, it may work for him." She leveled her gaze at Alicia. "You've never said…what do _you_ think about metas?"

Alicia stared back at her classmates. She chewed her lower lip, eyebrows coming together. Her eyebrows lowered, slowly, she sat back, placing her fingertips atop the folder. She pushed it away from her, closer to the center of the table. Finally, she dropped her hand to her lap and said, "I like metahumans. I like The Flash and Flare and Shadowhunter. I want them to be able to help us. I want to stop the bad guys but…I don't want all metas to go away."

"Good." Brady paused, waiting to see if she was being insincere in any way. He saw she was telling the truth and nodded. They were all on the same page. It sent a wave of relief through him. Taking a deep breath, Brady opened the folder and at the same time, the four pre-teens leaned forward to examine the papers themselves.

The first thing Brady noticed were the pages upon pages of reports. Reports that had large black chunks spread throughout paragraphs of text. He frowned deeply. "What's this?"

"I couldn't get all the original files," Alicia said, defensive. "Daddy wouldn't have it all on his personal computer. And, besides, it'd be under, like, a hundred passwords. This was the best I could do."

"No one's accusing you of anything," Leah reminded her friend. "It's just, ugh, frustrating." She dropped her chin in her hands. "It leaves a lot of holes in what we're trying to find."

"Literally," Conner agreed. He pushed a few pages aside and grabbed two that had what looked like profiles on the front. "Oh, listen to this. Rosalind Dillon and Scam Scudder. Both used to work with Leonard Snart and Mick Rory on their heists." Brady's eyebrows rose. Conner glanced at him and Brady nodded for him to continue. "According to this report, Snart was angry that Dillon and Scudder were bragging about their heists and confronted them the night of the Particle Accelerator explosion. The dark matter affected them when it went off, making both metahumans. Dillon is able to control the feeling of vertigo and Scudder can control glass."

"Like those guys at the soccer game that one day," Leah said. "This is them!"

"'Okay, but why would they want to attack a soccer game?" Alicia shook her head, wrinkling her nose. "That doesn't make sense. All they wanted was to rob banks and get money."

"Whoever said the soccer game was their target?" Brady pointed out. His mind ran a mile a minute. Things were never as easy as they appeared. The two metas he fought…they had to have been trying to get away, or were trying to make some more money. People of Central City, before the prevalence of metahumans were very trusting. They kept their car doors unlocked all the time. Not to mention at soccer games, the feeling of camaraderie between parents was palpable. "What if there was something else they were after?"

"Like wallets and CDs?" Conner asked.

"No," Brady said slowly. There was something he was missing, he was sure of it. Something he couldn't quite put his finger on. Now he knew how frustrating things were in STAR Labs first hand. Sometimes they had nothing more than facial recognition to go off, sometimes nothing more than a tiny clue left behind, but it ended up working out. What was it that they could figure out from that day that'd help them?

 _Brady slowed his steps as he came down the side of the hill, making sure not to fall. His footsteps crunched over the gravel as he slowed to a stop, slinking closer to the robber. The robber muttered to himself as he moved through the console, pushing aside receipts and pieces of paper. Finally, he produced a GPS and stuck it in his bag before hopping down from the driver's seat. He moved to close the door, flinching when Brady announced his arrival with, "You know, it's not nice to take things that aren't yours."_

 _The robber jumped and whirled around. He glanced at Brady with a look of disgust and a wave of his hand. "Why don't you mind your own business, kid?"_

 _"This is my business," Brady replied._

 _A dry laugh escaped the robber's lips. "What do you think you are? The Flash?"_

 _"No." Brady smirked. "I'm much worse."_

 _He held his hands out to his sides, black orbs starting to form over his hands. The robber looked at him in growing suspicion before Brady threw his hand forward. The balls shot towards the robber. He leaned out of the way and held up his hand. The object he was holding, what looked like an ordinary mirror, absorbed the attack and shot back towards Brady._

 _The robber looked at him with a grim smile that faded when Brady phased, allowing his attack to move back through him. When his attack struck the ground behind him, the asphalt warped, and created a small crater. The robber's eyes, wide with horror, shifted back to Brady. Brady's smirk immediately faded when he saw the robber whip out a pistol and pointed it directly towards him. He could phase as much as he wanted, but nothing was scarier than staring down the barrel of a gun._

 _The robber smirked at him, taking a step closer to the young boy. "Now, why don't you be a good little boy and run away?"_

 _In response, Brady's gaze shifted as he thought of what to do. But only for a second. It was exactly the second he needed. The robber squeezed an eye shut to bring himself better aim. Before he could fire, Brady rolled to the side loose gravel scratching over his arms and legs. He came a stop on his knees and grabbed handfuls of gravel and whipped them towards the robber._

 _The robber brought up his hands to shield himself, slowly finding he wasn't being hit. He opened his eyes and looked around to see Leah standing nearby, holding her hands up, her grasp holding the gravel above the robber. Then, with a smile, she lowered her hands, the pieces of gravel shooting towards the robber one by one. With the added gravity on the gravel, they shot into him, embedding into his skin. The robber cried out in pain and brought up his mirror once more._

 _It took Brady only a few moments to realize he was a meta of some sort, able to use his mirrors to deflect whatever was coming to him. Enough so that the gravel that struck the glass was sucked inside then shot back towards them. Frowning, Leah twisted her hand, aiming the gravel towards the robber once more. He gritted his teeth and reached his hand towards the side mirror on the door._

 _While the robber was preoccupied with Leah, Brady used his powers of invisibility to move closer to the robber. Close enough to grab the door handle of the unlocked car and pull as hard as he could. The door swung open and struck the robber on the side of the head so hard that he stumbled to the side. He regained his footing and punched his fist against the mirror in his hand. When he pulled his hands away, he dropped the frame to the ground and heaved his hands forward._

 _Brady jumped backwards, the gravel making his feet slip out from beneath him. Just in time, but not fast enough. As he fell his arms flung up, causing a shard of glass to scratch up his arm. Leah flung herself to the ground. At the same time, throwing out her hands. The robber growled as the ground started to crack beneath him, his body sinking towards the ground. He struggled to bring his feet upwards but found he couldn't move them. No, Leah was causing his center of gravity to increase, forcing him lower and lower into the ground._

 _Desperately, the robber reached for the largest shard of glass nearest to him. Brady moved forward on his hands and swung his feet below him, around his body in an arching pattern. As he did so, his legs glowed black and he sent out another blast of energy. He missed. The robber grabbed onto the shard of glass and disappeared inside. Like before, his energy blast struck the asphalt, leaving a warped hole in its place._

 _In surprise, Brad and Leah climbed off the ground, brushing dirt and gravel off themselves. Brady walked over to the shard of glass the robber disappeared through and frowned, seeing it was completely shattered, glittering along the ground._

 _"What was that?" Leah asked. She pulled her hair behind her ear and glanced at Brady, who walked over to the area they had just fought in. He grimaced, seeing the person sized dent in the car door that stood ajar._

 _He ran his hand over his mouth, wiping away sweat. He shook his head. "I have no idea" Brady finally replied. "A meta, obviously but…what kind of meta?"_

 _Leah shrugged, folding her arms. "A glass meta? They can control all kinds of glass to their whim?" It was a pretty good guess, but Brady didn't think so for sure. If he was a glass meta, he would've done something else to prove it. Create his own glass, manipulate all the glass in the area. Fix the car so that it didn't appear to be broken before he let? From what Brady could see, looking around at the other cars, all the sideview mirrors were broken._

 _No, that couldn't be it. "But he didn't control it, just used it to transport himself," Brady murmured. He scratched the back of his neck. "At least he's gone, I can tell Barry and my mom about it later." He glanced towards the soccer game, realizing there wasn't much time for him to get back. "Thanks for having my back."_

"So, this Sam Scudder guy was there that day," Leah spoke up. "But…Dillon wasn't. She was nowhere or the police would've mentioned her."

Alicia shook her head. "Not, like, unless the police were trying to draw out any accomplices," she said. "My dad talks about it all the time. Saying there's certain information that's released to the public and certain information that's _not_ so those _with_ that information are more likely to track a source if it leaks. If Dillon wasn't there, the police may have already had her."

Conner flipped his pages back and forth, shuttling through them. He shifted his position on the floor. His eyes roved over the sheet, then he shook his head as well. "No, these would've said something about that. There has to be something else that's linking them together."

"Other than this Snart guy?" Alicia asked.

"Snart's dead." Brady said it so matter-of-factly that it took him a second to realize his mistake. Alicia looked at him closely, her eyes narrowing. Obviously, it was something she knew, but hadn't expected him to know. Something the police would've kept quiet but only those that were close to the case would know. Brady took a deep breath and charged forward with his explanation. "Still, they worked out of the same group, Mick hasn't been seen in years, it doesn't necessarily mean their entire group has fallen apart."

"But the Particle Accelerator links them as well," Leah said slowly. Her eyes shifted towards Brady and Conner. "They were all here when it went off. And it gave two of them powers. Snart and Mick didn't have any, they used the guns."

"Wouldn't Detective West know that?" Brady asked, quickly. "He's working with the metahuman task force, and Barry and Julian Albert work with metahumans. So, wouldn't the entirety of the CCPD knew those that had been affected? Would they have some sort of a database?" He braved the chance to look at Alicia, startled to find she was already looking back at him with an expression so intense it made him uncomfortable. "What?"

"How'd you know Smart's dead?" She asked.

"My mom must've mentioned it, or Barry," Brady explained. He worked hard to keep his voice steady. _How could you be so stupid?_ "Or maybe even Julian or Detective West. They all worked with the people left at STAR Labs at some point." He shrugged. "And Snart is the link between all of them."

"So is the Particle Accelerator," Conner pointed out. He put his papers down and tapped them with his fingers. "Everyone that's mentioned here was in Central City when it went off."

"So?" Alicia flipped her hair over her shoulders. "Like, we were all here when it went off, too. And we're not metahumans." She placed a hand to her chest. "I know I'm not."

"I'm not," Conner added quickly. He then flushed when Brady glared at him. Honestly, he hoped Conner got the mental threat Brady had of wanting to punch his best friend hard on the arm. His quick response compared to Brady's and Leah's hesitant ones—startled by the quick turn of conversation topic—made silence stretch through the room. "Come on," he said to Alicia. "Don't you think we'd know if any of us were metahumans?"

"Maybe," Alicia agreed. "But, there have to be more metas than we've seen. This city is filled with _thousands_ of people and daddy's in charge of making sure they're all safe."

"Technically," Leah said slowly, softly. "It's the Flash and Flare's job to make sure everyone in the city is safe."

"Before they got here, it was the police and will always be the police that'll keep us safe. I mean,"—she paused, letting out a deep breath— "Shadowhunter saved me, saved us, when the Metapocalypse was going on. I don't have a thing against metas, but the police really are doing their best to help them—help _us_."

"By getting rid of all of them?"

"Well." Alicia paused. "We have meta dampeners at school now." Brady sat up straight, an icy chill running down his spine. He looked at Leah out of the corner of his eye, who stared at her best friend. Alicia blushed, knowing she'd said too much. "Or, like, we're going to get some, you know? Because, we, like, keep getting attacked by metas and our school shut down. We don't want any more of our classmates to be in danger, do we?"

"No." Brady frowned. He took a deep breath to steady himself before asking. "But if the police have information about known metas…does this include anyone in school who is a meta, too?" He thought about the Instagram account and other social media groups they had set up for metas they'd found in Carmichael Elementary School. They'd been so careful in finding those metas and being sure they had place to feel safe. But if the police already knew…?

Alicia shrugged. "I didn't see anything in this stuff about kids being metas. Just some of the older known ones. The Reverse-Flash, Zoom, Flash, Flare, Killer Frost, Vibe, Shadowhunter, Savitar, Breathtaker, Mindboggler, Incognito, Stratos…those are the ones the city sees a lot. The others…they've, like, got identities. Names to faces."

"But _how_?"

Brady was starting to grow frustrated. There had to be something they were missing. Then it hit him like a ton of bricks. Something his mother had said before. _"Amunet can get anything and everything she wants."_ The answer was right there. The Encyclopedia that had been on the computer that Snart and Mick had stolen and sold to Amunet. They at STAR Labs were the only ones who kept track of every meta they'd come across. Even ones on other Earths. A pet project Caitlin had started that Bruce Wayne had given grant money to continue.

It, simply, had fallen into the wrong hands.

And, if that were the case, it meant somewhere within Chief Pauslon's files…he knew his, Leah's, Barry's, and his mother's true identities. Not to mention Caitlin's and Cisco's…and maybe even Harrison and Harry and the Reverse-Flash and…

This wasn't good.

"Hey." Conner shook another sheet of paper. "This talks about some new shots we have to get at school." His eyebrows furrowed together. "I never got a new shot."

"Me neither," Alicia said.

"I did," Leah murmured. "So, did Brady."

"I haven't gotten mine yet," Brady said. "My mom signed the form and dad's taking me."

"They said that our medical records weren't complete and we needed to take them," Leah continued. Brady let out a low humming sound. Somethign wasn't sitting right with him. He was sure cement had started to gather at the bottoms of his feet, nailing him to the floor. "How many people are on that list?"

"Not many. Some people from our class. Some from others…"

Brady snatched the page from Conner's hand resulting in Conner giving him a dirty look as he shook out his hand. Papercut. Brady did his best to keep from visibly trembling as he looked over the names listed before him. They weren't outright mentioned as metahumans, that gave him some sense of relief. But…a lot of the names he read, including his own and Leah's, were people they'd found to be metahumans themselves.

"Your name wouldn't be on here anyway," Brady said after a minute. "You moved before it came out. The nurse said to me that I've missed it because I've been gone from school so much."

"That's not weird, is it?" Alicia asked.

"Maybe not, but…why would it be in with all this stuff?" Brady asked.

 _And why is a lot of it blacked out?_ He shook his head. So many answers but still even more questions. He gathered everything and put it back, running it through his head. Everything went back to Amunet; she had given the information to whomever asked for it because she had the information sold to her from a computer stolen from STAR Labs. Dillon and Scudder had to be working with her or for her in some way, and their information was known by the CCPD. It all pointed to the scary thought that the CCPD were coming that much closer to 1) knowing the identity of every metahuman in Central City and 2) being able to eradicate all of them if needed.

"Thanks for getting us all of this stuff, Alicia," Brady said sincerely. He carefully passed the folder to her. "It's really helped us out."

"You're welcome," Alicia replied. "I just hope you got everything you needed."

"Not everything, but enough to help my mom."

"What do you get out of it?" Brady froze. His eyebrows shot upwards. He kept himself as calm as possible, making the motion. Hopefully it made him appear to be confused rather than surprised or guilty. "You say you're helping your mom and Barry. But, what are you getting out of it? What are you hiding?"

Brady chewed his lower lip. _What would Barry do?_ He took in a deep breath and tapped into the mindset of Shadowhunter. Not that Shadowhunter was a different person by any means, but a stronger part of him. A more confident part. It helped to keep his lives separate if he got into different mindsets for the different parts of his life. "I'm not hiding anything," he said slowly. "I just care about metahumans and I don't think they should be treated any differently." He shrugged and added in jokingly, "If they're criminals on top of that, that's their problem."

Alicia laughed, immediately relaxing. Brady grinned in response. "I agree." She tucked the papers back together and sighed down at the folder. "I don't hate metas…I just wish I could get daddy to change his mind about them."

 _It'd make my life a lot easier,_ Brady thought. _A lot of our lives._ He was broken from his thoughts when his phone buzzed out a significant pattern. One of warning. Leaning to the side, Brady pulled out his phone and looked at the screen, seeing a text from Cisco.

 **S.O.S. GET TO STAR LABS NOW.**

"Whoa, I have to go," Brady said. He hoped he sounded the correct amount of worried and not enough for them to ask for details. "Sorry guys, I'll see you later."

"Is everything okay?" Conner asked.

"Everything's fine," Brady replied. "It's just…some wedding stuff my mom wants help with."

"They're working on the wedding already?" Leah's eyebrows rose.

"Well, my grandma is. She's really excited and she tends to get carried away with these kinds of things." Which certainly was true. If memory served correct, it wasn't much longer until they were going to have their engagement party. And his mom and Barry had only just gotten engaged. "Don't be surprised if you get dragged into helping in some way."

Alicia made a face. "'I don't even know her."

"Doesn't matter," Brady said with a small smile. "She'll find a way to get to you." Brady left Leah's house, texting back that he was on his way. He then texted Leah and Conner what was really going on and that he'd meet up with them later. Once he was down the street and around the corner from the house, Brady phased through the ground and headed towards STAR Labs.

* * *

Jesse frantically paced the floor of the Cortex. She shrugged off any of Wally's attempts to comfort her, her hand up to her mouth, chewing on her thumbnail. "The locator cube dad sent over is late," Jesse explained. "Two weeks late. That means he's been gone that long." She reached up and grabbed her hair. She squeezed her eyes shut, bending over as if to ward off an oncoming blow no one else could see. "I _just_ saw him…I _just_ visited him. I should've known something was wrong. How could I have been so…so selfish."

"Jesse, calm down," Barry reassured her. He reached out a hand, forcing her to stop. He felt her tremble beneath his hand. Not just for her worry but due to her inability to sit still. It seemed that all speedsters lost their ability to control every bit of their nerves as soon as the Speed Force set in. Or, if he were being more pragmatic, it was nothing more than pure, unadulterated fear. Fear of the unknown, fear of being so short cited that other things managed to fall through the cracks. "Start from the beginning. Why was he in Gorilla City?"

"Or," Joe suggested, holding up his hand. He glanced around the room, making sure others were as confused as he was before pointing out what was even more important. "Slowing down even further, _what's_ in Gorilla City?"

"A pile of kittens, I bet," Iris said sarcastically. Joe pointed a finger at her and Iris held her hands up defensively, doing her best to keep a smile from coming to her face. But failed. Messing with her father when he already felt out of the loop of science talk was always going to be entertaining.

"Okay." Jesse sighed. She pressed her palms together and looked directly at each member of Team Flash. They all gathered together as soon as she got the locator cube, taking Wally and Joe along for the ride from the CCPD to the Cortex. "There are sentient, highly intelligent gorillas on Earth-2 and they live in a city deep in the jungle of Africa."

Cisco stared as soon as 'Africa' was mentioned. Caitlin looked at him before rubbing his arm soothingly. Fighting against Grodd the last time he'd been around had been a difficult task for all of them. Not just because Grodd was a formidable opponent, but because of the emotional toll it took on them. "We sent Grodd there after he went after Caitlin."

"Grodd's there?" Joe asked. His eyes bugged out of his head, finally understanding what was being said. "Why on Earth— _any_ Earth—would your father want to go there?"

"A connection," Jesse explained. She took in a breath, steadying her voice. Her resolve came close to breaking numerous times as she waited for the team to show. "When Harrison,"—she nodded to the scientist who stood calmly aside the group— "and my dad did their mind-meld, it gave them the ability to see into each other's lives."

"Just like we did with Burnout and Earth-2's Barry," Cadence realized. She still remembered the rush of 'downloading information' of her doppelganger's life. Saw everything that'd happened to her in her life, how things could've gone differently had she made different choices when they came to her. Barry nodded in agreement. "But that still doesn't explain what they want with Harry. Just because they did a mind-meld doesn't mean they're the same person."

"I believe I can explain that," Harrison said. He took a step forward and addressed everyone in the Cortex. "Grodd and I had a connection. Even before Eobard took over my body, the advanced mind-meld, I call it, we had a bond. I raised him since he was a tiny chimp and he's always thought of me as a father of sorts."

"Yeah, and Caitlin as his mother," Cisco murmured in agreement. Then his voice took on a sarcastic tone. "Who couldn't see a bad outcome from that?"

Cadence shot him a look and he immediately fell quiet. She then turned to her other Earth sister and nodded for her to continue. "They just wanted a connection with Harry?"

"Not just with Harry," Harrison said slowly. His eyes blinked rapidly as his mind shuttled through the numerous outcomes of Grodd's repeated presence in their lives. "General Eiling's place in his life had an influence on him as well."

"No, they…" Jesse paused, thinking hard. She pressed her fingertips into her forehead. "We got a mathematical cryptogram at our STAR Labs. It was highly complex, it took us _weeks_ to figure it out. But we did. It was an invitation from the gorillas to my dad."

"Why Harry?" Brady piped up. He sat at the computer desk of the Cortex while the others stood around. "Why not just get Harrison if he was the one who had the actual connection with Grodd?"

"They wanted to meet him. And, honestly, my dad wanted to know the same thing. So, he mounted an expedition with ten other people and they went into the jungle. But, they failed to contact multiple check-ins and a search party went in after them." Tears gathered at her eyes. She sniffed loudly, working hard to keep herself from completely breaking. Wally moved forward and wrapped his arms around his girlfriend. "But all they found were the bodies. All of them beaten to death…but no one's seen my dad. I mean, is he—"

"No," Barry said emphatically. So strongly that his friends stared at him in awe. "He's alive. They went through a lot of trouble to get them there, they need him for something. We just have to figure out what it is."

"Well, clearly, they want one of the smartest men on the Earth," HR pointed out, waving his drumstick back and forth. He motioned to Jesse, who looked back at him. "I'm sorry this is all taking the smile out of your face, but you should be flattered. They have one of the brightest minds out there with them. I would know." He tapped his drumstick against the side of his head. "I see it all up here."

"Maybe that's all we should do," Iris suggested. "A mind-meld works like Cisco's vibing, right? Maybe we can just get Harrison and HR to use their mind-meld to figure out where Harry is and how to get to him."

"And maybe what these gorillas want him for," Wally added. His tone lifted earnestly, ready for anything that'd make it so that Jesse would smile again. Behind him, Barry turned away, bringing a hand up to cover his mouth.

He saw it again, that night. The night that would ruin his life. All images of it flashed through his mind. He worked hard not to focus on the horrific images. The ones that haunted him every night and kept waking him up, screaming at the top of his lungs. No, his mind focused on just before that, when he was looking at the broadcasted news report. All the headlines that flashed through at the bottom.

 _Killer Frost still at large._

 _Music Meister pens 6-book-deal._

 _Central City recovering from Gorilla Attack._

"Mind-melds only work to see what has happened in another's life," Harrison said. Hands planted on hips, he shook his head sadly. "Up until the moment we meld with them again. It is similar in that basis of vibing, yes, but it isn't as much of what Cisco can do."

"Well, don't look at me," Cisco said. He held up his hands. "Unless you get a gorilla here, I'm not going to get much vibing done. That hunk of junk,"—he motioned to the black cube sitting on the computer desk with Brady— "hasn't been doing much for us since it got here."

"It only gives the message the cube intends once," Jesse explained. Her voice wobbled and she buried her face against Wally's chest. "It can't be used by anyone other than the intended recipient."

Barry ran his hands over his face. Just once. Just _once_ he wished he could go a day without having to be reminded about the future. Everyone knew now, he wasn't shouldering the burden on his own anymore. He just wished he could give the others a peek into the future as well, to know how badly it was scarring him. Especially when, just maybe, they had the chance to change the future.

"Barry?" Caitlin's voice wafted to him. Low, and as gentle as always. Soothing. She always knew when it was the best time for him to talk and how to get him to talk. Barry turned to face her. "You're really quiet. What are you thinking about?"

Barry sucked in a deep breath. "The future," he admitted. "He tapped his forehead. "I remembered something…I was looking at a TV broadcast about everything the night that you…" he swallowed hard. "Then night you died." Caitlin, Iris, and Cadence all took in sharp breaths at the same time. The mere mention of the future was more painful than they'd outright admit. No matter how firm they were about changing the future. "One of those headlines…it said that Central City is going to be attacked by gorillas, that it was recovering."

"So, you think that that headline and Harry being kidnapped have to do with each other," Joe asked.

Barry nodded. He took a step forward, pleading towards his friends. His team. "It can't be a coincidence, right? Harry getting lured to Gorilla City?" He held up his hands then slapped them to his side. "Grodd must be planning something."

"Seems to me like he's trying to get back to Central City," Cadence suggested. "And not alone, by the sound of it." She thought for a moment. "Gorillas, like humans, are social creatures. I bet if I were to watch him as much as I've watched other people…they'd react the same. If he's trying to get somewhere, he'd use every resource around him to do so. Including using Harry."

"Maybe if we stop Grodd and rescue Harry, it'll change the headline," Cisco said. He reached out, grabbed Caitlin's hand and squeezed it firmly. She smiled back at him. "Change the future…"

"Mm." Joe grunted. He closed his eyes briefly. Barry watched him. He knew exactly what was going through Joe's head. He'd do anything to save Iris. But was he willing to sacrifice Barry's life to do so? Could he really exchange the life of one of his children for another one? "We save Harry we save them…but you're not sure."

"No," Barry admitted. He wasn't very sure about a lot of things as of late. But that wasn't going to stop him. He needed to do something. "I'm going either way. Harry's my friend. I'm not just going to abandon him. I'm going back to Earth-2."

"And I'm assuming you'll want someone to go with you to open some breaches," Cisco said. He bobbed his head back and forth and started to talk to himself. "We had so much fun last time." Then he paused and corrected himself. "Fun-ish. Whatever. I'm in."

Caitlin surprised him and everyone when she took a step forward. ''I'm going to come, too," she said. "I had a special connection with Grodd, maybe we can use that to get through to him."

"Yeah," Barry agreed. "Okay." There was no point in denying her going. It was inevitable, just as it was for Cadence to go as well. He didn't have to ask her, have to look at her. The moment he said he was going, he knew she would be going as well. Not just for him, but for Jesse. Harry wasn't her father, not exactly, but Jesse was her sister and she'd do anything for her family.

"Great, yeah, I'm coming, too," Jesse said.

Barry immediately shook his head. He waited for her to wipe away her tears, to wipe away the astonished expression that replaced her determination. "No, I'm sorry, Jesse. No." She started to protest but he held up his hand, cutting her off. "Your dad would kill me if I let you go along."

"Well, _my_ dad hasn't killed you yet and I've been your partner for years now," Cadence pointed out. Barry gave her a look that easily showed his 'for real?' expression. His case was further decimated when Brady pointed out that he _and_ Cadence let him go out into fights as well.

"I'm a speedster now," Jesse added, voice firmer. She pushed Wally's arms from around her and stepped closer to Barry. Her eyes flashed with lighting. "I can take care of myself."

"I know, which is exactly why I need you to stay here. I mean, this city needs protecting while we're gone." Barry couldn't help the smile that came to his face. "And besides, maybe you could teach Wally a thing or two." Wally's head tilted as he gave Barry a 'are you serious?' look, making Barry's smile slowly start to grow.

"But—"

"—I can stay here," Brady suggested. Barry's surprised glance turned his way. He'd honestly expected Brady to want to come along to Gorilla city, to _beg_ to go, having missed out on some of the last adventures they'd taken when traveling between worlds. But that was then. Brady seemed sure of himself as he continued. "Someone's going to need to help Wally while he's out in the field if all of you are away and,"—he couldn't help but add with a cheeky grin— "I've got more experience than he does."

"I'm right here," Wally declared, throwing his hands in the air.

Barry continued to eye him warily. "Are you sure?" He asked.

"Yeah, it's not like you to agree to this so quickly," Cadence added. She looked closer at her son, eyes roving over his face and body. She quickly deduced form his body language, hands tapping along the end of the table, he was keeping something from them. "What's going on?"

"I got some information today," Brady said slowly.

"What kind of information?" Harrison asked. He didn't demand it, but his voice took on a tone so harsh it made Barry shiver and suddenly wonder if it was a good idea to leave Brady there with the man that had once been his greatest rival.

"About metas and the CCPD. And, believe me, it isn't good."

* * *

Julian sat huddled over his work desk. Pen in hand, he wrote as quickly as he could, getting down as much information as he could before the testing finished. A stack of papers rustled gently beside him. Julian lifted his head, staring at the papers. A few seconds of stillness, then the pages would crinkle again. Lifting his hand, Julian held it in front of the papers and the breeze that was blowing. He frowned, not feeling anything. And yet, the pages continued to blow, growing stronger by the second.

Finally, they fell. "Bloody hell." Julian's eyes squinted, willing the pages to move once more. Nothing. Silence stretched through his lab—things really had gotten quiet since Barry had left the CCPD, relieving Julian of his constant noise of fidgeting-before Julian sat up straight. His eyes glazed over, shoulders rolled back, spine disappeared into his back as if his body had been pulled by marionette strings. There was a strong gust of wind and a flash of white light shot through the room. Savitar towered over him. "Well?"

"He's going," Julian said, Alchemy's voice coming from him. "Just as you said he would. Everything's going to plan."

"Good."

* * *

"And make sure Wally doesn't—"

"I won't—"

"—Because, you know, he can be a little—"

"—Barry—"

"—If he's given the opportunity, he will—"

"—Barry!" Iris threw her hands into the air, immediately cutting Barry off. He waited patiently as Iris stood up from the step she perched herself on in the Tipton basement. Barry did his best not to look around. The basement held too many memories for them. It was where Jay—rather, Zoom—had first arrived on their Earth and created havoc for them. The same place area of STAR Labs where most of the power of the Particle Accelerator blew, injuring those on the floors directly above—including Caitlin, Cisco, and Harrison. Barry made himself focus on Iris. "I can boss my little brother around like no one's business, okay? Don't worry. Just…please don't do anything stupid."

Barry tugged on the ends of his gloves, making sure they fit snugly around his fingers. His cowl sat around his neck, ready to go. "You mean like voluntarily going to a city filled with super apes?" Barry asked.

He looked over when he felt an arm rest on his shoulder and found Cadence leaning against his side, grinning at Iris. "Besides, have you met him?" Cadence added, placing her free hand on her hip. "Anything he does on instinct is almost always something stupid."

Iris grinned back, making Barry roll his eyes. It was one thing to have Iris tease him while he was growing up, another when Cadence started to tease him since first meeting him, and an entirely _other_ thing when they both got in on it. "I'm being serious," Iris warned, her smile finally fading, noticing the roll of his eyes. "You've run into things like this before…and you've managed to come back so far. Go rescue Harry, but don't run off of your emotions."

"I'm not," Barry said, trying to reassure her. He let out a frustrated grunt when Cadence took his arm and pulled him aside. Clearly, she wanted to be sure the message got through to him. He was getting it form his best friend, and would probably get it form Joe, he didn't need it from his fiancée either.

"I'm just saying," Cadence said slowly. "I know how your mind works. And I know how mine does. It sounds silly but…things were different when we were just friends, when we were just partners. Even when we were just dating, but now…" She looked him in the eye. "Everything you're doing now is about the future. Whether it's _the_ future or our wedding…your mind isn't present. You don't have to do this for me."

Barry smiled. "Everything I do is for you." He leaned in and gave her a sweet kiss, which made her smile, despite the stern warning that still reflected in her eyes when he pulled back. "I'm not going to do anything without running it by you first."

"Okay, you don't have to go that far," Cadence said. "I just need to be sure I'm bringing back _Barry_ and not a _body_."

Barry grimaced. "I…don't think I can promise that," he said slowly.

"That's reassuring."

Barry chuckled and pressed a kiss to the side of her head. Then he turned to accept the hug Joe opened his arms for. Joe squeezed Barry tightly, flowing as much love to him as he could. "Be safe, or you'll have to answer to me," he warned. "Gorilla or not, I don't think you want to answer to me." Joe stepped back and cupped Barry's face in his hands. "And if you see anything hinky, you run."

"Take care of Brady for me," Cadence said to Iris. "With this meta stuff. Chances are, something's going to happen and I need you to make sure he doesn't pull a Barry and do something stupid."

"Don't worry mom, I'm much smarter than Barry," Brady said, puffing out his chest as if to prove his point.

"Watch over my brother and watch over Brady," Iris said, counting off on her fingers. "I think I can handle that. And when it's slow, I can have Brady help me on…" she exchanged a meaningful glance with Cadence before concluding with, "my project, now that we know more from the CCPD," making Cadence give her a grateful smile before hugging her.

"Alright." Barry moved to Brady's side, waiting for mother and son to finish their hug before he grasped the young boy's shoulders. "Make sure the city's face while we're gone. I'm counting on you." Brady nodded earnestly. Barry could see in his eyes he'd take his job seriously.

Barry then dropped his hands from Brady's shoulders and took a step back. He nodded to his friends that would be going with them, and they moved to the platform that sat on the far side of the room. Cisco put on his Vibe goggles and punched his fist forward. A swirling vortex opened prompting Barry, Caitlin, Cisco, Cadence, and Jesse to leap through.

The moment they passed through, the breach winked out. Leaving the basement of STAR Labs in darkness.

* * *

 **GORILLA CITY, EARTH-2**

Beads of sweat immediately popped up on Barry's forehead the moment he landed in a crouch on the dense jungle floor. The humidity rose so quickly, a stifling cloud he nearly choked on. _Thank God, I didn't put my hood on,_ Barry thought, bringing up an arm to pull against his forehead. Though he wasn't sure how the rest of his suit would fare, feeling sweat start to collect on numerous parts of his body. Cisco would _not_ have a good time cleaning his suit that time.

"How was that?" Cisco asked, lowering his arm. He pressed his hands to his knees, sweat pooling down to his chin. The humidity added to the energy exhibited to get them to Earth-2 took more out of him than any of them thought. Jesse reached over and held his arm, keeping him up.

"Perfect Cisco," Barry said. He patted his friend on the shoulder. "Great job."

A low grumbling sound filled the air, making them all stand still. Though none of them had moved an inch from arriving, whatever had created the noise turned them into statues. When the grumbled filtered out and the sounds of buzzing bugs and cawing birds returned, they all relaxed.

"Is everyone okay?" Caitlin asked. She looked to Cadence who, like Cisco, had her hands on her knees and was breathing hard. Sweat pooled down her face, making her periodically slam her eyes shut, the stinging salt burning her eyes. "Cade?"

"I'm okay," she said. Finally, the fire-metahuman stood up and wiped at her face, cheeks flushed. "It's just really hot." She fanned her hand by her face. "I'm good," she insisted after a moment of silence from the others. Her eyes locked on Barry as he studied her. "Promise."

Barry nodded back. "Well," he remarked, looking around the dense forest. "We made it."

"Welcome to the jungle, baby," Cisco murmured. His eyes shifted over the clearing around them. The group exchanged glances and nods before starting forward at a slow, steady walk. Barry had to keep himself from racing forward as the seconds passed. Not just because what was a leisurely stroll to many was a snail's pace to him, but due to apprehension.

Jesse clearly felt the same. As they trekked through the jungle she'd have moments of speed that'd propel her up and down the hills much quicker than the rest of the group. Then she'd slow down and wait for the others, tapping her foot, impatiently glancing over her shoulder at the next hill as they came to meet her before she took off again.

And still, the group continued to move along in silence. They quickly shot down Cisco's suggestion of a sing-a-long and talking about the movies they'd seen recently. The only sound heard from the group was their stomping over twigs and branches that'd crack beneath their feet and their heavy breathing. Every few moments, Cadence would stop to put her hands on her hips and tilt her head back, working to catch her breath. But she continued to stay with the group. At least, when she and the others weren't consistently slapping themselves to get rid of the bugs hovering around them.

"Earth-2 Africa," Cisco grumbled as they went. "Guess global warming's not really a thing here." He slapped the side of his face so hard that a bright red handprint appeared. "But bugs are!" It was the only time they laughed, the situation too serious to find much mirth within it.

Finally, as they crested a hill, Barry saw a peculiar sight in the distance. A gorilla head carved out of stone resting on a large stone wall. Steadily approaching it, Barry could see it was the entrance of some sort of civilization; could see the large looming masses of gorillas lumbering inside.

Barry took in a deep breath. "Let's go," he murmured and continued walking. He had to ignore the need for his muscles to jump into action. To start coursing Speed Force energy within it to propel him forward, abandoning the rest of the team to look through the ruins for Harry and get back out. It'd leave anyone else sitting ducks for whatever was waiting for them. Better to take their time rather than storm in without a plan. Going in and starting to punch would be the worst line of attack. Especially when the gorillas they were going up against were sentient.

 _If Grodd managed to give us problems, a whole horde of them would be even worse,_ he rationalized.

"Does anyone want some water?" Caitlin asked, breaking into Barry's thoughts. She fumbled with the water bottle attached to her hip, starting to open the top.

"I'm okay, thanks," Jesse said quickly. Barry agreed. Cisco took a few sips then handed the bottle to Cadence, who nearly downed half of it, leaning heavily against a tree behind her. Caitlin watched her in concern. She took the bottle back from the fire-metahuman and froze the contents inside, placing the bottle against her forehead. Jesse noticed and asked, "Cade, are you okay?"

"Just hot," Cadence replied. She managed a small smile. "Usually, that's not something I'd complain about." Aa lifeless laugh escaped her lips.

Barry stopped and looked at her. She _really_ wasn't looking good. Her skin was flushed, eyelids drooping low, body bent in half as she worked to catch her breath, holding the frozen water bottle against her forehead. A beeping noise from a watch Cisco wore caught Barry's attention, despite keeping his eyes on his fiancée.

"We're close, guys." Cisco called out, studying his tracker. He turned his way and that, following the tracker as the beeping increased. Finally, it stopped, seeming to lock in on something. Cisco bent down to pick something up off the ground.

Caitlin followed his movements then frowned. Her head whipped around, eyes darting back and forth over the thick jungle. She could've sworn she heard something. "Did you guys hear that?" She asked.

"Hear what?" Jesse asked.

Barry looked to Cadence, who tilted her head, loose strands of hair falling out of her face. Her eyes slowly turned orange as they shifted around the woods, changing to her thermal vision. She couldn't see anything yet, nevertheless, her hand slowly crept toward the pistol strapped to her thigh. Barry took a step aside and looked to the ground, indents catching his attention.

He knelt to one knee, examining it further. Immediately, his mind warped back to the case he was looking over the day of the Particle Accelerator explosion. The case with Mark and Clyde Mardon. The case that started with a footprint he'd been able to easily track. Much different than the indention in the forest floor he saw below him; Mark's and Clyde's were from shoes, the on the ground resembled a massive hand.

"There's footprints," Barry murmured.

Then he heard a gurgling sound and looked up to see Cadence grasp towards the tree closest to her. She started to slide sideways, Caitlin and Jesse moving to hold her up. "Too hot," she gasped. "It's too hot."

Barry clocked into it in a second; the increased humidity combined with her powers was making her internal temperature rise. Rise to much dangerous levels if they didn't get her somewhere cooler. He started to say as much when Cadence suddenly stiffened, uttering a small yelp, her hand flying to her neck, before she crumbled to the ground. A dart poke out of her skin and into the air.

"It's a trap!" The words barely got out of Barry's mouth before an injector struck him on the neck. Within seconds, Cisco, Caitlin, Cadence, and Jesse were struck as well. The concoction inside immediately slid into their veins, knocking them out in seconds.

The group crashed to the ground, eyes falling shut.

They were dead to the world, unable to see Grodd's approach until he was on them. His eyes roved over the group. / _Welcome Caitlin. Knew you'd come…Flash./_

* * *

 **A/N:** I've had this portion (and the Abra Kadabra portion) planned out since it first aired. Of course things leading up to it had to change every now and then, but I'm excited to finally get to it. This one was more straight to the point of the episode, but things do change as it goes on. And, now we know how much the CCPD knows about metas and how they got their information. Wait until the next part for you to see what I've got in store for Brady, and the rest of Team Flash of course, but especially Brady.

 **Cheers,**

 **-Riley**

 **Review Replies**

 **Ethan:** A lot of things are Barry's jam as we can see from the show. Draychon, cooking, and a lot of nerd things.

 **DarkHelm145:** Yep, just a little more lighthearted. It was meant to be that way on purpose. Just to ease up a bit as we move into the last portions of the story. I'm not saying it's ending anytime soon, but that it's getting to the climax and falling action.

 **PowerHero432:** The comparison with Earth-1 and Earth is something you should definitely keep an eye on, lol. I can't say much more than that. You'll see a lot of Cade and Jesse working together with the Gorilla City stuff, I had that planned since starting this season within the series. I just hope all the other Gorilla City stuff ends up being just as good!


	35. He Remembered (2)

**35**

 _He Remembered_

* * *

Wally took a deep breath, focused on the Speed Force within him, and stepped up onto the Cosmic Treadmill. He started off relatively slow, moved his arms and legs in the correct formation to do so. Starting off in a position like that of a sprinter. Arms pumping back and forth, hands flat and turned to the side to cut through the air, making him more aerodynamic. His feet placed up on the ground on the balls of his feet, giving himself enough of a coil to spring himself forward.

Then he shifted his body weight, leaned forward even further. Pressed the flat of his feet to the ground. It wasn't the correct runner's stance, physics would work against him. Leaning so far forward would have him, effectively, running straight into the ground. But the Speed Force was a magical thing. It coursed through his veins and pushed him to go faster and further than anyone else. Made it so that he had the reflexes others couldn't even being to imagine. Every time Wally felt himself moving forward, felt himself about to let momentum take him over and crash to the ground, he'd use his reflexes, the slowed down perception to bring himself up once more.

A grin came to his face. Faster and faster he went. His arms and legs blurred to those watching him. Iris, Joe and HR watched intently as Wally raced along on the Cosmic Treadmill. Watched as he started to blur, continuing to push the machine even faster and faster.

HR's impressively large grin, the one that seemed to never be too far from his lips, continued to widen as the seconds passed. Alternately, he looked from the stopwatch in his hand to the speedster practically flying on the treadmill. "Yes!" HR cheered, throwing his hands into the air. "Yes, Wallace! You did it, Wallace! Look! Look!" He shoved the stopwatch into Iris's face, making her blink rapidly and jerk her head back, keeping her nose from being bashed in.

Iris glanced at the numbers sitting along the face of the timing mechanism. A skeptical eyebrow rose, unsure of what she was looking at. "Okay," she said slowly. "I don't get it."

"You don't…you don't get…" HR lowered his arm, confusion rolling through his eyes. "There…how do you not get it?" He spread his arms and started to speak loudly, his voice echoing from the corner of the Speed Lab. "People! We're witnessing something amazing here!"

"And do you want to share with us what this amazement is?" Joe asked. His voice was gruff, obviously as unimpressed as Iris was. It was one thing to sit back and listen as Barry, Cisco, and Caitlin spouted off as much scientific and technical jargon that made his head spin, but an entirely other thing if HR was the one who was keeping things as mystery. He didn't peg HR to be particularly intelligent as it was, so far he hadn't done much to help Team Flash and he consistently wondered why HR was even on their Earth. "Or are you just going to keep waving that stopwatch around." He made a whistling sound and motioned for Wally to stop.

Seconds later, Wally was by Joe's side, breathing heavily while dabbing at his forehead with a towel. He looked at HR expectantly, waiting for the good news that was to come. HR lifted his hands above his head. He looked at those standing around in the Speed Lab and declare, "Wallace here has done the unthinkable."

"Break the sound barrier?" Joe suggested with a shrug.

"Barry does it every time he does his supersonic punch thing," Iris pointed out. "Or else, Cisco wouldn't have named it the supersonic punch."

Wally rolled his eyes. "Thanks for that vote of confidence, sis," he said. He put his arm around Iris's shoulders and hugged her to his side. "I really feel the love." Iris immediately pressed her hands to Wally's side and tried to push herself away from him.

"Wally, you've just been sweating. This is silk." She finally managed to get him away and carefully brushed off her blouse. Then she turned to HR and asked, "So? What's the big news?"

HR finally stopped showing his teeth and lowered the stopwatch around his neck. "Wallace, here, he's broken Barry's speed record. And by that, I mean there's always improvements to be made, but Wallace…Wallace had managed to be faster than Barry was at this stage in his training. Look at these numbers!"

Wally's smile matched HR's in energy and excitement. "Whoa, so that means I'm faster than Barry?"

"Faster than where he was in his training," Iris corrected him.

"But that means I'm progressing faster. A faster rate means I'll be faster than him, right?" Wally looked to his sister and father for confirmation. They exchanged glances before looking at Wally. Wally's shoulders slumped. "Come on, I'm working hard here! And HR's proven it. I've gotten faster than him. That means I can go out and help the city now. I don't have to sit back and continue to do speed drills and everything."

"Wally, there's always a lot of training that needs to be done," Joe said gently yet firmly. He placed his hand on Wally's shoulder, squeezing it to be sure his son understood his words of wisdom. "The same as being on the police force. Do you think that as soon as you're in, you're in? You have to make sure that you're in top shape. We have tests on our shooting skills, we have mandatory physicals, anything that'd make sure we're in the top shape we can be."

"Is that also why you guys take a doughnut break every day?" Wally teased.

Joe managed a smile. He clapped his son on the shoulder and pointe din his face to say, "We'll see who gets invited next time." Then he dropped his hand and said, "I don't know why you're so hellbent on being faster than Barry. It's not like there isn't room for two speedsters on this Earth, on this team. You don't have anything to prove."

"Yes, I do!" Wally insisted. He stood back and ran his hands over his hair. Let out a sigh so long Iris was surprised he continued to stand upright. "You don't get it…Barry's said…in that other dimension, in Flashpoint, that I was Kid Flash. I was _the_ Flash over there." He gestured to Iris. "And we were a brother-sister fighting team. If we could do that in Flashpoint, how come we can't do it here."

Iris started to open her mouth, but Wally continued passionately.

"Why can't that be something I can achieve here? Make a name for myself."

"You _do_ have a name," Joe insisted.

"Yeah, _Kid_ Flash." Wally placed his hands on his chest. "I don't know if you've noticed, but I'm not a kid. I'm in college. I've got a place of my own, or, I'm thinking of getting a place of my own." He didn't notice Joe's and Iris's surprised looks. They didn't know he and Jesse were thinking of moving in together, didn't know they talked about her staying on their Earth. It hadn't been the right time to bring it up. "And I have these powers that I can't wait to use, to show what I can do. To show the city that I can be a good hero."

"The city _knows_ you're a good hero," Iris reminded him. "You just helped save Detective Patterson."

Wally snorted. "Detective Patterson thinks Jesse and I just get in the way. All we've ever done is follow Barry around and take his orders and sit back and watch while he does everything. We can handle things, but we're treated like we're just kid son the sidelines." He motioned to HR, who suddenly appeared nervous. "HR has been helping me. We've been doing tests and trial runs and—"

"—You've been helping him?" Iris's head whipped toward HR, who took a step back, blue eyes widening as far as they could go. "What? When we weren't around? And you didn't tell us?"

Nervously, HR spun his drumsticks around his fingers. "Well, that does seem to be the point," he remarked. "Wallace was asking for someone to help him and I figured it was my given duty of this team to—"

"—And do you do on this team, HR?" Joe asked. His voice turned sarcastic. "Other than bring everyone coffee and give out some lame-ass ideas that don't help anyone."

HR wasn't offended. No, he still managed to smile despite the verbal abuse Joe was giving him. HR stopped spinning his drumsticks and tapped them against his chest. His voice remained neutral, unoffended as he spoke. "I find myself to be the kind of person that finds the best in everyone and brings it so they're even greater. I saw Wallace as someone who's been following everything that everyone's been telling him with no pushback. But he doesn't have anyone listen to him. So I'm listening to him, I'm helping him cultivate every skill set he needs to be successful."

Iris pressed her lips together. "Is that what you did? On your Earth? I thought you said you were a scientist and worked with Randolph Morgan."

HR blinked. "I, well, I was a scientist. Sort of. Not in the same semantics you'd use. I was an assistant—I was a helper—I _helped_ Randolph keep his spirits up so that he could accomplish everything he set out to do."

"So, you really didn't have anything to do with any of the technological advances or scientific achievements that Randolph made…you were just…his cheerleader."

"Which seems to run in the family. I mean, Harrison and Tess over here, they're such a lovely couple, aren't they? Lovely couple. They cheer each other on all the time. And Cadence, well, she actually _was_ a cheerleader. And while I don't have any children on my Earth, I can't help but feel that familial…that fatherly connection with her. Must've been that nifty mind-meld that went on with me and the other two Harrisons. That's a…that's a fun experience." HR finally stopped talking, noticing all eyes of the Wests were staring at him with varying degrees of interest. "I can see that I've lost you all. Just…" he took a breath. "Just remember that I really care about everyone this team. And I may not have the intelligence," he gestured around the Cortex, "the drive," he motioned to Wally, "the determination," he motioned to Iris, "the paternal level of protection," he motioned to Joe, "that you all have. But everyone brings their own skills to the team. And me…" he tapped his chest once more. "I bring the heart. I'll leave you to think about that while I get us some more coffee."

Iris rolled her eyes and muttered under her breath. She brought up her hand to rub her forehead, her aching temples. HR really did make things complicated since his arrival. It didn't help that he continued to push Wally into getting into even more dangerous situations. She lifted her head and exchanged a look with Joe.

"I don't want you doing any more training we're not aware of," Joe said to Wally. Wally's eyes shifted. His mouth dropped open to protest. "It's not safe, Wally. With Savitar and Breathtaker out there, they could attack at a moment's notice and none of us will know where to find you if it happens."

"I have GPS in my suit," Wally protested, voice tight.

"And do you wear your suit every time you're training?" Wally's dark cheeks darkened even further as he turned away. "Look, I understand that you like the rush from this—"

"No, actually, you don't." Wally shook his head. "You don't understand it unless you're a speedster. Unless you're a meta. And you're not. Neither of you are." He looked at Iris. "You may have a gun and you may be a reporter who gets herself in more trouble than she knows what to do with, but you will never understand what it's like to be a meta. And you'll never understand what it's like to be in Barry's shadow."

"You're not in Barry's shadow," Iris protested.

"Really?" Wally shook his head. "So 'The White Shadow' doesn't mean anything?" Iris pressed her lips together. "The fact that _he_ may as well have been your brother your entire life means nothing. The fact that he was in lo—"

"—Wally!" Joe interrupted. "That's enough."

"No, dad." Iris looked firmly at her brother. "What were you going to say?"

But Wally turned his attention away from Iris and to Joe. Directly on Joe. Wouldn't look anywhere else. "Nothing," he said. "Nothing that matters. I know Barry's constantly putting restraints on me, he's team leader after all. But I'm not going to take it much longer." And with that, he sped out of the Cortex.

Iris and Joe stepped away from the gust of wind that blew into their faces. Iris lifted her hands and slapped them to her sides, watching the door her brother had disappeared into. Shaking her head, she turned to her father and said, "I don't know what we're going to do with him."

"He's really angry, Iris," Joe pointed out.

"I get that. But things are dangerous, dad. We can't just have him run straight into everything just because he thinks he's ready." Then she sighed, folding her arms. "But I guess we can't hold him back either."

Joe watched his daughter carefully. Knew and cared for her since Francine had left. Had done the same when Francine left them once more—something he still felt guilt over—and added Wally to the fold. A stranger he still loved as much as he could if knowing him since birth. The learning curve was difficult, figuring out how to be a father to a grown man, but things had been progressing. He'd even just defended him to Detective Patterson for God's sake!

"I really don't know what to do," Joe murmured. "We've already lost Barry twice, I don't want to lose him again."

"I know." Iris rubbed her father's arm. "I'm worried about the same thing. I guess he's picking up on it."

"Well, you have to admit, baby, you're not very…subtly with the way you feel about things." Joe glanced at his phone when it started to ring. For a moment, a smile came to his face before he controlled his muscles. His smile turned to a frown that threatened to melt, corners of his mouth twitching. "Hey, I've got to get going."

"Is everything alright?" Iris asked. "You've been running off to calls like this a lot lately."

"Everything's fine, baby," Joe replied. "But, it's not something I can talk about." He pressed a kiss to Iris's forehead. "I'll see you later." With quick steps, he practically raced to the door of the Cortex, heading toward the elevators.

"Since when can't you talk to me about your cases?" Iris called after him. "Do you know how many nightmares I had when I was little because you kept telling me stories?" She folded her arms, watching her father's retreating back. "He's up to something," she murmured.

"I wasn't sure what sort of coffee you wanted, so I got one of nearly everything Jitters had to offer," HR's voice said from behind her. Iris turned and watched him come toward her with a massive tray, eyes widening in abject horror. There was enough coffee in his hands to hydrate an entire army. "I really loved this stuff from Jitters and thought it'd be nice if we had some to go and have been stashing it for a good occasion and if we're going to figure out what to do with Wallace, now's a good time to do it." He then looked up and blinked at Iris.

His eyes took a cursory sweep around the Cortex. "Where'd everyone go?"

Iris sighed.

* * *

Brady hardly looked up when Wally stormed into the practice room he'd coveted for his own. It wasn't anything official, but an empty hangar that used to sore the fleet of STAR Labs vans the company used to shuttle around. Once STAR Labs lost most of their personnel and Harrison had been sued, he'd sold numerous affects to pay off damages and lawsuits. The room used to hold most of the transportable equipment and vans, changed into the hangar that held the cardboard cutouts they used to strategize against Zoom.

Cisco had created them one long night of staking out Central City. A long night of no sleep, a digital camera, and as many photos of himself and his friends he could take and printed out to create the cutouts. They used to be pristine, no marks marring them ever. Now they were riddled with little holes that scattered from the heads of the feet of the cutouts. A gust of wind was pre-emptive to Wally's arrival.

Nevertheless, Brady didn't allow himself to be distracted. He blinked, waiting for the wind to die down before turning his attention to the targets lined up in front of him. Rapid-fire, he released ammo from his sling-shots into each of the cutouts. None of the ammo that had the special effects inspired from his team; no smoke bombs, for his mother, no bright blasts of light, for Barry, no vapors, for Caitlin, no blasts of concussive power, for Cisco. They were all duds, the perfect way for him to practice.

He followed everything Oliver told him; keep steady, don't let anything distract you, use your environment to your advantage, and one after another knocked them down. Finally, when he was finished, he faced Wally.

"What's up?" Brady asked.

"How do you do that?" Wally asked, looking at each of the cutouts. Cisco's flopped to the floor, bent in half from the continued barrage to its midsection. "How do you get a perfect hit each time."

"A lot of practice," Brady replied. He set his slingshot aside and dusted off his hands. "I could barely hit one when I first started. And Oliver's helped me a lot."

"Oliver Queen?" Wally repeated. He walked closer to Brady. "He doesn't really seem like the kind of guy who likes to play with others."

"Yeah. Mom and Barry weren't really on board with it when I first started. But Oliver and Barry are good friends. If there's anyone Barry trusts, it's Oliver."

There was a moment of silence that hung between them. Brady watched Wally. Honestly, he was unsure of what to make of Wally. They didn't hang out, didn't train together, didn't go into the field together. Barry made on his promise to train Wally and Jesse to do the best they could be to be a speedster. On Brady's end, Cadence primarily took on his training that didn't have to do with his sharpshooting skills.

She homed in on his natural athletic ability from soccer, his fancy footwork, and made sure he used it to his advantage. Made sure it was something others wouldn't figure out how to stop before he could use it to his advantage. While not a speedster, he had good reflexes to change direction when running. Stopping on a dime to turn in another direction, much as when possession of a game changed. He did everything he was told to do when training; and when it came to the new elemental powers he'd gained, along with his ability to blend in and fly, she worked him harder to have a general sense of control over it.

Brady saw how much control she had over her own powers and never wanted to get to the point where he couldn't handle his own. He wasn't quite sure if Wally had much control over his powers let alone his own impulses.

"How can you stand it?" Wally asked.

"Stand what?"

"Stand being back here while everyone is on Earth-2." Wally gestured vaguely in the direction of the Cortex. "Fighting giant gorillas no less."

"It's not like stuff isn't going to happen here," Brady pointed out. He couldn't keep the note of sarcasm out of his voice. It seemed to be almost a permanent part of his personality as he grew older and matured. At least, compared to his parents' consistent bouts of enthusiasm and extroversion. "It's Central City, everything happens every minute. It's never boring here."

"Well, yeah, but that's what I mean." Wally lowered himself to the floor and crossed his legs. "There's always stuff going on and we just have to sit back and watch. Doesn't that bother you?"

Brady thought for a moment. It did bother him, at first. But a lot to things had happened since he first started to train with Barry and his mom. He'd seen a lot of different things happen. He'd seen a lot of people get hurt. _He'd_ been hurt. He remembered the desperation he felt when going against Geomancer.

 _"I want my mom."_

There was nothing that would ever erase the sound of his own voice when he said those words. The sheer terror, desperation, and…acceptance he felt. He'd been crushed under a slab of concrete, pinned to the ground as were Connor and Leah with no way out as their powers weren't strong enough to stop him at the time. He thought he'd die. He hadn't, but he thought he would. Then seeing all the injury and death during the Metapocalypse? It wasn't a game to him anymore. It was real. And he needed to take it seriously.

Plus, the idea of going up against a gorilla was more terrifying than fun. He'd been to the zoo, he'd watched Tarzan, he knew everything that could happen. And that was with a normal gorilla, these were sentient ones.

"It used to," he admitted. "Not anymore."

Wally sighed, leaning back on his hands. "I just wish they'd stop treating me like I was a little kid. Like I don't know what I'm doing. I can move faster than…than _anything_ and they're keeping me from being able to use it to help the city."

"No, they haven't."

But Wally kept going. "I even helped stop the Dominators, for God's sake."

"Could you do it on your own? If Barry and Oliver and Kara and Sara and the others weren't there, do you think you would have been able to do it on your own?" Wally thought for a moment. Thought about everything they'd done to stop the Dominators. "Or Zoom? Do you think you could've stopped Zoom yourself?"

"Even Barry didn't stop Zoom himself," Wally pointed out. "The time wraith got him. And that was after your mom helped boost his powers."

"Still, until then Barry was able to hold him off, pushing himself to the limit to do it." Brady pressed his feet together, grabbing his ankles. He looked Wally in the eye. "I'm not saying you can't do it. And I'm not saying I don't think you can. I really do think you could be as good as Barry if not better. I just think you're doing it for the glory than to help people."

Wally looked away. He sighed, running a hand over his hair. "What Detective Patterson said…it just makes me want to prove him wrong. To prove everyone wrong who says that I can't do anything. Or that I'm just a copy-cat. I guess I do take it too far, sometimes."

Brady simply smiled in response. He looked up when he heard Iris's voice come over the speakers that surrounded STAR Labs. It'd taken Cisco a few tries to re-wire the communication system of STAR Labs. Enough so that Caitlin was starting to become annoyed with having to spread burn cream on his fingers after repeatedly electrocuting himself.

At the same time, Wally and Brady moved back to the Cortex. Iris immediately turned to them, telling them what she knew about the incident. "Robbery in progress," she stated, nodding toward the mapping image on the computer in front of her. "Sullivan bank."

"Oh, that's easy," Brady declared. If he could handle Metallo using an opportune moment of distraction with the MRA Act being conversed, then they could handle petty criminals who didn't have any powers. "Shouldn't take more than a few minutes."

"Let's go," Wally said. He immediately zipped into his suit while Brady slapped his palm against his suit housing device—of which he still didn't have a name for—and waited for his suit to encompass his body. Wally then grabbed his arm and raced the two to Sullivan Bank.

Just in time for the two robbers to race out the front of the bank, waving their pistols on the area. Civilians standing nearby screamed and raced out the way. Brady made a face beneath his mask. He knew nothing about guns, but that point, he didn't understand how the residents of Central City found it to be something to be afraid of. Or else, they would become too dependent on the heroes to show up. As it was, Brady knew the guns were real, but he hardly believed they would want to use them against anyone.

The robbers weren't smart enough to cover their faces before being stopped on the sidewalk. They gaped at Wally and Brady as soon as they spotted the two heroes. "Didn't hear the news, huh?" He taunted.

The criminals looked at each other in apprehension. Then the first one lifted his gun, pointing it directly towards Wally. "What news?"

The other trained his gun onto Brady. Brady quickly moved to grab his slingshot, knowing he could get the quick draw on the man, hitting him where he didn't anticipate being hit; the balls. Otherwise, a good shot in the food was a good way to get him up close and personal. There was no need to show off his other abilities. Then he remembered leaving it in STAR Labs, in the practice room, and opted for his yo-yo instead.

He started to bring it out.

"That you don't mess with Kid Flash," Wally continued. There was a tone of arrogance that came to his voice. One that Brady wasn't sure was of Wally or of Kid Flash. .It was easy to realize they were the same person, but harder, he thought, for others to notice how much of a double life, of two personalities they truly had.

"We gotta get back to our friends," the first criminal said. His voice quivered. Wally and Brady exchanged a look, thinking the same thing. It had to have been their first robbery. Or else they never expected to be put on Team Flash's radar. "They're expecting us."

"Yeah, they picked some real winners," Brady said. His hand enclosed over his yo-yo. He started to take it out, then stopped. _Huh._ His eyebrows furrowed together, and he strained every muscle, watched as his arm tensed up, but couldn't move his hand any further. His eyes shifted, struggling to find the source of what was happening to him.

The ground slowly started to tilt, the face of the bank building melted before his eyes. And yet, Wally continued to stand next to him, talking to the robbers as if nothing were happening.

"It's more than I can say for you two," the criminal shot back.

Then Wally moved; shot around at warp speed, incapacitating the robbers and throwing them aside to the arriving CCPD squad car. The officers inside jumped when the tied up suspects suddenly appeared in the backseat.

Wally came to a stop and grinned at a job well done. He turned to see a crowd forming, clapping and cheering for him. He was unable to stop the smile that came to his face, reveling in the appreciation coming his way. Finally, some of the recognition he deserved. Wally lifted his hand and waved back.

"'Nothing to see here, guys," he called. He nodded toward the police cars. "Just a couple of fools getting their asses handed to them." It was then, finally, that Wally noticed Brady holding stock still. Despite the hood of the cloak that covered most of Brady's face, Wally could see the absolute confusion and fear in the young boy's eyes. "Hey, is everything okay?"

Brady tried to respond, but found his mouth wasn't working. Couldn't move the muscles around his mouth. Couldn't move the muscles of his hand. Couldn't move anything. He was frozen to the ground, nausea rolling through his stomach as he watched the ground continue to slant back and forth and the the buildings around him continue to melt.

Then the edges of his vision started to darken. Two oval dots that elongated and merging together. Growing bigger and bigger until they became one mass, blotting out every source of light around him. Brady's heartrate started to increase. Louder and louder until the sounds of his thumping heart filled the void. His breathing became labored. Something squeezed his chest, his lungs, making drawing in the simplest piece of air difficult. Ripped away all comfort.

Then, finally, he saw a white glow in front of him. It became brighter and brighter until the light became absent as well. Brady blinked, watching the figure form in front of him. Watched as Breathtaker hovered in front of him. Watched as Breathtaker came to a stop in front of him and slowly reached up, pulling down his hood.

For the first time, Breathtaker revealed himself.

He reached out and pressed his fingertips to Brady's forehead.

A jolt of lightning, a red wave of pure agony shot through his head. Fired up every nerve in his brain.

Before Flashpoint, Brady remembered everything that happened to him. Knew from the very beginning what had gone on while he was gone and his mother was searching for him. After Flashpoint, things changed. Brady's memory changed. He knew nothing about what'd happened to him when he was in the clutches of the Assassination Bureau and his mother was desperately searching for him.

Until then.

Horrified, Brady remembered everything.

* * *

When Barry's eyes finally opened, he found himself stuck in a cell. A damp, dark cell. Almost darker than the one Zoom held him in the year before. This time, however, Zoom wasn't waiting for him on the other side with taunting words and cruelties that'd make Barry consistently wonder if he should've gone ahead and killed him when he had the chance. No, this time there was nothing but silence outside his cell.

From where he lay on the ground, Barry was able to see he was underground somewhere. A cool breeze floated in from a crack in the concrete walls around him. Yet, he could tell he wasn't too far underground; the air around him wasn't heavy, he didn't feel an ungodly amount of pressure being put on his body. He was close to the surface, but not so close that any sunlight could stream through where the sun was positioned in the sky.

Murky sunlight streamed over him from a larger hole in the top of his cell. It streaked over his eyes, making him squint and roll away from the rude wakeup call. The movement made his entire body protest in pain. Barry brought a hand to his forehead and winced. It wasn't until he heard a loud growl that he was forced completely awake. Barry shot up, ignoring the agonizing wave of pain that rolled through him, undulating through every nerve. He got to his knees, slowly rising himself up.

His friends all started to groan, slowly waking as well. Barry ran a hand over his face, thoughts racing a marathon. Whatever it was that had knocked him out, had to be strong enough for a speedster but also strong enough for the others if they were awakening at the same time.

Barry licked his dry lips, wincing at the sting as his saliva hit the open cracks. "Are you guys alright?"

"Yeah," Cisco murmured. He sucked in a deep breath, as if simply waking up from a deep sleep. He ran his palms over his eyes. "I'm okay."

"I'm okay, too," Caitlin said. Barry turned to Jesse, who was in the furthest cell, who nodded back.

Cadence continued to lay on the ground, arms wrapped around her stomach. A heavy line of sweat covered her forehead, breathing labored. Nevertheless, she nodded that she was okay, then muttered, "I've lost my guns."

"Okay." Jesse swallowed hard. She grasped pressed herself against the front of her cell. "We'll just phase out of here and get Cade some help." She looked to Barry for any further instruction. Barry simply nodded back to her and the two curled their fingers around the bars of their cells. For a moment, they concentrated hard, tapped into the Speed Force, expected their bodies to rapidly vibrate and push them through the metal. Expected to experience the indescribable feeling of something solid passing through them.

Nothing.

They found themselves unable to move through the bars. Gasping, Jesse's hands slipped away from the bars. "I can't…I can't phase."

Barry immediately rounded on Cisco. "Can you open a breach?" The desperation in his voice was evident, bordering on becoming hysterical. Trapped in a cage with no way out. Nothing of his powers working and no idea who or what had taken them.

Cisco punched his fist forward, tried a few times, straining harder and harder each time he did. His face turned a beet red on his last attempt before he, finally, gave up, gasping from exertion. "No dice," he replied.

While the others tried to use their powers, Cadence slowly but surely gathered strength and stood up. She leaned against the walls of her cell, which were between Caitlin's and Barry's. 'I can't teleport either," she said.

Barry quickly moved to her side. He ripped off their gloves and grabbed her hand, forced his fingers between hers. He swallowed hard, waiting for the sign of their powers mixing powers, waited for his abilities to give her an extra boost. Anything that'd give her the chance to heal herself. Nothing happened.

Barry gasped, squeezing her hand tighter. "Come on," he murmured. Finally, Cadence pulled her hand away, the sweat that flooded her palms making her easily slip from his grasp. She shook her head, keeping her eyes away from him. Barry lowered his forehead, resting it against the cool metal.

"I don't think it's the cell," he murmured, his voice barely going over a croak. "Grodd must be doing it somehow." He was a sentient gorilla, had more powers and abilities than they could ever imagine. From the last two times they'd come up against the meta, Barry's barely managed to beat him. Grodd had more time on this Earth to plan his way to stop Barry and his team, so far it was working.

Barry's head jerked upward. What was that? His movement caught Caitlin's attention. She tilted her head, caught his eye. Barry's eyes shifted to just behind her, he nodded subtly. Caitlin turned, her eyes landing on a set of stairs she hadn't noticed was just outside her cell. Stairs that led to the outside or…to another level of their prison. Stairs that someone was currently walking down.

There were human footsteps, much lighter and melodic than those of a gorilla's. They would've heard Grodd coming long before he'd arrived. His heavy, grunts filled the air, showing his displeasure with everything around him. No, the breathing from whomever was approaching was calm. Much to calm.

 _Tap._

 _Tap._

 _Tap._

Barry's muscles tensed, waiting to see who or what was coming toward them. Step by step, the figure revealed itself. Barry felt all his anxiety and trepidation flush away when Harry's face finally passed by the concrete slab that kept his identity hidden. Harry's lips pressed in a thin line as his blue eyes roved over the group.

Barry looked back to Jesse, who's face immediately lit up at the sight of her father. Alive. He was still alive. Jesse looked back at Barry, tears bobbing on her eyelashes, threatening to fall. Her hands shook on the bars to her cell. Her body shook.

Harry was alive.

Even Cisco, who had an antagonistic relationship with the man couldn't keep the relieved smile from his face.

"Harry!" Caitlin cried, breathlessly. A beaming smile came to her face, revealing the relief she held inside. She was closest to him, able to watch him as he continued to silently descend the staircase to the group. "You're alright."

Jesse pressed herself against the side of her cell and reached her arms out to her father. Harry walked to the front of the cells, behind him a darkened hallway, an abyss to nowhere. Jesse strained to reach even further. Her fingers fluttered toward him. "Dad," she cried. "Dad! I'm so glad to see you!" Harry looked back at her, eyes blank. Jesse frowned when he didn't reach back to her. Didn't express the almost obsessive—as Cisco called it—protection he felt towards his younger daughter. "Dad?"

Cadence frowned. She didn't have her powers to use a thermal vision on him, wasn't able to get a reading on his body temperature. But she could still read him. Could still watch him closely for any tell-tale signs that something was wrong. His body was much too stiff; back oddly straight compared to the nearly constant slouched posture he held. It wasn't too strange; Harry had a background in the military. He stood ramrod straight, arms folded as his natural stance, she'd noticed. When working in his lab, he consistently slouched over, bringing himself closer to his work.

This time, however, he stood straight, arms at his sides. Not a natural stance for Harry Wells. As if proving her point, Harry's gaze shifted to Barry, who gaped back at him. "Hello Flash," he murmured.

A chill went through the cells. Jesse's grasp tightened around the cells. Cisco sucked in as harp breath between his teeth. Caitlin's eyes closed in dismay, she lowered her head. Barry's eyes narrowed. He sucked in a breath through his nose, nostrils flaring. He looked directly into Harry's eyes. Recognized his voice. "Grodd. Let him go," he growled, voice deepening with a rare anger. Jesse watched her mentor in surprise. She'd never seen him look so angry. "This is between you and me."

"Not yet," Harry replied. His voice remained stilted. Low, grumbling, using very little words to create more complex sentences a human would. Grodd didn't get that chance to learn. His days were filled with torture from General Eiling and a master that sat back and watched it happen. "I need him."

Barry's lips pulled back in a snarl. He lost all composure that hung on by a thread. "For what? Why did you lure him here?"

"For you." Harry tilted his head. His eyes continued to bore into Barry's unblinking. "Need…your help."

Cadence let out a wheezing laugh. A sarcastic laugh that continued to show her true strength despite her quaking knees, wanting nothing more than to collapse to the ground and sleep. She shook her head, continuing her mirthless chuckle. A laugh as dry as the walls around hem. "You've got a funny way of asking for it," she remarked.

Harry opened his mouth and Grodd's roar poured out. A roar that equally escaped the human and originating from somewhere they couldn't see. He roared so loudly, it bounced off the walls, repeatedly thrashing the eardrums of the team. They slapped their hands over their ears, turning away. Tried to escape the battering ram of explosive sound.

Cadence dropped to her knees.

Barry turned away. His weakness made Grodd speak once more through Harry. "You sent me here! Remember? To live in this hell where I am forced to serve under the rule of Solovar!" Images flashed through Barry's mind. Projected from Grodd. Memories of being tortured within STAR Labs, memories of being experimented on, memories of being attacked before sent through a breach to Earth-2. Barry's knees quaked, forcing him to hold tighter on the bars to keep himself up.

"Who's Solovar?" Jesse asked. Harry's gaze turned to her. She gasped and looked away, not seeing her father behind in his eyes. Seeing nothing but bleak pools of emptiness. A dark ocean.

"Leader of gorilla kind," Harry explained. He started to pace, watching each member of Team Flash in turn. "Ruler of Gorilla City. Now, he wants to rule the humans. He will bring war to your Earth."

"Why?"

"He's seen many conflicts between gorillas and humans, he's afraid the humans will attack. But now that you're here…he will bring the fight to you."

Barry let go of the bars. Backed away from Harry. He stared to pace. First moving in small circles, then large ones. He placed his hands atop his head, chest heaving as he fought to catch his breath, trying to quell his anger.

"So, you lured us here to stop him?" Cisco asked.

Harry slowly, deliberately, shook his head. "As trespassers, you'll be sent to the arena and executed."

Cisco's face became an amusing expression of horror and surprise. He brought a shaking hand to cover his mouth. He tapped his fingers against his chin. Hummed. "You know, having a sign at the front of your city saying, ' _trespassers will be executed'_ wouldn't be such a bad idea."

"It will be Solovar's great honor to kill you himself," Harry continued, ignoring Cisco. Barry snorted. Of course, it would. _Get in line,_ he thought. _There's a lot of people who want that, too_. "But, Flash, if you were to defeat him…the other gorillas would see his weakness and would no longer follow him."

Barry shook his head. "I'm not going to kill anyone…" he promised. "Not even a gorilla." _What if it's your only choice?_ The thought entered his head before he could stop it. Ashamed, he looked away. There was only so many choices that could be made when stuck in a difficult situation. He faced those moments daily, when danger was too great for him to overcome with fast feet. In those moments he found any means to defeat whatever he came up against without getting to that level.

Last time, they'd hardly been able to defeat Grodd. If Grodd feared Solovar…maybe he didn't have that choice.

"Barry," Cadence started. She gasped, convulsing. Sweat dripped off her forehead. Caitlin glanced at Harry. He still focused on the speedster in front of him. She motioned to Cadence, held out her hand. Cadence nodded and dragged herself to her best friend without a sound. When she was close enough, Cadence held her hand out of view of Harry, but close enough for Caitlin to touch. Close enough for her powers to be used, to cool her down.

"Kill or be killed!" Harry hissed. He got into Barry's face, his spittle landing on Barry's cheeks and forehead. Barry continued to hold strong, watching his friend's face. Looking for any sign of Harry still within Grodd's control. "That's the only law gorilla-kind understands."

Then Barry clocked onto the most important part of it all. Grodd was asking him to defeat Solovar so.. "How do you benefit from this Grodd?"

Harry slowly smiled. "Solovar falls, I take his place, I rule the gorillas..." His eyes remained unblinking. Barry saw a flicker of life within them. Grodd knew with his next words, that Barry would agree. "And I promise to keep them in Gorilla City."

 _If they stay in Gorilla City, there's no attack on Central City. The headline won't come true and nothing will happen to Caitlin, Iris, or Cadence._ The idea flashed through Barry's mind faster than he could stop it. Excitement started to rock his stomach. Exactly the reason he didn't want to entertain the thought. Since seeing the future, since seeing certain headlines, he thought of nothing more than how to stop a future that may or may not come.

"It's a possible future," Jay had told him. "It's not set in stone.

Nevertheless, Barry sucked in a breath that pushed out his chest. Gave him the sense of strength that only came as being The Flash. He was no longer Barry Allen. He had to be the leader. Had to decide.

Caitlin voice his thoughts for him. Her voice soft and sweet, appeasing to Grodd. Or was it Harry? Barry wasn't quite sure. "How do we know we can trust you?"

"Because…even though you sent me away, your Earth is still my home." Harry looked to Caitlin. Her lips trembled as he spoke his next words. "And there are those among you…I will never forget."

Harry collapsed. It was sudden. One moment, he was on his feet, the next he was on his knees, grasping at the bars to Barry's cell. "Dad!" Jesse gasped. Barry grabbed onto Harry. He pulled him up, still leaning against the bars, and dragged him across the front of the cell. Passed him to Cisco who brought him to Jesse. "Dad!" Her hands trembled, holding him to her. She stroked his hair, pressing her face against his. "Dad, are you okay?"

"Jesse?" Harry replied. He didn't get more than the word out before holding Jesse tightly to him. "Jesse. Oh, Jesse." The two didn't react as heavy footsteps filled the air.

Barry's body quaked with every step until Grodd stood before him, towering in the room. His head nearly scraped the ceiling, sharp white teeth dripping with saliva. His powerful chest heaved with every rumbling breath he took. / _Kill Solovar and Central City will be spared. Fail and see your home turn to ash./_

Once more, Barry turned away. He mulled over his options. An ultimatum that didn't have any positive outcomes. Caitlin's voice broke through his thoughts. "Barry, do you really think you could kill this Solovar? Do you think you could take a life?"

Barry ignored her. "Grodd, let me and my friends go, and I promise we'll never come back here. I'll face Solovar once I'm sure my friends are free and safe."

Grodd threw his body backwards, standing on two feet to beat his chest. He roared once more, this time one of pure rage. This time, Barry didn't back down while his friends cowered. He simply watched Grodd. Grodd lowered himself to the ground with a blow so heavy it cracked the concrete beneath his hands and feet.

 _/Solovar knows you are here!/_ Grodd roared. / _Your fate is sealed! You will die by his hand…in the arena. You…will lose. Everyone will die./_ He moved closer. Barry, no longer wanting to smell Grodd's sour breath, held his. _/What do you choose, Flash?/_

Barry sighed. Lowered his head. Resignation filled his gut. So much so that his words were heavy, falling to the floor. "Alright," he croaked. "I'll make you a deal. I'll fight Solovar in the arena, just me. But if I beat him, you let my friends go and you leave us alone for good."

Grodd gave a monstrous smile.

"No." Barry gaped at Cadence. She stepped forward, suddenly appearing better than ever, though she still leant her weight on the wall of the cell. who stepped forward. "I will!"

 _/As you wish./_

* * *

 **A/N:** So, what'd you think? Unfortunately, I had to cut out a scene with Harry, Jesse, and Cadence to be moved in the next chapter. It makes more sense there, but it also would've dragged this one down. Not to mention, I took out part of the scene with Wally and Brady, _and_ changed the one from Wally, Iris, and Joe. Harrison and Tess were originally to be there but that needed to be shifted for what's coming next.

I hope you all enjoyed it. There's plenty more coming in the next parts that will continue to tie everything together. Also, a re-appearance of some characters I haven't shown in a bit. Also, check out my one-shot _Photographs,_ which is a deleted scene from this story, about Jesse and Cadence's relationship while living on different Earths.

 **Cheers,**

 **-Riley**

 **Review Replies**

 **Ethan:** Flashpoint: Her parents new before Flashpoint, after they don't. And she doesn't have any means to tell them by this point. She keeps it a secret from them as much as she does from Alicia. Though there it does certainly bring up the question of how much they know about metas if they 'aren't metas'. I'm just honing in on what we haven't seen in The Flash (or any Arrowverse show) in a while; people close to them not knowing their secret and having to have things be kept a secret. It's more fun, if you ask me, to see those moments.

 **DarkHelm145:** A lot more of Brady's plot for the rest of this story will come together with the main plot. I hope it's as much of a reveal to everyone as I hope it is. We're actually really close to it.

 **yummers:** As you can see, Cade's doing a bit better. Or worse, depending on how you view the situation. Lol.


	36. She Fought (3)

**36**

 _She Fought_

* * *

/ _Humans and their arrogance…/_

Grodd left Team Flash with the parting thought after declaring the fight to happen. All throughout gorilla city they could hear the gorillas' excitement to the fight that was to happen. The tension around the cell continued to increase in their holding cells.

Cadence got a good look around their holding cell in the time they'd arrived. There was only so much that could be focused on when trying her hardest not to black out. Caitlin's ice powers helped a little. She didn't feel like the walls and floor were tilting and swaying, that she was inside an industrial oven set to self-clean. But she knew it wasn't going to get better until she was off Earth-2. _Looks like we'll have to cross Africa off the list for places to visit,_ she thought, eyes roving over their holding area once more.

Looking for a way, _any_ way to get out. She'd tried using her fire powers to melt the bars on her cell and found herself unable to do so. It wasn't just Jesse's, Barry's and Cisco's powers that had been dampened beneath Grodd's manipulations. Caitlin's was a surprise. Cadence had been only seconds away from completely falling into darkness before she felt Caitlin's hand in hers, feeling the icy cold creep up her hand like a ghost's touch.

Their holding area, she figured, was underneath the arena that was going to be used for their fight. The space that looked to be windows in their cells gave them a view of the stands that slowly started to fill with waiting gorillas. The rest of their holding area connected to a sewer system; she could tell from how quickly the temperature of the air changed when Grodd or other gorillas passed in the distance. _Grodd wouldn't move too far from what he's known before,_ Cadence realized, _he'd lived in the sewers of Central City and planned the city's demise from there. Now he's planned Solovar's from in here._

The second thing she realized was how strong Grodd had become. If not how strong all the gorillas were. As far as she knew, Grodd was the only one who had the ability to damper them. They didn't have enough information of the other gorillas on Earth-2 to know what each of them could do. Super strength, telepathy, durability…if Solovar were able to be the ruler of the entire city, they at least all had those shared abilities. A leg up on the upcoming fight.

But, maybe, it had been a mistake.

/ _Humans and their arrogance…/_

Flashes of…of a broken body continued to fill her head. Bloody and bruised, lying on a quiet street. They continued to flash over and over, similar to the ones that came through her head when facing Grodd the first time. How strong had he become if his psychic illusions could reach so far?

Cadence closed her eyes, reaching up her hands to grab her goggles. A safety net in the stormy sea she'd thrown herself into. She could do it, she could stop Solovar. She knew she could. It was everyone else that needed convincing. She couldn't miss the looks that turned her way when she declared to Grodd that she'd go up against his ruler. It always had been one of her worst qualities; ruthlessness.

Barry'd been eerily silent since Cadence agreed to the fight. His grasp tightened on the bars in front of him, the bars he'd had his forehead pressed against long enough to create an indentation. Long enough for Grodd to rip Harry from Jesse's arms and force him into his own cell.

Silence stretched through their holding area.

The friction was growing too rough and no one wanted to set the spark that'd start the flame.

The only thing to break the silence was the mounting rumbles and roars from the gorillas waiting for the fight to start. Barry squeezed his eyes shut then, finally, turned to Cadence, whose eyebrows quirked upwards, clearly waiting for him to say something. She absentmindedly played with her goggles, waiting for him to speak.

"What were you thinking?" His voice came in a low croak. "How could you throw yourself In the ring with Solovar like that?"

"We need to get out of here, somehow," Cadence replied, almost flippantly.

She expected this response. It made her a bit of a hypocrite now that she thought of it. How she'd gone after Barry so much for making so many decisions without her input due to his trying to run away from his problems and fix things on his own. The source of their communication issues. Now she'd done the same thing. It was the second time. The first had been when she and Harrison had gone to see Amunet, she hadn't had the tie time to talk to Barry about it before she did it. Just like in the moment she listened to Grodd. She didn't take the chance to talk it out with the team.

If they waited any longer, Barry would've gone ahead and made the decision on his own. Maybe they were a match made in heaven—if there were such a thing. Their heroics had good intentions but were typically represented in the wrong way. Why else would they continue to fight about killing so often?

Cadence dropped her hand and folded her arms. Looked Barry in the eye. "And we weren't going to get out if you offered yourself up for the slaughter," she said honestly. "You don't have the strength to take him down. The speed, maybe, but not the strength."

Barry looked incredulous. "And you thought it was a better idea to put _yourself_ on the chopping block?"

 _Compared to who?_ Cadence thought. _A guy who doesn't' have powers, two metas who haven't used their powers much at all, and a speedster who is only just getting her legs as a speedster._ Cadence sucked her lips into her mouth and said, "Pretty much."

"Oh my god." Barry turned on his heel and planted his hands on his hips. He exhaled hard and ran his hands over his face. "You have to be kidding me."

"Which part of this sounds like a joke to you?"

"You know, I always thought the worst thing about being in jail was not having any freedom," Cisco murmured. He sat on the floor of his cell, tossing handfuls of hay to the corner. "But I was wrong. It's not being able to get away from the couple's spat that's the problem."

Barry grabbed his hair, gritted his teeth. He took in a deep breath to steady himself before saying, "You haven't even gone against Grodd by yourself before."

"That's sort of the point," Cadence pointed out. "I'm your partner, Barry. But that doesn't mean there aren't certain things I can do. We each have our own strengths, why don't we we use them when we need them? If any other speedster were to come up, I'd back you up any way I could."

"If Solovar is half as strong as Grodd is, you don't stand a chance. He could _kill_ you!" Barry's voice broke.

Cadence understood then it wasn't that he didn't support her decision, wasn't that he didn't believe in her, but that he was scared. He had an almost obsessive need to save people and to see as much justice as he could, but it was different to carry the weight of the world on your own if something went wrong than to see someone else get hurt.

"So could bees," Cadence pointed out. Caitlin made a face. "I'm allergic."

"I thought you just hated them," Cisco said.

"That, too." The only thing that could get her running faster than Barry was any sort of bug crawling on or near her. If any of the Meta-Spiders showed up once more, she'd be at the other side of the world faster than anyone could blink. She'd much rather take on a giant gorilla than even the tiniest of bugs.

"Cade," Caitlin broke in. She slumped against the wall of her own cell. She stuck as close to Cadence as she could, ready to use her powers to help her again if needed. "You really need to think about this."

"We think too much," Cadence pointed out. "That's our biggest problem, as a team." She looked around at her friends. "We keep thinking of how we have to get ahead, of how we have to come up with a plan in case this next plan fails." She gestured toward the arena. "With this happening, we need to do more than just think of a plan. The only thing that will keep us alive, right now, is stopping Solovar. And the only way to stop him, right now, is to fight him. I'm the _only one_ who is strong enough to hold him off. If I can hold him off long enough for you guys to escape, then that's all we need. Bar that, _you_ need to think of a way to get out of here."

At that, Barry whipped around and grabbed onto the bars of his cell once more. He held them as tightly as he could, gritted his teeth. He focused on the Speed Force within him. Could feel himself tap into the power. Could feel it surging through his body, from his chest to his arms, down to his wrists and hands. Up to his fingertips. Willed them to start vibrating, to tap into the frequency that'd allow him to completely tap into the true potential of the speed force and start to phase.

Nothing.

Barry shook his head. "I still can't phase through the bars," he said. He shook his head harder, squeezed his eyes tighter. We have to find a way out of here, so we can stop him."

"Sometimes you have to slow down, Barry," Cadence remarked, shaking her head.

"You keep saying that but what if we can't get out?" Jesse asked. She folded her arms, started to chew on her lower lip. She paced the perimeter of her cell, moving faster with each revolution. Nerves flittered through her eyes. "What if we're stuck here, what if—"

"—No, you can't think like that!" Barry declared. "Where there's life, there's hope."

"And if there isn't hope?" Harry asked. His voice was low, raspy. He, like Caitlin, leaned against the wall of his cell. But rather than working to find a way out of the cell, Harry continued to keep his eyes on Barry. The speedster looked up sharply.

"What's that supposed to mean?" He asked.

"It means, Allen, that at some point, hope runs out," Harry explained. "You can't live off it as an endless supply. Sometimes, you have to live off action." His eyes bore into Barry's. "There's always more than one way to handle things and letting your emotions get in the way of it isn't something that behooves a situation." He started to rub his thumb over his knuckles in a sweeping pattering. "Your desperation isn't going to be what gets us out of here so don't start believing that it will."

"What else are we going to do then?" Cisco threw his hands in the air. He laughed incredulously, "Grodd wants me to open the breach so he can attack Earth-1. Let's just think what will happen if I do it? We all stay alive…but everyone in Central City will be under the threat of becoming another Planet of the Apes." He slowly stopped laughing and ran a hand through his hair. Gathered it up into a ponytail before dropping it over his shoulders. His voice was soft as he asked, "What if I don't do it?"

Caitlin's eyebrows jerked upwards. She tilted her head to the side, watching Cisco carefully. "Are you planning to die?" She asked. "If you are, that's news to me and something that you usually want to tell your best friends."

"I don't plan to die unless you kill me," Cisco said. He smiled, but there was no humor in his voice. "This is something we have to consider. If I'm dead…" He shook his head. "Then we don't get back. Then nothing happens. They have nothing they can hold over us."

"Cisco's right," Jesse agreed. She took in a deep breath; the emblem of her suit caught the light trickling in from the holes in their cells. Quick as a flash the light faded. "if it happened, it'd change the newspaper headline in the future."

Harry's head tilted to the side. His blue eyes blinked rapidly behind his glasses. He lifted a finger in question. "Headline?"

"It's a long story," Cadence said quickly. The irony of the situation wasn't lost on her. Typically, she was the one who would say death was the answer. This time around, she was the only one who _wasn't_ claiming it as an option. It was a last resort.

"But…" Barry closed his eyes. Hated how he had to admit what else he knew under a guise of the unknown. "It'd make another one come true." He looked meaningfully at Caitlin, who looked back at him, brown eyes swimming with confusion. "The one about Killer Frost."

Caitlin's breath caught in her throat. Cadence slowly felt her internal temperature start to rise onc once more. "K-Killer Frost?" Caitlin repeated. She swallowed hard and stepped closer to Barry. "What…what's going to happen with Killer Frost?"

"There's a headline," Barry said slowly, under his breath. "One of the ones I saw…it said that Killer Frost was still at large. Something's going to happen, Caitlin. I'm sorry." He looked at her, feeling his heart break as much as hers was.

"That…that doesn't mean anything," Caitlin said. She laughed to herself, a hollow laugh that barely kept her together. Her hands shook, a terrible shiver running through her body. "For all we know, it's…it's talking about the Killer Frost of this Earth. I haven't used my powers…haven't been able to since this…" she motioned to the necklace that sat around her neck.

 _Then how was she able to use her powers over here?_ Cadence thought. She sucked in a sharp breath, seeing another flash of her broken body in her head. Solovar really was doing his best to beat her mentally before he beat her physically.

"It's why I've been able to help Cade," Caitlin continued. "I guess, because Grodd doesn't know I have powers, his dampening over my meta dampener is negating each other. It keeps Barry from using his powers but makes it so that I can use mine." Caitlin lifted her eyes to Cisco's. "If you're asking me to kill you…I can't do that."

Cisco shook his head. "I'm not _asking_ you to."

Caitlin's hands dropped from the bars on her cell, jaw dropping the same. Heard the insistence in his voice. How could he ask her… _tell_ her to do that? Caitlin took a step back. One. Then another. Then another. Shaking her head, she turned her back on her friends.

Cadence sighed. She tilted her head back, looked through the window that'd take them to the arena. She could see the stands were almost filled by that point. She lowered her chin. "Cait," she said slowly. "If you kill someone, there's no going back from that. Not for people like you. I can handle it. Not…not you…"

"Stop!" Caitlin's voice echoed along the holding cells. Even Harry looked impressed, rolling his head to look at her. She kept her back to her friends, hands clenched at her sides. They shook with a cold fury. "I'm not going to kill you, Cisco, and neither is anyone else. So, let's come up with the next best plan that doesn't involve murdering our friends."

Cadence scratched her forehead. It started to bead with sweat once more. She ran her hands over her face. Let out a deep breath, tried to steady the nerves burning through her stomach. They increased, ten-fold, the ground shaking before a dark, incriminating shadow appeared around the corner of the hallway that led to their cells. Grodd lumbered to Cadence's cell, stopping just before it.

The door swung open by itself. Grodd took a step back, allowing Cadence the space to walk through. / _It's time./_

Cadence nodded and started to follow Grodd from the cell. She caught Harry's eye. Whether it was a sudden fear of what was to happen, or it was the look on his face—his face in particular—that made her stop. Something in his face changed, melted from the hardened expression he always wore to something short of fatherly concern.

Harry reached out and grabbed her hand, pulling her to the face of his cell. His eyes searched hers. It took him a long moment to figure out what she was trying to hide from him. "You're trying to change the headline," he murmured. "You're trying to change the future."

"If Barry goes out there, he'll be killed," Cadence murmured, keeping her voice low. "If anyone but me goes out there, they'll be killed. I'm the only one that has the strength to go toe to toe with Solovar or Grodd or any of these other gorillas and stand a chance."

"Are you sure about that?" Harry's eyes searched her face. Watched the beads of sweat continue to roll down her forehead. She hastily brushed them away. "The longer you're gone from Caitlin's hold…Africa has an interesting density of humidity and temperate climates and while we're out of the jungle the humidity has already caused an unbalance of your internal temperature. Even doing a flaming fist is putting you at risk of falling in a coma."

Cadence smiled. "I can handle it. I've handled it before." Before, she didn't have a strong grasp of her powers. Before she didn't know how to handle what came to her without a strong punch and hoping for the best. This time, she had a plan. "Trust me. I'm not going to let anything happen to anyone here."

"You're playing a dangerous game, here," Harry pointed out. A small smile came to his lips. "So much like my Jesse," he said. "I can only tell her to be careful so many times before she goes and does it anyway." His face screwed up for a moment, as if something had suddenly come to him. "Like my own…" he was about to say daughter, Cadence was sure of it.

She wondered if he was seeing her as Burnout or if he was seeing her as Cadence, as his doppelganger's daughter, as his own, through the eyes of someone who had mind-melded? Wondered if he was really going to stop her if it was the only thing that'd let them get the opportunity to best Solovar, get back to Earth-1, and stop the gorilla headline and…the future headline from happening.

Harry squeezed her hand in his, a soft smile on his lips. Then, Cadence felt a hold over her. Her hand dropped from Harry's, her body went rigid. Her arms and legs moved on auto-pilot and with Grodd and another large gorilla flanking her sides, Cadence was taken away from the holding cells. She wasn't let go until she was in the middle of the arena, bombarded on all sides by the screaming and hollering of the gorillas sitting in the stands.

Cadence brought her goggles up to cover her eyes, did her best to keep from swaying. It was already getting harder to breathe. She took a deep breath and faced Solovar. Even from a quick glance, she could see he was very strong. All the muscles in his body were visible beneath his skin, covered by the thin layer of white fur that covered his skin. The spear and shield he held were made from the toughest materials he knew how to work with. They were stained with blood. He'd used them before. Used them to kill.

Probably against those that had dared to defy him. Used them as a guinea pig to prove his power over all the other gorillas. Cadence sucked in a deep breath to steady herself. Thought of those back on Earth-1, Harrison, Tess, her mom, Ryder, the Wests, Brady…her son…she had to get back to her son. No matter what, he was always her goal to get back to.

But she wouldn't let her friends down, wouldn't let her failure keep them trapped on an Earth where they would, no doubt, be the next ones to throw themselves to the slaughter to stop Solovar to stop the future.

"Fire meta versus super gorilla," Cisco murmured from where he and the rest of the team pressed themselves against the concrete walls of their cells. Hoping for a better look into the fight that was about to happen. "Best worst video game ever."

Barry shook his head. Couldn't find humor in the situation. Had he been the one that was going out into the arena, he wouldn't have a problem with it. Everything would fall on his shoulders, he could handle that stress, that pressure. Had done so since he was a child. The pressure to tell the truth, to tell what the general public thought was the truth, laid on his shoulders since he was a young child. And yet, he burdened that stress and took it until he'd been able to use it as a guiding force for his life.

"Do you really think she can beat Solovar?" Caitlin asked, voice timid. Even she couldn't keep herself from watching.

"She can do it," Jesse murmured.

A horn sounded. Barry swallowed hard, watched as the gorillas in the stands started to screech even louder, thumping their fists against their chests. Harry sucked in a deep breath through his nose, rubbing his eyes. "It's starting."

Cadence clenched her hands into fists, allowed flames to ignite up her arms. She closed her eyes, taking in a deep breath when the ground slanted. _Focus, Cade, you can fight this. You have to give your friends a chance._ She opened her eyes again and stared Solovar down.

Solovar stared back at her. / _After you die, your friends will follow you into the black./_

A smirk came to Cadence's lips. No matter what. She had everyone on her side. They were going to get back to Earth-2. She could do it. "We'll just see about that," she remarked. She stood her ground as Solovar reared back and let out a roar so loud that it echoed miles away. If possible, it was to be heard on Earth-1.

He was ready to fight.

"Okay, Cade, I've got a plan…" Cisco's voice said through her Comm-Link. "Don't let him touch you. We need to figure out what his strengths are before he beats you to a bloody pulp."

Cadence made a face. "Thanks, Cisco," She said sarcastically. Solovar slowly started to lumber towards her. The ground shook with each step he took. Cadence struggled to keep herself upright amongst the tremors. It took a second for her to realize what was going to happen if he got to her. It was the same as if Barry would come to her. The more momentum Solovar built up, the more strength he had behind his hit. If she waited for the last second to move aside, there was a ninety percent chance she wouldn't make it and be sent flying.

Even if she teleported, Solovar could swing his momentum around and throw his spear to get her in a direct hit. Too fast for her to change directions. So she had no choice but to run. Cadence ran straight toward Solovar. With each step she took forward, flames licked up her arms and legs, igniting further from the increase in oxygen. When they got close to each other, Solovar ducked down and thrust his arm with the shield forward, catching her shoulder. With his momentum, he threw her aside as easily as flicking away a gum wrapper.

Cadence's feet lifted from the ground. She felt herself tumbling head over heels through the air. Far enough that she had the time to figure out which was the best way to land. _This is going to hurt,_ the thought passed through her mind. On her feet and she'd injure her ankles and knees. On her hands, she'd break her wrists. On her front or back then she had the risk of knocking herself out. Or injuring her spine. She had no choice. _I hope this works._ Cadence tucked herself into a ball and rolled across her shoulders.

She'd been hit harder than she thought. Cadence fell ground, rolled a few times then stopped. Her muscles screamed in protest. Cadence barely had the chance to recover before Solovar was on her once more, striking her across the face with a solid punch. Cadence's jaw broke; blood filled her mouth. Her head cracked against the ground. Blood bubbled over her lips. A low hum filled her ears, accompanied by a ringing. Cadence's head lolled back and forth. She took a couple of deep breaths. Worked hard to focus her eyes. Solovar was quick with his finishing move. He picked up his spear and thrusted it forward.

 _Oh God._ Cadence teleported just as the tip was seconds away from sticking her. Enough so that she felt the fabric of her suit snag against the tip. She landed on her feet across the arena, giving her ample space to come up with another plan. Cadence spat a mouthful of blood to the ground, already feeling her jaw heal. Solovar was going to have to put up a tougher fight than that to keep her down.

 _You've taken down worse than him before,_ she reminded herself. _You have to stay alive to stop the Assassination Bureau. You can do this._ She repeated the words in her head repeatedly; a cheerleading squad for herself. _You can do this. You can do this. You can do this._

"Are you okay?" Caitlin's voice came over the comm. link. She sounded breathless.

"I'm fine," Cadence replied. She shook off fatigue that cemented her feet to the ground. "This is going to be a bit harder than I thought. It's like…going against a majorly muscled speedster."

"Thanks," Barry said sarcastically.

"I get it," Jesse said. "Solovar isn't a speedster, but the speed he gets with his momentum makes him a giant wrecking ball. Anything that comes his way makes it harder to stand up against. Gorillas are already six times stronger than the average human, with the PSI's of their bite being 1,300 pounds per square inch."

"And these gorillas are sentient," Harry added. "They've got telepathic powers and all the abilities that come with it. The fact they don't rely on said powers makes them even more formidable than we originally thought."

"Okay, then we'll just have to try something else," Cisco said. "Because trying not to let him touch her isn't working. He's just going to keep coming."

Cadence flicked her arm, causing more fire to twist toward her shoulder. She ignored the darkness creeping into the edges of her vision. Waited until Solovar got close enough and bent back as she could. The back of her head dusted the ground. A bit further. She winced, feeling her recent wound, which had begun healing, start to heal. Not fast enough. Solovar raced toward her. Gathering strength from her legs, Cadence swung forward once more and, with a flaming fist, punched Solovar below the jaw in a solid uppercut. Solovar roared in surprise as his head flew back, his body arching straight up into the air.

Cadence shifted her weight to the side and tapped into the fire within her. Rapidly, she teleported back and forth around the arena. Smoke stretched and curled into the air each tiem she disappeared and re-appeared. All the while, the temperature around the arena started to increase. The combination of her teleportation and the thermal heat made the air around her start to shimmer. Heat waves wiggled in front of the spectators, squiggling and squirming as the seconds passed. Finally, from the smoke tendrils, copies of Cadence started to appear.

Heat mirages.

/ _Your silly games won't stop me./_

As the minutes passed, the arena continued to fill with heat mirages of Cadence. Over and over. Solovar thrashed about, throwing his arms and feet aside, slicing and dicing through the mirages, looking to find the original one. But Cadence continued to create one right after the other.

Sweat literally poured off the fire metahuman as she continued to move, frantically trying to store up as much energy as she could. The darkness continued to narrow her vision, turning them into pinpricks, though she always made sure to know where Solovar was. Finally, she launched herself high in the air, the speed mirages all moved with her, and threw her hands into the air. They created fireballs so large that immediately started to split and shoot toward Solovar, machine gun blasts of pure fire.

Solovar roared, trying to shield himself from the damage around him. He raised his shield, hoping to cover himself, though his large body could barely be covered. He twisted back and forth, continuing to cry out in pain. Finally, he threw off the attacks and ran forward. Ran to a clearing, knocking the heat mirages out of the way, and threw himself up into the air.

Solovar soared upwards, high, high, higher than the stands that stretched into the sky. At the crest of his jump, he threw off his shield where it dropped heavily to the ground. Grabbed his spear with both hands and turned it straight down. He fell, faster and faster before slamming down.

The impact of his connection made a dust cloud come up, immediately wiping away the rest of heat mirages. The shockwave crashed into Cadence and sent her flying into the concrete wall of the arena. She gasped in pain, feeling her back hit first, felt her upper half bend back over the wall, her bottom half holding still.

A gorilla in the stand grabbed her arm and threw her back to the ground. She landed hard, cheek scraping against the ground. Cadence groaned, placing her hand on the ground, tried to get up. She gasped, struggling to pull herself higher than the initial push-up position. Her legs wouldn't cooperate, dangling lifelessly below her

* * *

Jesse immediately knew what happened. Her hand shot up to cover her mouth, clenched into a fist. She lowered her hand and hugged her arms to herself, a comforting move. Something twisted in his stomach that she'd never felt for her her own sister, Burnout.

"Her back's broken," Harry remarked, voicing Jesse's thoughts. Jesse closed her eyes and turned away, hugging her arms tighter to herself. If only she were out there, if only she were able to help. She looked to Barry, noticing the pain swimming in his eyes. How hard was it to have to sit back and not have control over things like this? _Maybe that what it's like, to be a speedster,_ she thought. _Having to slow down in the worst situations._

"She can heal instantaneously," Caitlin reminded the others. Her lower lip trembled, watching her friend.

"It's still going to take time for her to get back up," Cisco said. He brought his thumb to his mouth, chewing the nail down to the quick. He blew out a long breath, running his hands through his hair. "It's a spinal injury we're talking about."

Barry's eyes steeled. He turned and started to scan the cell once more. If his powers were dampened, they'd have to think of something else than phasing and forcing their way through the bars to get out. "We have to find a way to get out there," Barry declared. "If…if we can't phase, we have to think of another way."

"What other way do we have?" Jesse asked. She shook her head, gestured feebly. "If we can't move fast enough to move through the bars. Grodd has a mental block on all of us. It's not like we can just slip through here undetected."

Barry slammed his fist against the concrete wall and turned away. He couldn't handle the animalistic jeering from the gorillas. Couldn't stand watching what seemed to be an endless fight. If he were out there, he may have had a chance. Could phase through him, could throw lightning, could create a magnetic field to send Solovar flying. Anything.

What were they missing?

 _"Sometimes you have to slow down, Barry,"_

 _That's it!_ Barry started to smile. Cadence always knew how to put a lot of double meaning to her words. If it managed to work this time, it didn't matter if she wasn't as smart as the others.

She was a genius.

* * *

Cadence had only regained feeling in one leg when Solovar sauntered over and grabbed her neck by his thumb and index finger. His lips pulled back into a malicious smile as he shook her back and forth, her arms and legs dangling as he did so. Cadence winced, feeling his nails puncture her neck, blood dripping to stain the ground below her.

/ _Puny human,/_ Solovar thought. He wiggled her back and forth, watching her arms and legs flail about / _Can destroy but don't know how to defend themselves./_

Cadence chuckled and started to smile. No matter how much pain she were in, no matter how much trouble, she always had to smile. Breathtaker tried to break her out of that habit, but failed. If she still managed to smile, she still had the strength to move on. "Hasn't anyone ever told you not to brag?" She whispered.

Solovar's eyes narrowed.

Cadence's eyes flickered with flames before they burst form her eyes. The flames struck Solovar direction in the middle of the forehead. He dropped her and Cadence landed to the ground in a crouch. Cadence swung her legs in a judo sweep, knocking Solovar over. He swung his shield toward her. Cadence did a no-handed cartwheel to avoid it before doing a high kick that struck him in the side of the face. Solovar fell back and Cadence took the chance to grab the spear in his hand. She heat up her hand, increasing the temperature in the metal of the spear. Solovar immediately dropped it, waving off his meaty hand.

Cadence grabbed his index with both hands and with a scream of effort, pulled Solovar as hard as she could, throwing him over her shoulder to slam him on the ground. Cadence jumped backwards and leapt up, she teleported, did a graceful flip, and wit jet propulsion from her feet, slammed directly into Solovar's stomach.

He fell limp.

Gasping for air, Cadence rolled off Solovar and stood up, glancing around the arena. The crowd went wild, leaping up and down, slamming their fists. Grodd, who sat in a throne nearby, narrowed his eyes toward her. Cadence glanced at Grodd before taking a few steps back, speaking directly to the audience. She had something she needed to say.

"I won't kill him," Cadence declared. In their cells, her friends watched silently. Her words surprised them. "It's not the way to end this. You think we want war with gorilla kind…we don't." She took a deep breath, faced Grodd head-on. He continued to glare. She glared back at him, held a note of pride as she said the words that cemented her own destiny. "We're _not_ all murderers and killers. We just want peace. Which is why I'm not going to kill Solovar today." She stepped back from Solovar, even further away from Grodd. "It's what we call mercy."

It was one of the first times, in a long time, she'd exhibited it. And it wouldn't be the last.

Grodd growled. His lips trembled over his yellow teeth. He leaned toward her, tightening his grasp around the arms of the concrete throne, cracking them.

/ _Take her out./_ Grodd declared.

* * *

Barry's head whipped upwards when he heard the declaration. Heard it clear as a bell in his head. "Grodd," he growled. "What are you doing?" He and the rest of Team Flash stood stock still, waiting for Grodd's response that came quickly.

/ _Solovar means nothing now_./ Grodd replied. / _I told you, I needed you. I could not defeat Solovar in combat. Even if he manages to win, my bretheren have seen the battle. I will be the ruler of gorilla city and all the gorillas will follow me_./

The truth fell over the team like cold water. Caitlin was the first one to regain her composure. The first one ot figure it out. "Solovar never wanted to attack central city," She gasped. " _You_ did."

/ _You took my home away from me and now I'll take it back_ ,/ Grodd growled. / _They saw what you can do, and now they're afraid of humans and what they'll do anything I order and I will order them to invade your Earth and your city will burn./_

"You played us this whole time," Cisco growled.

/ _Yes, father taught me well, always think ahead. And I've had plenty of time to think in cages buit by you and Solovar_./

"Then why not kill us?" Barry demanded.

The answer was short, sweet, and to the point. / _Still need you./_

Barry shook his head. His upper lip curled, trembled with fury. He'd had his niceness, his positivity taken advantage of one too many times. He wasn't going to let it happen again. Not when he had the chance to keep everyone safe, even if it meant making the hardest decisions. "I'm not doing anything for you." If he died on Earth-2, then so be it. He'd saved enough people.

/ _Not you, Flash. The braecher_./

"Me?" Cisco practically squeaked. "I mean, I don't know about that. My powers…they're useful but also sort of…they don't always work so well—"

/ _You will open a breach to first earth, my army will cross that breach and all humans in Central City will burn./_

Barry shook his head. He turned his attention back to the arena, watched as the battle continued to rage on. He wasn't sure how much more he could take, if he were honest. "You're smart, Grodd," Barry remarked. Almost pleaded. His hands shook around the bars of the cell. "Smarter than all of us. Smart enough to know you can not do this. Intelligence and violence are opposites of each other. What you want to do is not logical. Not for someone as wise as you are."

/ _You forget, Flash, I am an animal, I am a gorilla. Kill or be killed!/_

"I'm going to get out of this cell and I'm going to stop you," Barry declared.

/No, you won't. You will die./

* * *

Solovar's eyes shot open. A lot happened at once. First, he sent out a psionic blast that had Cadence falling to her knees, clasping her hands over her ears. Then, he was back on his feet, punching toward her with his fist and shield. Cadence threw up her hands, exerting the last of her energy.

The battle between the two raged on for almost an hour. Fatigue started to set in. Cadence felt the lats of her energy continue to drain away as she fought to defend herself. Slowly, flames encompassed her entire body until she was covered head to toe. She threw up her hands, catching Solovar's before it could pound her into the ground. She screamed in pain and exertion, her feet skidding out beneath her, buckling under Solovar's power.

She fell to her knee. Threw Solovar's hands above his head. At the same time, the two reared back and threw the hardest punch they could to each other. Their fists connected, a boom of energy that forced them apart. The force of the explosion sent them spinning backwards. Cadence followed the momentum, using it to come back around for another punch.

Ready to take it straight to the middle of his face. Just as her knuckles were about to reach him, she came to an abrupt stop.

"Gah!" Cadence gasped.

Her eyes widened.

She coughed.

Solovar stood before her, arms extended.

Blood spurted over Cadence's lips. She looked down, watching the tip of Solovar's spear bob in his grasp, sticking out her stomach. Then, she lifted her eyes to Solovar, who continued to stand in front of her, chest heaving with his breaths. Cadence coughed again. Blood dripped from her mouth to the ground.

Cadence wrapped her hands around the handle of the spear, locked eyes with Solovar. "You should see the look on your face," she gurgled.

Her lips curled into a smirk. With an extra boost of flame, the spear in her hands melted, dripping to the ground. She flicked her hands creating a long fire whip in her hand. She threw it, wrapping it around Solovar's neck, the fire burning straight into his flesh.

Solovar roared, showing all his teeth. Cadence created two more fire whips she threw and wrapped around Solovar's arms. Leaning back, she pulled as hard as she could, leaving Solovar immobile. Cadence dug her heels into the dirt, creating small grooves that deepened the more Solovar thrashed against them.

Lightning streaked through the arena. It ran in multiple circles of the arena before coming straight into Solovar, striking it hard in the chest. Cadence immediately let go of the fire whips, allowing Solovar to drop back to the ground, falling limp. This time, knocked out. She gasped, arms dropping to her sides like a stone.

The ball of lightning stopped behind her. Cadence looked up to see Jay standing in front of her, the sun and Grodd's glare reflecting off the tin of his helmet. "Looks like I made it just in time," he remarked, bundling her into his arms. "Remind me to teach Barry how to do it."

Cadence started to answer, found herself unable. No strength left for such simple words. She held onto Jay as he raced away from the arena and back to the holding cells. He stopped short, seeing Barry and Jesse both lying quietly, lifelessly on the ground.

There was a roar, louder, angrier than Solovar's. It didn't take more than a few seconds for Grodd to appear down in the cells. Jay backed into the darkness, still holding Cadence close to his chest. He motioned for her to be quiet. She nodded, trying her hardest to keep form making her sucking gasps, working to catch her breath, waiting for the wound in her stomach to heal.

Caitlin pleaded to Grodd, kneeling on the floor of her cell. She wept quietly, tears frozen to her cheeks. They sparkled and glittered under the sunlight. She shook her head, lifted her gaze to Grodd before looking over Barry and Jesse. "I don't know what happened," She whimpered. "They just…they just started coughing. They fell, they…something happened. All the trauma must've made them go into shock."

Grodd growled. He reached into Jesse's cell, pressed a giant finger to her neck. No pulse. Then he moved to Barry, who appeared blue and did the same. "Cold," Grodd murmured. The door to their cells opened by themselves. Grodd reached in and gathered the speedsters by their feet and dragged them from their cells.

Cadence watched Jesse's and Barry's arms slide above their heads as they were pulled across the floor before their bodies were haphazardly tossed aside. "They were of no use to me anyway," Grodd murmured, lumbering away.

"No," she Cadence whispered, watching them lie softly. Then, to her amazement, Barry sucked in a sharp breath, vibrating rapidly. The color rose to his face. He sucked in sharp gasps of air. Jesse, on the other hand, opened her eyes and flipped to her feet rapidly. She brought a hand to her chest, eyes growing wide.

"Whoa," she cried. "What a rush." She looked to Barry. "Are you okay?" She asked.

"I didn't free you too much, did I?" Caitlin asked.

"No." Barry stumbled forward. He grabbed onto the lever that controlled the doors to the cells and leaned heavily against it. "Just enough." He nodded to Jesse. "Help…help me open this." Jesse nodded and moved to his side, throwing her weight against the lever.

Slowly, but surely, the gate opened.

Jay carefully placed Cadence on the ground and held her arm, holding her up as her strength returned. "You look like you could use some help," he remarked, turning all eyes to him.

Cisco's jaw dropped, and he pointed to Jay. His eyebrows came together as he tilted his head. "What the hell? When'd you get here?"

"Better question," Harry declared. " _How_ did you know we were here?"

Jay shot a smile his way. "A friend came by and told me what was going on." He looked to Barry and nodded. Barry nodded back but looked more confused than ever before. Amazed and grateful for Jay's appearance but confused. "Said that you could use my help."

Barry's eyebrows furrowed. Something about Jay's words were calming but…there was something he equally wasn't sure of. With Jay's help, the three opened the cell doors. Once the doors were opened, Caitlin and Cisco rushed out, immediately heading towards the stairs that'd make it to their escape. Jesse moved around Jay and grabbed onto Cadence, framing her face in his hands.

"Are you okay?" She asked her other Earthly sister. Cadence held her just as tightly.

"I should be asking you that,' Cadence shot back. She looked at where Jesse had just been lying so still, so quietly, so…she looked dead. "What happened?"

"I stopped my heart," Jesse explained. "Well, I made it look like my heart stopped. I made it move fast enough that it slowed down." She frowned, feeling a tingling sensation under her fingers. Brought her hands back and noticed Cadence standing up straight. As if shed suddenly, completely, regained her strength.

"Let's get the hell out of here," Cisco cried.

Barry, Jesse, and Jay grabbed their friends and raced them form the holding area, not stopping until they made it back to the humid woods. "We should be far enough out for you to use your powers," Barry said to Cisco, gasping for air once he skidded to a stop. "We gotta go before they realize we're gone."

The group all winced at the sound of a loud roar accompanied by the sound of thumping footsteps. Grodd was already coming after them. Caitlin grasped Cisco's arm, looked at him with wide, pleading eyes. "Open a breach!"

Cisco nodded and thrust out his fist, creating a swirling vortex in front of them. "Time to warp out of this mad house." Harry and Jay were the first ones through the breach. Caitlin, Jesse, and Cadence were the next ones to go through.

Barry and Cisco were last. Looking over their shoulders as they watched Grodd come closer and closer. They leapt through the breach, the swirling vortex growing smaller and smaller as the seconds passed. Grodd pulled closer and closer, racing as fast as he could.

The vortex blinked out, but not before Grodd leapt through.

* * *

 **A/N:** So, what did you think of this one? I had a lot of fun with it. I'm equally excited for you all to see everything work out together with the next chapter as well. What did you think of the arrival of Jay? How do you think he knew how to get there?

 **Cheers,**

 **-Riley**

 **Review Replies**

 **Ethan:** Well, it was also hinted from Julian/Alchemy's speaking to Savitar before that something was going to happen when he mentioned that Barry and the others were going to Gorilla City just like Savitar needed him to.

 **DarkHelm145:** That was done on purpose, of course. Just to add in a bit of mystery before it's revealed.

 **Guest:** I hope it lives up to your expectations.


	37. He Worried (4)

**37**

 _He Worried  
_

* * *

The relief Barry felt when he skidded to a stop in downtown Central City was brief. Seeing the familiar cities, reveling in that feeling of being _home_ was torn apart the second he heard a loud roar behind him. His blood ran cold. Barry whipped around to see Grodd launch himself through the breach. He landed on the ground hard enough that it rattled the window panes of the buildings around them.

"What the hell?" Cisco breathed. "How'd he get through?"

"I don't think that's the part we need to worry about right now, Cisco," Caitlin cried. She held his arm tightly, the two backing away. They took each step tentatively, afraid to move too quick or Grodd would come after them first. "What are we going to do?"

Barry sucked in a sharp breath. Grodd's chest heaved. He lowered himself to his fists and started to walk towards the group, moving faster as the seconds passed. In only a few moments, he would be lumbering toward them. An unstoppable force that'd bowl them over in seconds. Knocking them around line pinballs in a machine. They had to move fast.

"Jay, get them out of here," Barry said quickly. His mind raced with a game plan. The sooner he could get Harry, Cisco, and Caitlin away from Grodd and back to STAR Labs, the better. Speedster's minds moved too fast for Grodd to get into it and control them and Cisco's and Caitlin's powers were too helpful for Grodd. He wasn't quite sure how far of a reach Grodd had with his powers. As long as they had the equipment from STAR Labs, they could give themselves a sort of barrier to keep from being taken controlled. "We'll take on Grodd, slow him down a little.

Jay nodded, carefully lowering Cadence to the ground. She nodded her thanks to him before he disappeared in a flash of light, whisking Cisco, Caitlin, and Harry along with him after a few passes. The others immediately turned to Grodd. Within a few seconds, he was on them.

Barry and Jesse zipped aside and around Grodd, coming up on his back. Grodd tried to stop himself and turn around but was cut off by a strong punch to the side of his face courtesy of Cadence, who used the punch to place herself solidly on the ground.

"Barry, I've never been so glad to see you," Iris's voice said over his Comm. Link.

Barry pressed a finger to the lightning bolt in his ear. He focused on Iris's voice, realizing quickly that while she said she was glad to see him, her words didn't sound very excited or relieved. No, she sounded nervous. Worried. "What's going on?" He asked.

"Other than Grodd being back here in Central City?" Iris asked, sounding more than stressed. "Brady and Wally went to stop a bank robbery. But something's gone wrong. Brady's stopped moving."

Cadence's head immediately whipped up. Jesse glanced at her, she looked to Grodd as he slowly and angrily brought himself back to his feet from where he landed after Cadence's punch. "What happened?" She asked. Jesse hadn't spent much time with Brady since spending a lot of her time on Earth-1, typically she was with Wally. But knowing he was her nephew on her Earth, she certainly felt something for him.

"I don't know," Iris said. "He kind of froze."

"I'm getting a strange reading," Caitlin's voice broke in. "I don't see anything there, but there's a _very_ strong energy manifestation we're tracking. We can't see the source, but something's there."

Cadence's hand immediately clenched into a fist. "It's Breathtaker," she remarked. She hardly got the words out of her mouth before she was suddenly struck by a swirling vortex. A cry of surprise escaped her lips as she whipped aside, crashing into a parked car beside her. She flipped around, looking up in time to see Stratos appearing before her, wind tugging at his clothes.

"I hope I'm not interrupting anything," Stratos said with a low chuckle. "But this isn't anything that can wait any longer. I hope you understand."

Cadence flipped back to her feet and tackled Stratos, wrapping her arms around his midsection, teleporting the two away. Barry closed his eyes and turned away. First Grodd and then the Assassination Bureau. What else could go wrong?

"Flash!"

Barry looked to Jesse, who called his name. She looked at him, waiting for the go-ahead to start attacking, simultaneously warning him danger was heading their way. Grodd was already lumbering back toward him. His nostrils flared.

/ _You haven't won yet, Flash._ / Grodd growled. / _Gorilla kind will come to take its revenge._ /

"Not while I'm around," Barry replied. He took off with Jesse right behind him, running at full tilt toward the sentient gorilla.

Grodd lifted his fists and slammed them to the ground. The resulting shockwave broke the glass of the windows around them. Barry and Jesse weaved back and forth across the street, working to keep from getting caught by the shards of glass falling around them. Grodd then followed it up with a stop of his feet. _That_ shockwave caught Barry and Jesse off-guard. It was obvious within running that it was important for the feet to touch the ground. To ensure sprinters were able to move as quickly as possible, they never planted their feet firmly to the ground, they used the balls of their feet to continue the explosion of power that sent them forward.

Due to that, Jesse and Barry—any speedster really, were at a disadvantage to anything that'd take their feet out from under them. So much so that the rolling of the ground tripped up the speedsters, sending them head over heels, bowling towards Grodd. Grodd smirked and grabbed Jesse by the legs. He lifted her high in the air and threw her back to the ground. Then he turned to do the same to Barry, his arms dangling overhead like a rag doll.

Lightning burst onto the scene as Jay raced by. He threw lightning into Grodd's face, making the monstrous gorilla wince away, dropping Barry. Barry fell to the ground, but Jay caught him by the shoulder, raced to Jesse to grab her, then raced back across Central City to STAR Labs.

/ _Not finished yet./_ Grodd stared after them. / _More where that came from._ /

* * *

Cadence used her fists to hold Stratos against the side of the concrete wall. She repeatedly punched him in the stomach and across the face. Stratos took each punch, deflected it by turning his head each time she came toward him. Cadence continued to wail against him. She couldn't use her powers, not yet. Not when she knew that either of them would be at a great advantage and disadvantage.

It was probably why Stratos was always the one tasked with attacking her. He'd recruited her easily enough into the Assassination Bureau. He wouldn't be the one to stop until he took her out for good.

Finally, Stratos conjured a gust of wind that caught Cadence in the stomach, propelling her off him. She crashed into the wall behind her. Landing in a crouch. Stratos rushed towards her. His feet barely touched the ground, keeping himself in a slight hover as he moved across the ground toward her. Cadence saw him coming and moved quickly,

She placed her hands on his shoulders and leap-frogged over his head. She charged to the alley wall across from her, sensing Stratos turn around behind her. She continued to run straight toward it, planted her foot on the wall, and started to run up it. She flipped herself over and kicked Stratos int eh back, sending him face first into the wall. Stratos turned back to the fire metahuman, glaring.

Blood ran down his nose, stretching around his mouth to drip off his chin. With a hiss, he spat a mouthful of blood to the ground. He charged back toward Cadence seconds before getting a fire whip wrapped around his neck. Not one that'd kill him, the flames weren't very hot; enough to make him sweat, but not nearly enough to burn him. Warm. A warning.

Stratos brought his hands up to the whip, trying to wedge his fingers beneath it and pry it off his neck. Retaliated by teleporting to the top of the nearby fire escape, dragging Stratos along with her. She pulled harder and harder on the end of the fire whip, watching Stratos's face slowly turn red as the seconds passed. His gurgling increased, fingers feebly trying to release the pressure from his neck. Cadence watched him for another minute then let go.

Stratos dropped heavily to the ground, sucking in lungfulls of air. Cadence teleported down to him, pressing her foot to his side and pushed him into his back. Stratos glared up at her. He moved to attack with his hands, but Cadence stepped on his wrist, grinding it to the ground. Even without his hands, there were ways he could use his powers. Spinning his legs, Stratos created an updraft that made his legs lift and snap him upwards.

The sudden movement knocked Cadence off. Stratos hovered on a wind draft below him, gently bringing him back to his feet. Fire flickered through Cadence's eyes. She flung her hands aside, flames appearing up her arms. She may not have killed Solovar, but it didn't mean she wasn't going to kill Stratos before he got the chance to get to her.

Something was off.

He was making things too easy for her.

They'd fought many times over the years. Breathtaker had forced them to fight each other to near death when she first joined the Assassination Bureau. She still remembered the ease of which he'd managed to rip the air from her lungs with only a 'come here' motion of his index finger. Other things he could do without moving a body part. She'd certainly grown stronger over the past couple of years, but to the point where things were _that_ easy? Definitely not.

Their last battle had been even more difficult. And that was just as a means to show they could get to her whenever they wanted.

 _Shards of glass flew across the office, sticking into chairs and the wall, the wind flattening the innocent civilians to the ground. With another pump of wind, Cadence was knocked through the open hole in the window. She rolled across the floor, crashing into office chairs and desks as she went before finally crashing into the wall behind her. She glared, flipping her hair out of her face when Stratos, with a jet stream, let himself into the whole he created. He stood above Cadence, folding his arms and studied her._

 _It had been a hard-fought battle, lasting for almost an hour with strong, critical blows striking each other at the most opportune moments. Stratos's left eye was swollen shut and bruising marred his face. Cadence was as worse for the wear, blood trickled down the side of her head and out the corner of her mouth, her goggles had been hit so hard into her face it cut into the skin, threatening to reach bone. She struggled to get back to her knees, failing before collapsing every few seconds._

 _With a tilt of his head, Stratos's blue eyes flashed dangerously. "Are you ready to listen to what we have to say?"_

 _"Why bother?" Cadence managed to rasp out, voice as weak as her. Her accelerated healing should've kicked in by that point, but there was too much damage. It'd take longer for her to heal all her injuries. It was enough that she was using her energy to keep up her blitz of attacks against Stratos. The two gasped for air, trying to keep themselves upright. Even from where Cadence sat, she could see Stratos struggling to keep his eyes open, focused. This was going to end, and it was going to end soon. "Whether or not I'm with you or against you, you're going to lose." She grinned, the blood that filled in the spaces between her teeth made her smile ghastly. "You're not going to kill me."_

 _"I won't?" Stratos replied. He lifted his hand, air swirling around his hand. It was hard to see, but the shimmering of the area around his hand gave it away; he'd created an air whip. He brought his arm back, the air whip following his movement, and shot it forward. The air whip sliced through the air and crashed into Cadence's side, ripping open her suit and skin at the same time. Blood dripped down to her legs, despite the pain, Cadence refused to cry out._

 _Stratos listed his gaze towards her face, taking in the scar on her cheek and lifted his hand. A quiet warning. 'I missed, but I won't miss this time'._

 _"You need me," Cadence said. Shakily, she got to her feet, falling to her knees once. Bracing her back against the wall, she managed to keep herself upright. She took in a deep breath and looked Stratos in the eye. "Or else you wouldn't be coming after me so much."_

 _Stratos slowly grinned back. The wind picked up around him, tugging at his clothes and hair, making papers fly through the air and out the window. The civilians caught in the unfortunate crossfire of good vs. evil quickly and quietly made their way out of the office as the two challenged each other._

 _"We'll see about that," he promised._

 _With that, he brought up his arms and the wind blew harder. Cadence's eyes turned orange and she pushed herself off the wall, flames appearing on her arms. They started as small flickered before becoming a brilliant blaze of glory, aided by the wind Stratos created. The two launched towards each other at the same time, colliding in a brilliant ball of fire._

 _Thwoom._

 _The noise was low but deafening. Simultaneously, oxygen was given to and taken away from Cadence's flames, causing a backdraft that immediately engulfed the floor of the building. Brown smoke billowed between the two, creating a shield of darkness that covered them and the entire floor before falling out into the street below. The explosion of the backdraft between them combined with the sudden implosion of heat knocked the two off their feet, sending them straight up into the ceiling before being buffeted on all sides to fly across the room. Fire rained down onto the street below, making those on the sidewalk cover their heads and scurry away as quickly as possible._

 _Those that couldn't move fast enough were scorched, cars starting to melt, their windows blowing out. Inside the office, Cadence and Stratos lay quietly on the ground, thick clouds of smoke hanging overhead. Melted computers smoldered on the table tops, threatening to start smaller fires, the carpet holding smaller flames. An alarm went off, blaring loudly to warn the other floors of the building of the impending emergency. It wouldn't take long before the smoke alarms started to go off, setting off the sprinklers._

 _Throughout the chaos, Cadence and Stratos lay unconscious on the office floor, smoke continuing to billow around them. Creating a darkness that enveloped them long before they'd known it, ever since they had first been contacted by Breathtaker. A darkness that wouldn't go away until the day Breathtaker was dead._

So what was it this time?

The answer came to her in a few seconds.

He still needed her in some way or else he would've killed her had he had the chance. They still needed her somehow, someway and the worry about when it was going to happen was really starting to grate on her nerves. Breathtaker was good at being mysterious, but all mysteries had a motive and all motives were eventually found out.

But the timing was too convenient. The moment they'd left, Breathtaker attacked Brady, the moment they came back, Stratos attacked her. If it weren't for Grodd and Soloar working on their own merits, Cadence would've started to wonder if there was a conspiracy of _all_ of them working together. Though, at that point, it was obvious Savitar and Breathtaker certainly were.

The moment they'd figured it out, it made a lot of things make sense, despite how many questions that remained. What was the point of the Philosopher's Stone and who was Savitar to them? To have such a vendetta against Barry's life that he wanted to take down some of the most important people in his life.

"You've been spending too much time with the Flash," Stratos remarked. "You used to be a killing machine, now you give too much mercy."

Cadence shook her head. "Mercy isn't for the weak. Showing mercy is one of the strongest things you can do."

"But you're not merciful." Startos shook his head. He sucked in a breath that bubbled in his throat. Blood continued to roll down his chin when he spoke. "You never have been or else we wouldn't have found you. Or else Breathtaker wouldn't have made you one of his disciples."

Cadence snorted. Interesting use of words considering how she, Caitlin, and Iris likened those that worked to Breathtaker like the horses of the apocalypse. Almost like a cult. Brainwashed into believing what they were doing was to purify society of those that were too far gone to be saved.

"People change," Cadence said.

"Sometimes it's too late for change," Stratos said. "For people like us, there's not much that can be redeemed."

Cadence threw fire balls towards Stratos. The fight was on once more. Around and around they went, punching, kicking, and throwing each other into the walls around them as they went. And yet, through both of their attacks, Cadence could still feel Stratos holding himself back.

Frustration mounted through her. Cadence knew they were being watched, seeing how things were going. If Breathtaker wasn't watching them, then either Mindboggler or White Hot was. Testing him, testing her. Wondering what was going to be her breaking point.

Having no answers was slowly getting her there. With Breathtaker attacking Brady, it unleashed the sole thought she refused to let herself entertain. Refused to let herself think without a shock of horror running through and paralyzing her with fear.

Stratos seemed to understand the look on her face. He laughed and sent a blast of air into her so hard it pinned her to the wall behind her. It firmly pressed against her chest and stomach, knocking her back further and further into the brick behind her. She could feel the brick slowly starting to crumble beneath the pressure.

The flames that lined her arms were snuffed out, the harder Stratos pushed.

"Poor Cadey," Stratos commented. He tsk'd, shaking his head. His blue eyes shone with mirth. "Don't you get it now? After all this time?" Stratos stepped forward, put his face close to hers. His voice came in a malicious hiss, punctuating each word so he knew she understood and carried the weight of each of them. "You're not the one we want. But you're the one that can get us closer to our goal."

He punched her solidly in the stomach before conjuring a twister that took him out of sight.

* * *

A scream tore from deep within Brady's being to echo through Central City's streets. His brain twisted and turned, taking in all the memories that had been suppressed and taken away from him. The pain was so severe he understood why anyone would want to kill themselves under duress of intense pain. He brought his hands up to his head and continued to scream.

Wally, unsure of what to do, started to run. He ran in circles around Brady before blindly throwing the lightning bolt he conjured. Breathtaker simply lifted a hand and deflected the lightning bolt, sending it back into Wally's chest. Wally flew to the ground, legs flying up over his head.

"There will be time for you," Breathtaker said to Wally. "But today is not your day." He moved his hand from Brady's forehead to cup his chin, forcing him to look upward.

Brady stared into Breathtaker's face, his real face. Beforehand, he knew Breathtaker to be nothing but a figure. A shadowy monster that may as well crawl out from beneath his bed, hide in his closet, terrorize him when he least expected it from the way his mother spoke about him.

His mother's own Boogeyman that continued to haunt her when she least expected it. Where the darkness and fear gave him more power the longer it went on.

No, that's not how Breathtaker appeared. Breathtaker was small. Probably no more than four-foot-three. Maybe less. A dwarf by anyone's guess. That wasn't the most striking thing about him than the pale skin on him. Paler than pale, sheer white. No, Brady realized with horror.

That was the bones of the skeleton wrapped around the human form inside. The human form was what was tiny, white. Pink eyes that glowed beneath the exo-skeleton that created the human-like form beneath the hood of his cloak. Brady didn't recognize the person below at all, not that he'd lived long enough to know the faces of everyone that wanted to destroy his mother and his friends. This man, this entity wanted to start the civilization of the world over again, taking down those that didn't understand the value metahumans gave to the world.

"It's your day, my child," Breathtaker murmured to Brady. "I had to wait until it was the right time for you. Savitar has shown me the way, has shown me the truth." He tightened his grasp around Brady's chin, the pointed ends of his skeleton fingers digging into Brady's skin. "There is much you are capable of."

A cry of effort sounded out before Breathtaker was suddenly flung away from Brady. Brady fell to his knees pressing his fingertips against his forehead. He felt a hand grab his shoulder, drawing him away.

"Are you okay?" Leah asked.

Brady gaped up at her, unable to respond. His eyes questioned hers. She laughed back at him. "How many times and I going to have to save your butt before you realize you need me around?"

"Last time, I promise," Brady replied. He stood up, leaning against Leah to ensure he didn't fall over. "What about Wally?"

"Wally can take care of himself," Leah reminded him. She nodded toward Breathtaker, who was starting to get back up. "What about this guy."

"That's Breathtaker."

If Leah were surprised, she didn't let it show. Her disgust and fear consumed any other emotion that could've been shown. This was the meta that had survived thousands of years, that had managed to give powers and enhance abilities much like the Philosopher's Stone. And she'd thrown him like he was a rag doll. Chances were he wasn't going to take it lightly.

Wally seemed to have the same idea, for he raced in front of Brady and Leah, holding his arms out so that he provided a bit of coverage for them. "Alright, so it looks like you don't like my lightning tricks," he remarked. "But don't worry, I have more up my sleeve where that came from."

With that, he started to run again. Breathtaker made a disgruntled face seconds before he was faced with a vortex. Again, Leah used her gravitational manipulation powers to throw Breathtaker into the vortex Wally created. Breathtaker was thrown clear of the group, sailing over the buildings of the city.

Wally's eyes were wide behind his mask.

"How'd you do that?" Brady asked. He'd never even seen Barry do something like that before. It was one thing to create a tornado while running, a vortex that extended straight up into the air. Wally's was different. His was a horizontal vortex, almost like a vacuum that'd take on anyone and spit them as far away as it'd showed with Breathtaker.

"I have no idea," Wally replied. He cleared his throat, turning back to Brady. "But we don't have the time to worry about it." He grabbed them and raced them to STAR Labs.

* * *

Team Flash sat soberly around the Cortex.

No one dare spoke for what was to be said. For what had to be addressed. If they said it out loud, it'd turn out to be real. Much realer than any of them wanted.

Barry paced the floor of the Speed Lab. His breathing was almost like dragon's breath. If he had fire powers, he was sure smoke would be pouring form his ears. It wasn't fair. They'd gotten back from Gorilla City, gotten to where they should've been safe, only for the joke to be on him. What a cruel joke it was.

How funny that they'd never thought what would happen if Grodd ever managed to follow them back to Earth-1. They didn't think that far ahead, but Grodd obviously had. He'd said it himself. Always stay one step ahead of your opponent. Breathtaker was certainly the same way. He'd waited until Central City was lost of most of its heroes to strike, to make his plans known.

He wanted Brady, not Cadence.

All the years that he'd used Cadence as a ploy in his plans was simply for him to wait for Brady to be the point in his abilities that Breathtaker could use him. They'd sped up that process by leaving. It was all to save Harry, that the point of doing it, that was something Barry would never change. And yet, he wondered if things would've been different had he thought of it better. Though of what could be another means to go about saving Harry. If _he_ had been the only one who'd gone to save Harry himself. What would've been different?

He wouldn't have killed Solovar, that would've stayed the same. But he probably wouldn't have thought of a way to be released from his holding cell. Grodd would've come to get him, he would've tried to run, and Grodd would've gotten him and torn him limb from limb. But, at least, his friends wouldn't have put themselves into the line of fire. He should've expected that Wally wouldn't have been able to handle thing son his own, even with Brady there to help.

"Barry."

Jay's voice behind him made Barry unleash everything he'd been holding. "You shouldn't have taken me out like that!" He declared. He whipped around to face Jay, glaring as hard as he could muster with the fighting energy leaving him. "You shouldn't have taken me and Jesse away!"

"Barry, it wasn't safe," Jay said firmly. He didn't care much for beating around the bush of conversation, or for anyone throwing what amounted to a tantrum. "I couldn't leave you there, knowing what was possibly going to happen."

"What was _possibly_ going to happen?" Barry repeated. "You were the one who told me the future isn't certain, Jay!" He snapped. "That I shouldn't fear it because it's one of many possibilities that could happen."

Jay lifted his chin, looking Barry in the eye. "I did say that," he admitted. "And I still stand by it. But, as the leader of this team, you need to know when the best time is to fall back and come up with a new plan."

"We just have to be one step ahead of everyone else, right?" Barry slapped his hands to his sides. "Apparently, that's not working for us. No matter how far ahead we think we are, someone else is two steps further. We can't wait."

"I'm not saying you have to," Jay said firmly. "I'm saying there's more options to go through than to run straight forward with the first one you come with. Always being one step ahead of your opponent is a dangerous way of thinking if you don't know what they're coming with, in the first place." He took off his helmet, holding it against his chest. He took a deep breath and looked Barry in the eye. "Grodd is always going to be one step ahead of you because of his abilities to read your mind. The question is how are you going to use it to your advantage?"

Barry didn't respond to him, instead, he turned to his team and asked, "Did you find him yet?"

"No," Cisco snapped. His arms were folded tightly over his chest. A glare settled in his face as she shot over his shoulder to Barry, "Not since you asked thirty seconds ago."

"He's a giant gorilla, how can you not fnd him?" Barry snapped back. Caitlin turned in her seat and turned a harsh stare to him. Barry had the grace to lower his head, ashamed. He didn't mean to snap at Cisco like that, but there was only so much composure he could hold onto when so much was sliding through his grasp.

"He probably found a way to scramble our satellites," Cisco explained. He took a deep breath, running his hands through his hair. "We're talking about a genius super ape here."

"And a master strategist who successfully fooled me on my Earth," Harry said bitterly. He glared over at HR, who chuckled to himself and tapped a drumstick to his temple. "And it's hard for us Wells to be bested, isn't that right?" HR's smile was frozen on his face as Harry simply continued to glare at him.

Barry shook his head. "We have to find him before he hurts someone else," he remarked. There were already calls of injuries being sent in to Central City General Hospital. He couldn't stand the thought of how quickly Grodd was causing trouble on their Earth when he'd only just come over.

"Don't worry, Barry." Iris placed a reassuring hand on his shoulder, gently rubbing it. "We will. We'll come up with something to take him down."

"What about Savitar?" Brady spoke up. In a measure of acting a little less mature than he typically did, Brady sat on his mother's lap, tightly holding onto her arms as they wrapped around his stomach. "Savitar's from the future, he knows what's going to happen. Maybe he knows something's going to happen here." His voice lowered to a mumble, eyes growing haunted. "Maybe that's why Breathtaker was…" he trailed off, swallowing hard.

Barry noticed Cadence's grasp tighten around her son. He lowered his head, unable to look Jay in the eye. Knowing the older speedster was right. There were too many things that could happen that none of them, no matter how much of the future they knew, wouldn't be able to see coming.

"Every time I think we've beat him he comes back smarter, stronger, more dangerous," Barry murmured. "He's evolving." He shook his head. "I keep trying to fight him the same way."

'So we have to come up with a different way to beat him," Wally pointed out. "We have a ton of smart people here, it's can't be hard to figure things out." He motioned to Barry. "You stopped Grodd once before." He motioned to Cadence. "She stopped Solovar. If you can do that, then you can stop whatever it is Grodd is throwing our way."

"Like…" Caitlin thought for a moment, tapping her fingers against her chin. She sucked in a deep breath, painfully closing her eyes. "You've seen the future," she said. Barry turned away in disgust for the way he'd told her about Killer Frost. He had no choice but to do it. Maybe, he thought, as a way to reassure himself so that if anything was going to happen they'd know it ahead of time and could stop it cold. Caitlin hadn't used her powers or had any trouble with it since Cisco had given her the dampener necklace. He didn't think she was going to be taking it off any time soon. "You know where and when what's going to happen is going to happen with me, Iris, and Cade. What if we saw where this gorilla attack happens and stop it before it starts?"

Harry clapped and pointed to Caitlin, what was close to a smile coming to his face. "Brilliant idea, Snow. And, fortunately, we have someone who can see future events." He turned to Cisco, placing a hand on his shoulder. Almost holding him still as if afraid he was going to run away.

Nerves shot through Cisco's stomach. He tried to sound modest when he said, "I can only vibe what Barry saw."

"What if we widen the scope of your vibe and can see more of the future?" Caitlin said.

Cadence shook her head, leaning up so that she could rest her chin on Brady's shoulder. "It'd probably hurt him mentally." Cisco made a face at her statement. Cadence shot him an apologetic glance. "I mean, Cisco, you've managed to get a bloody nose every time you work on your powers too hard. We know that it affects you mentally when you push yourself. You're out of it for hours. If we push him even harder, it may kill him."

"I was willing to give myself up when we were on Earth-2," Cisco said. "I'm not too far removed to do it now." Though the quiver in his voice seemed to betray what he really felt. No matter how heroic he was being, no matter how much he wanted to help. He was still afraid of dying.

"I'm not going to let Grodd kill you, Cisco, I promise," Barry reassured him. He turned, running a hand through his hair.

Joe looked at Barry closely. He'd known Barry since before he moved to live with him and Iris. Had watched him to grow into the young man he was in the present. Watched as he allowed himself to befall multiple tragedies and things that would knock down even the strongest man with as much grace as he could muster. And as Joe watched his son, he knew there was something Barry wasn't saying. Something that he'd keep inside and explode with later if he didn't bring it up now.

Privacy be damned, Barry needed to tell the truth.

"Are you okay, Bare?" Joe asked gently. This was what he could bring to the team; a guiding voice for Barry and the others to listen to when they needed it. While the others could use their technical and scientific skills in some way, Joe used his heart as a way to help the team. And within his own heart, he could see Barry was hurting.

Barry nodded. Tried to smile. It fell flat within seconds. "I'm just tired of seeing the people I care about getting in harm's way," he murmured.

"We're going to stop him, Barry," Iris reminded him. Her heart hurt to see how badly her friend was hurting. She could see there wasn't much that'd convince him otherwise, Barry could be stubborn at times. Once something got in his head, it was hard to shake it off. He'd faced too much tragedy as it was to have to deal with it again. They had to stay strong.

"And then what?" Barry asked. He leveled his gaze at his oldest friend. "Send him back?" Iris' eyebrows furrowed. She listened patiently to Barry's words. "He's just going to come here again, to get his revenge. We have to end this once and for all."

The finality in his voice stunned the room. It took a moment for anyone to speak. Jesse was the one to bite the bullet. She pulled her hair behind her ears and asked, "By killing him, you mean?"

"Why not?" Barry lifted his arms and slapped them to his sides. "That's how their society in gorilla city works. Kill or be killed."

"Barry, if you were fighting Solovar, would you have killed him?" Cadence asked. Immediately, Barry looked away. "I know it's a bit too on the nose considering how things played out, but I have to ask. Would you have killed him?" She kept her gaze on him, patiently waiting on a response. Finally, Barry shook his head. "You know why? Because that's not you. You would've done what was right, as you always do, that's what makes you a hero."

"Oliver's killed." Barry shrugged. "You've killed. You're still a hero."

Cadence smiled her thanks before responding with something she rarely spoke about, "And we live with the weight of that decision every day. Because, you know what? It gets easier. It gets easier the more you do it. You don't think about doing it. But it's hard to get past that first step, and I don't think you have it in your to do it."

"I think sometimes the only way to keep the bad things from happening is to stop what's causing them," Barry murmured.

"So, what's this about?" Joe asked. "Killing? You really think that's going to work for you? Do you want to turn into the Reverse-Flash?" Barry winced. "Because that's what's going to happen to you, if you do that, Bare. It's different if it's under self-defense, feeling you have no choice there, but if you go into it thinking you're going to kill him. Then you've already lost."

"What else do you expect to do?" Barry murmured. "Sit back and let him ruin everything."

Caitlin eyed Barry closely. "Is this about killing Grodd or what happens to the rest of us?"

"I stop Grodd, I change the future, you live," Barry said. Desperate as it was, it was the only thing he could think of that would work. He'd already been humiliated, tricked by Grodd into going over to Earth-2 in the first place. Tricked into attacking an enemy that wasn't really an enemy at all. If he couldn't see that coming…

"You wouldn't do it, Barry," Caitlin said. Her voice was soothing. Didn't betray what she truly felt. "Your humanity, showing mercy…that's what separates you from everyone else. That's what makes us look up to you."

Joe nodded. He reached out, tapping Barry on the shoulder with his index finger. "Don't ever compromise who you are. Losing what makes the Flash the Flash…it's not worth it."

"Then what is?" Barry demanded. He looked Joe in the eye, daring him to say anything. Daring him to tell him what to do. He'd follow anyone if they had any idea of what was going to work. Of what was going to stop all their problems."

"Listening to Jay, not focusing on the future so much," Cadence pointed out. "Focus on the now. Focus on Grodd. Breathtaker's not going to do anything again tonight. Not after he's let us know what he really wants." Cadence took in a deep breath, her voice cracking. Tears came to her eyes and she hastily wiped them away. "And….I can't focus on that right now when we've got a sentient gorilla on the lose who isn't going to stop until he gets what he wants." She frantically dabbed at her eyes. "After that, I can worry."

"And what if we're wrong?" Barry asked. He looked all of his friends in the eye. "What if things go south before it gets there? What if we're still one step behind?"

"Then we have to use the cards we're dealt," Cadence pointed out. "Use everything we have to our advantage."

She jumped when alarm started to go off. Much more frantic and worrying than any alarm they'd ever heard before. "What is that?" Brady asked, looking around.

Harry hurried around to the computers, pushing Cadence's chair away from the consol. He tapped the keys a few times, continuously looking from the keys to the screen. When he found what he was looking for, a low curse escaped his lips. He shook his head, expression of silent horror illuminated by the glow of the screen. "Short range ballistic missile authorized to fire from fort Reynolds," he murmured. "Seems like Grodd has more of a reach than we originally thought."

Life quickly drained and replenished in the room. Iris brought up a hand to cover her mouth. She looked to her father then asked, "How much time do we have?"

"Minutes," Cisco murmured.

Caitlin lowered her face to her hands. "Grodd, what have you done?" She whispered.

Barry decided quickly. This was much more important now. It was one thing for his friends to be in trouble, but for the entire city? For an entire city that had nothing to do with what happened to Grodd? It wasn't going to happen."

"I'm going after it," Barry declared.

"Then we're going with you," Jesse said.

"No," Barry said firmly. Jesse and Wally exchanged disappointed glances. "I need you to stay here, okay? If I can't stop it, I need you and Wally to get everyone to safety." He raced out of the Cortex in a streak of yellow lightning.

"Well, when it rains it pours," Cisco said, the second Barry left the Cortex. He'd replaced Harry at the consol, taking in a meta-human alert that steady went off. "While this missile has been launched, guess who decided to come out and play?" The monitor showed numerous apes, all dressed in protective metal gear, holding onto spears. Solovar was at the front of the group.

"How'd they get over here?" Leah asked. Her eyes were wide as she watched the screen, watched the gorillas slowly move their way up the streets of Central City. "There isn't any way they can open a breach or run that fast is there?"

"Definitely not," Cadence said. "There's a lot they can do, but they can't do that." She whipped around a breach opened and someone jumped through it. A young woman dressed all in black leather, wavy hair cascading down her shoulders. "I stand corrected." She immediately stood straight and pulled her goggles up over her eyes. "We've got to go."

"What about Grodd?" Brady asked, though he moved to get into position as well.

"If we can find Grodd, maybe we can find a way to get him to stop the missiles," Caitlin said. She was already frantically typing away at her own computer. Her lower lip stayed planted between her teeth. "But we'll have to move fast, Barry doesn't have much time to work with."

"I'll have to contact the CCPD," Joe added. He looked to Jay, who placed his helmet back on his head. "You sure you're up for this."

Jay nodded. "I have it on good authority that this is something I need to be a part of," he said. "If there is no Earth-1, there isn't a Earth-2 I could return to with good conscious."

"Good, we could use your help." Cadence looked to Leah and nodded toward her. "Brady? Do you still have your old suit? I think Leah will need to borrow it."

Brady nodded back.

"Okay." Cadence took a deep breath. "Let's go."

* * *

Barry ran the fastest he had ever run in his entire life.

It was incredibly what the threat of violence could do for someone's adrenaline. Adding in the adrenaline of an entire city of lives it was double. Adding in the threat of a nuclear weapon scheduled to fire off and destroy Central City in a matter of second and Barry practically time-warped to get to Fort Reynolds.

He came to a stop, snow and slush skidding out from beneath his feet, threatening to pitch him over into a snow bank but he kept his balance. Sucking in a deep breath, Barry turned and watched the tank that held the missiles continue to rotate silently. Almost as if mocking him, daring him to stop it.

"I see the missiles," Barry said. His frantic breath came out in patches of clouds in front of his face. One right after the other as his chest heaved rapid-fire. A cold sweat rolled down his back despite his body heat being so high from running, and the air being so cold.

"Barry, to access the keypad remove the panel at the base of the missile vehicle," Harry's voice hissed over Barry's Comm. Link. He could hear the controlled tone of Harry's voice, but could also hear the sense of urgency underneath.

It was bad if Harry showed anything other than his normally stoic and slightly assholeish personality.

"Alright." Barry reached out his gloved hands and pressed them to the cover Harry described for him. His hands shook as he vibrated the cover off with ease. It dropped into his hand and Barry tossed it aside before picking off another panel, revealing a set of numbers underneath. A long breath escaped Barry's lips. "Okay, that's done. What's next?"

"Well, the good news is this missile has a built in five-digit key code," Caitlin said.

"Great." Barry's eyes closed with relief. He could feel his heart rate already starting to slow down. A five-digit key code was okay. The good news would be if they could give it to him. The bad news would be if he had to put it in himself. It wouldn't take _too_ long to figure out, but long enough for him to start to worry. It'd be a close call. He took a stab at the good news. "What is it?"

Cisco's hesitation let him know everything he needed to. Barry's heart dropped when Cisco said, "That's the bad news; we don't know."

"For real?" Frustration shot through Barry's body and his hands clenched into fists, shaking with frustration and anguish. Frustration at Grodd's using this to distract him and anguish at the thought of everyone in the city falling victim to an untimely death. "Alright, then what am I supposed to do?"

"You have to try every combination Barry," Harry said quickly. Almost as if he was aware of how much time they had left. "It's okay. With this type of launcher, you won't set off the nuke."

 _Great,_ Barry thought. Just a little bit of reassurance. Barry took a deep breath and stared to speed type numerous combinations for on the keypad. Every now and then his eyes would turn back to the black bar above the keypad that would show then the code he typed was correct. But the numbers continued to flash red no matter what he put on. _C'mon. C'mon Barry, you can do this._

"Barry, simulators are projecting that hundreds of thousands will die," Iris said. He could distinctly hear the fear in her voice.

"Yeah, let's hope not," Barry murmured. He repeated that in his head over and over, giving himself a mantra to focus on. Anything that will keep him from focusing on the worst outcome. Sweat continued to roll down his face but he didn't let himself stop to wipe away the droplets. If he broke concentration for even one second…

"Five digits, how many combos is that?" Wally asked.

"Oh, well, if I had to take a guess…" HR started.

"Precisely nineteen thousand," Harry swiftly interrupted. "Please don't try to help. As a matter of fact, don't help at all."

Barry gritted his teeth. He didn't need to know that. He couldn't have even gone through one thousand yet. And there were about eighteen thousand more.

"Two missiles are locked on target," Caitlin said reported. "Solovar's getting closer to the bridge."

"That's the heart of the city," Iris murmured. "If they get there, there's no telling the sort of damage they can bring to the city."

Barry's resolve was starting to break. Sweat poured down his face. "Guys this isn't working!"

"Plan B?" Cisco asked. Desperation was evident in his voice. Barry could hear the breathing of his friends suddenly increase, taking rapid, shallow breaths as they tried not to lose control over their composure. "Anyone?"

Barry's fingers still flew. His hard breathing, combined with his friends' surrounded him, filling his hears. A desperate cry escaped his lips. He was on the verge of breaking down, could feel it coming on him like a stalker watching its target. "WORK!"

"How much time does he have?" Iris asked.

"Fifteen seconds," Joe said.

"Guys, I need something! Something else, this isn't working!" Barry's voice started to become high-pitched and frantic in his desperation. He swallowed hard, continuing to press as many buttons as possible.

No.

Still red. Still red. Still red.

He just needed there to be a combination that would unlock everything.

Just one.

Please.

"You've just got to keep going, Barry," Harry said to him. "You have to keep trying."

"Six missiles locked on target," Caitlin relayed.

Barry kept his head down, a shadow blocking the keypad. And still he worked, willing his hands to go faster and faster. They were blinding now, wisps of shadows that shot back and forth. More combinations. There were more combinations to work through, more numbers. He had to get it. He had to. He had to.

There was a sudden punch of energy to his gut.

Barry was knocked backwards by the sudden energy explosion of the tank shooting six missiles up into the air. Crashing on his back, he rolled over, shielding his face from the bright light of the contrails that arched up into the sky. The missiles arched higher and higher into the sky, the roar was deafening, and Barry clapped his hands over his ears.

"No," Barry whispered.

No.

No.

This can't be happening.

He couldn't have failed like this. There were many times he failed at other parts of being a hero, he always managed to come out on top. But not for this. Not when there were so many lives at stake. And yet Barry could do nothing but crouch at the base of the missile carrier, watching the contrail that continued to rise further and further into the sky. He ignored the cold of the snow seeping into the knees of his suit.

Or maybe he was so numb he couldn't feel it.

Sucking in deep gasps of air, Barry reached up and brought his hands to the sides of his hood and slowly removed the cowl. There were probably cameras trained everywhere around the base, news vans racing for his exact location, soldiers rushing to see what was going on, all who would see his true identity.

Barry didn't care. That reality wasn't sticking with him.

He'd just, involuntarily, murdered an entire city of people.

In the distance, Barry saw a red lightning streak in the distance, shortly followed by a golden one. Wally and Jesse. They were doing exactly what he told them to do; if he couldn't stop the missiles, get everyone out of the city as quickly as possible. They were in as much danger as the rest of the city and they moved to take their superhero duties seriously.

That's what he needed to do. He was the 'beacon of hope' for the city, as he had been deemed numerous times over. There had to be something he could do. And he would do it, for Central City and for his friends.

Taking in a deep breath, Barry calmed himself. He wiped away the tears that fell down his cheeks with his gloved hand and dried his eyes. His stomach fluttered with the unsaid words that were about to escape Barry's lips. He needed to be sure he sounded strong, that he knew what he was doing and could do it. Anything to convince the others to get to safety.

He took in another deep breath, this one taking in the weight of the world, and started to speak.

"Guys," he said.

"Bare," Joe repeated, just as quietly.

Barry closed his eyes. He should've known Joe would understood immediately what he was about to say.

Feeling the weight of the world on his shoulders, Barry brought his hands up and ran them over his head. His voice was low, hollow. He hoped he could stay strong. "Listen. I need you to get out of Central City," he said. "Let Wally and Jesse take you somewhere safe. We can take care of everything else."

There was a long stretch of silence after his words.

"We're not going anywhere," Joe said, shocking Barry.

"Yeah, we're going to help you figure out what to do," Caitlin said. "Grodd isn't just going to let this happen. He'll want to make sure everything and everyone in Central City is destroyed, even if he had to sacrifice himself in the process."

"She's right, and if we don't stop him, things might be worse," Cisco agreed. He thought for a moment. "If he can control people…maybe he can control missiles too, and create even more damage."

"What…?" Barry shook his head. His heart swelled with equal amounts of pride and fear for his team. "I don't want any of you to get hurt."

"But what is getting hurt, really?" HR asked. "Something everyone in the world has to experience at some point or another. But here's the thing, pain is temporary. Pride is forever. Only the strong survive."

Harry scoffed. "Ignoring the fortune cookie over there—"

"—that's an affectionate quote on my Earth as stated by whom, under my research of Earth-1 culture, you all refer to as Weird Al. Though I don't quite understand why he's so Weird."

Harry ignored him. "There's always something that can be done and what I've learned about you all is that you never give up. As annoying and naively stupid it can be at times."

"We're all behind you, Barry," Iris asid.

"But…"

"Barry." Cadence's voice came firmly over the link that time. "We're not going anywhere. Not now. Not ever."

Barry sucked in a deep breath. "How much time…?" He asked. "Until the missiles.." he couldn't get the last words out.

"52 minutes," Caitlin relayed.

52 minutes.

He had 52 minutes to get as many people out of the blast zone as possible, come up with a plan to stop Grodd, and stop the missiles.

He could do it.

He had to.

Suddenly, the sound of something running on a tether caught Barry's attention. He turned, just as a figure dropped to the ground, hood over up his head.

A sigh of relief escaped Barry's lips when he saw who it was.

"Oliver." Barry said.

"I hear you needed help rounding up some gorillas," Oliver said.

* * *

 **A/N:** I hadn't intended this thing with Gorilla City to be five parts but while working on this chapter I had to change a LOT for my ideas to work. And, in the end, I love it so much more with what I've done with this chapter and the next one that I'm sure you're going to enjoy as well.

But what about that reveal with Brady? It was a long time coming, did anyone guess it?

 **Cheers,**

 **-Riley**

 **Review Replies**

 **Ethan:** Not so much of a mystery when it's revealed in the next chapter. When you re-read a few of them back afterwards, it makes a lot of sense.

 **DarkHelm145:** That's what I always hope when it comes to my writing fight scenes, that it becomes sort of cinematic. My only issue is showing the passage of time while during a fight because if I explain every little thing, it drags on too long when fights are actually very high paced. I hope you enjoyed this one as well.

 **Guest:** Yep, more KF coming!


	38. They Overcame (5)

**38**

 _They Overcame_

* * *

"Oliver, what…?" Barry could barely get the words from his mouth. "What are you…I don't understand."

"You always had a way with words, Barry," Oliver said. He folded his arms, a ghost of a smile coming to his lips. "It's only a little better than that motor-mouth thing you've got going on. Sometimes, I think I prefer it." He looked Barry in the eye. "How're you doing, Barry?"

Barry gaped back at him. How was he doing? He had a horde of gorillas racing through—or _toward_ , he wasn't sure anymore—Central City and a bunch of nuclear weapons flying, ready to take down the city at a moment's notice. How did Oliver think he was doing? As a matter of fact, why was Oliver in Central City in the first place?

Oliver must've seen all the question in Barry's face for he chuckled. A humorless chuckle that didn't reveal much of this thought. Typical of Oliver, really. To, even in the face of danger, continue to be stoically calm. "I had some business here that I needed to attend to."

Barry wondered if any of it had to do with meeting up with Connor. He decided not to ask. Now, certainly, was not the time. Not when he, literally, had a countdown above his head reminding him there was too much going on to that was much more important. As they stood apart from each other, Barry could see flashes of light in the distance, Jesse and Wally still working to take as many people out of the city as possible. Police sirens in the distance reminded Barry there were those that there were others who would work to make sure the city was safe, leaving themselves for last.

He knew Joe was out there, if not Captain Singh and the rest of the CCPD. Even without powers, they'd work hard to make sure everyone was safe. If they could do it without powers, he could figure out what to do with them.

"So, what are we up against?"

"Oh," Barry couldn't help but find himself growing sarcastic. "Nothing but a rampage of gorillas descending on the city and missiles flying through the air that could level everything from here to California."

Oliver shook out his bow, collapsing it with a forward punch of his hand. Then he held out his free arm. "Then we better come up with a plan." Barry nodded and grabbed Oliver's arm, racing him to the one place he was sure Grodd was intending to be his target of revenge.

STAR Labs.

* * *

Cadence watched as Grodd and his army of gorillas continued to amble toward her, Jay, Brady, and Leah. Jesse and Wally continued to run back and forth, taking as many groups of people with them as they could. Every now and then Cadence could see a car come to a stop, the doors opening to let the passengers out as they stared in shock and fear at the gorillas coming toward them.

Then, seconds later, they were whisked away in a streak of lightning.

Jay took in a deep breath and nodded towards the young woman that walked along with them. She Had a strong face, no mask to cover her identity. Her long hair fell around her shoulders, brushing the shoulders of her leather-bound suit. Her eyes appeared blank as she stood in front of the team. He watched her carefully.

"Looks like Grodd found her to take him to this Earth," he murmured. He lifted his chin. "Look at her eyes."

"She looks just like dad did when Grodd had him," Jesse said. She curled her fingers into her palm. Her chest swelled as she took a deep breath, remembering how utterly blank he looked when Grodd soke through him. "She might not know anything she's done."

"Let's just hope nothing too bad happens for her to worry about it," Wally agreed. He looked to Cadence. "What's the plan?"

Cadence, like Jesse, took in a deep breath. "I'm working on it," she replied. "At the moment, all I've got is making sure this doesn't turn out like Godzilla."

"Don't you mean King Kong?" Brady asked.

"No. I don't."

Grodd continued to stare down Team Flash as the group of meta-animals moved closer and closer. Dealing with meta-spiders was one thing. Meta-apes were another one entirely. Especially when they were able to control anything they wanted at a whim. _/You can't stop us all,/_ Grodd said. His lips pulled back against his yellowed teeth, saliva dripping to the ground. He waved his arm, shoving a spear into the air.

Cadence watched as it glinted in the street lights. All the gorillas held onto spears in one hand, a shield covered the other. On their heads were metal helmets that glinted as much as the rest of their armor. They were ready for an all-out war and nothing was going to stop them.

 _/Attack!/_

Grodd pulled his arms back and roared loudly into the sky before he led the charge into Central City. Cadence nodded to the team before they all charged back toward the gorillas.

* * *

In STAR Labs, the rest of Team Flash watched, tensely as the metas came face to face with Grodd and the resto his army. Caitlin chewed her lower lip, turned her head away after watching Jesse receive a particularly nasty hit that sent her crashing into a mail drop box. It bent under the force of her hit, the door craning open to spill thousands of letters to the ground.

"They're headed straight for State and Oak Hill, fast," she said quietly.

Iris, who stood next to her, made a low humming sound. Her eyes narrowed when she watched Wally get sideswiped by another gorilla. He landed heavily on the ground then shot back to his feet, ready and charging once more.

"What do we do?" She asked. "They're way out numbered. How are they going to take all of them down?"

"They don't have a choice," Joe murmured. "They have to." He took in a deep breath. From the corner of the Cortex, he quickly checked the chamber of his police issued gun. Enough bullets to take down at least one of the gorillas if needed. He looked up as Barry breezed into the Cortex with Oliver by his side.

HR jumped, eyes widening when he saw Oliver appear. " _You're_ the Arrow?" He asked. Oliver looked at him funny, raising an eyebrow while HR placed his hands on his hips. "Well, how about that? How 'bout that. Your…" he grinned and started to point repeatedly toward Oliver. "Your father must be proud."

Oliver glanced at Barry, who shook his head, muttering, "I'll explain later." Then he noticed Joe. "Joe, what are you doing?"

"I said I wasn't going to leave, Bare," Joe reminded him. He shook his head. A sign of determination as he flipped the filled magazine into the bottom of his pistol and cocked it into firing mode. "And I meant it. But that doesn't mean I'm going to sit back and let my city get taken down. You know Grodd is on his way here and if Ii have to stop these gorillas, then so be it." Barry started to say something but stopped. Joe continued. He looked Barry in the eye. "As much as I hate those gorillas, especially Grodd, if you kill him the others might stand down, but you might not be able to come back from it, right?

"I know," Barry said. "But there's another way. It might not need to come to that." He then leveled his gaze to Cisco, who continued to stick his nose into his computer screen. "But I'm going to need Cisco's help."

Cisco looked up at Barry. "Right, it's not like I'm doing anything important, here!" Cisco snapped. "I don't know if you've noticed, but I'm trying to stop these missiles from crash landing and killing us all." He shook his head, keeping his eyes on the computer screen. "You're the fastest man alive and you can't come up with a stupid five-digit code to keep us all alive?"

Barry frowned, stung by Cisco's sharp words. He tried to say something, anything to defend himself, but was unable to do so. Cisco was right. He was the only one who could do what needed to be done to keep the missiles form going off. The only one who even had the time to go through thousands upon thousands of combinations that would've stopped the numbers within seconds.

Cisco continued. "We only have forty minutes left before everything turns to ash. And I'm no closer to figuring out what we can do to stop it than I was before." He brought his face to his hands. "Times like these I wish Firestorm was around."

"Hey," Oliver said firmly. His voice, affected by his modulator, sounded gruffer than it would have been had he used his normal voice. Much more commanding. "Now's not the time to point fingers. We have an army of…" Oliver paused for a second, as if wondering what he'd done to deserve being stuck in situations like the one he was currently in. "Apes and we've got nuclear missiles we need to stop. I'd rather any ideas than wasting our last moments bickering with each other."

"I'm with Oliver," Joe agreed. "We all said we'd be behind Barry and do the best we can to stop this when we can." He fixed Cisco with a stare so harsh that the mechanical engineer slowly lowered his head. "Get it?"

"Got it."

"Good."

Iris motioned towards the fight playing out on the screen in front of her. Then, the screen shifted, turning the video feed into a smaller box in the corner as the CCPN headline scrolled across the bottom of the screen: _Nuclear Weapons Launched._ "Wait a minute, guys. Listen." She turned up the volume on the computer. Her co-workers voice filled the room.

"Government officials have released word that nuclear missiles have been shot out from Fort Reynolds. Officials have also stated that the release of these missiles were not authorized and is currently out of control of the government to stop. Reports say if the missiles were to be detonated at the height they're currently climbing, it may save some of the residents of Central City, but many will perish. If you have any place to find shelter, go there now. But the biggest question of all is what can Flash and Flare do, is there _anything_ they can do, to help save us?"

Barry lowered his head. He took in a deep breath, squeezing his eyes shut. The weight of the world, the weight of Central City landed heavily on his shoulders. So much so that he nearly felt his legs collapse beneath him, only the computer desk propping him up. Barry looked up when he felt a hand placed on his own and saw Iris looking at him with a combination of concern, sadness, and determination. She squeezed his hand and said, "We weren't lying before, Barry. We're here for you, right behind you, no matter what you decide to do. No matter what happens. You can do this."

Barry nodded back to her. He looked at Joe, who looked at him, waiting to see what he was to be told. Joe nodded encouragingly. Then Barry looked at Oliver, who continued to wait patiently for Barry's decision.

"Yeah," Cisco agreed half-heartedly. "What he said."

"I may have an idea of how to stop the missiles," Caitlin said. She started out speaking quietly, her voice growing louder, stronger, by the second as all eyes turned her way. "These missiles were made with a fail-safe procedure put into them. A self-destruct procedure. But they're not able to, safely, detonate the missiles. So, what if we were the ones to do it?"

"I don't follow," HR said, tilting his head.

"That's a shock," Harry said sarcastically. He ignored HR's pursed lip pout and fold of his arms. Spoke directly to Caitlin. "Don't tell me you're going to do what I think you're going to do, Snow," he warned.

Caitlin looked away from him. "I can't guarantee it'll work, but it's an idea."

"What?" Barry asked. "What is it?" He was grasping at straws, but if there was anything that'd stop the missiles, he'd at least listen to it.

"There is a point in the freezing of particles that can simultaneously have the matter that is being frozen continuously and simultaneously move from a gas to a solid to a liquid and continue the cycle in an infinite loop," Harry explained. "It's called the Triple Point and different points of matter have different temperatures levels where they get to they're in true thermodynamic equilibrium." He brought up a hand to rub his chin. "But to stop the detonation of nuclear missiles, that'd take a lot of work."

"I don't get it," Iris said. "What does that mean exactly?"

"It means Caitlin's going to use her powers to try and stop the nuclear missiles," Oliver surmised.

He wasn't one to understand much about science and technology, but after five years on an island—many of those years where he was able to learn multiple languages as well as create his own set of practices to heal himself and perform surgeries if the time ever came. He worked as the Arrow on his own long before Diggle and Felicity joined the team. He had more than enough time to figure out the ins and outs of any situation that it'd take years for others to do the same.

"Caitlin, you can't," Cisco said breathlessly. "Your powers aren't strong enough to even hold Barry in place let alone stop a nuclear missile."

Caitlin glared at him. "I understand you're scared of the impending death we're all facing, but at least I'm trying to come up with something that'll help us." She looked to Barry, who had been quiet throughout the exchange. "If we don't stop them from dropping, I don't know what we'll do. There's only so much I can freeze at a time. But if Cade can lower the temperature of fire as well as she can increase the temperature, then it'd reduce the power the missiles have. She I can only absorb so much fire but there's a hundred tons—"

"—hundreds of thousands of tons—" Harry interrupted.

"—of concussive pressure in those things. It will wipe Central City, Keystone, and all other neighboring cities right off the map." Caitlin shook her head. Her hair bounced around her face. "We don't have any other options. If we can't stop Grodd, there's not even going to be a Central City to save. You have to stop Grodd, the rest of us will have to work to stop this missile."

"And get the message out if things go wrong," Iris agreed. "I'm sure Jesse and Wally did their best to get everyone out but with Grodd around…" she saw sadness start to fill Barry's eyes. "Don't get all puppy dog on me, Barry. We don't have any other options right now. You need to go _now_."

"Captain Singh has a perimeter set up," Joe added. "If we can use it to slow Grodd down, at least we"ll be able to get the rest of the citizens out of Central City and away from the blast site."

Barry nodded. "How much time do we have?"

HR jumped in before Harry could response. "Two minutes before the gorillas get here to STAR Labs, Barry."

Barry shook his head, watching his friends back up closer and closer to STAR Labs as Grodd's army continued forward. They were closer than HR thought, even he could see that. Harry, on the other hand, wasn't as diplomatic about HR's shortcomings.

"Two minutes?" Harry threw his hands in the air. "Ten seconds! Can you not even tell time?"

"That's what I said," HR agreed. He waved a hand in a conversational manner. "Ten seconds, two minutes, it's all a matter of…time is relative. If anyone would understand that, Barry certainly would. Time spent, time we have left, you know, it reminds me of a time when-"

"Barry." Oliver turned a glance to Barry, clearly annoyed by HR's mere presence. As was the rest of Team Flash on a good day. "Anything you have to say?"

"Yeah," Barry agreed. He took in a deep breath. "The citizens of Central City should never have to question whether or not the Flash and Flare are going to be there to help them. Thanks to Incognito, Flare's heroism is being put under the microscope and thanks to Grodd, now the Flash is being doubted as well. I know what it's like. Since I was really young, people didn't believe me about my parents and now we know and the rest of Central City knows what happened to them. Just like the city knows we can stop this no matter what comes our way. We're not going to stop until we reach the end. And after that…" he shrugged.

He didn't want to think about it after that. That was the future. And he was starting to realize that living in the future was just as bad as living in the past. Living in the past wad dangerous; it destroyed the present and the future. He had to focus on the moment and what it had to offer. Not for what yesterday or tomorrow could take away.

It took too long for him to really understand it. But once he understood something, it stuck. And unlike information he could speed-read from a book that would leave his short memory within seconds, this was something that'd stick with him for years to come. He was tired of allowing things that had happened or hadn't happened to get him down.

Now was the time to make his own future.

Lightning flashed through Barry's eyes. He reached up and pulled on his cowl. Seconds later, he was out of the Cortex dragging Oliver and Cisco along with him.

* * *

Leah flung her arms aside. A nearby car crumbled in on itself before crashing into a gorilla. It lifted its arm to block the car with his shield. The blow of the car striking the shield was enough to knock it backwards. Leah followed it up by decreasing the gravitational pull on the gorilla, sending it straight into the air and back to the ground.

Brady raced forward and up the face of a nearby car, an ape following directly behind him. Every time the ape threw it's spear forward, Brady would use his abilities simultaneously. Made himself hover in the air and phase, causing the spear to slide directly through him but not damage him in any way. Then, he lifted his shield to cover himself, tucking his body behind it as he dropped his legs out from beneath him at the same time the ape landed on the car behind him. Brady slid down the front windshield of the car, seconds before he was projectile launched into the air.

Twisting around, Brady threw his frisbee as hard as he could. It arched through the air and crashed into the side of the gorilla's head, knocking it over. Brady landed on the ground, rolling with his shoulders against the ground before leaping back to his feet. He threw his yo-yo and pulled tight, wrapping the gorilla's legs together. He pulled hard, making it crash to the ground. Running as another gorilla turned its sights on him, Brady grabbed his shield from the ground, reverted it to a frisbee, and grabbed his yo-yo, taking off to work on another gorilla.

Cadence whipped around, her fist connecting with that of the gorilla that swiped toward her. Their arms shot backwards, the power shooting through both their bodies, negating the effect it typically would have. Cadence started to fall back, she teleported behind the gorilla and kicked as hard as she could. The gorilla started to fall over. She ripped a light pole out the ground and swung it hard against the side of the gorilla's head. It rocketed aside and Cadence turned her attention back to Grodd. With Jay, Jesse, and Wally using their speed to herd a majority of the gorillas to keep them from moving further, Grodd raced closer and closer to STAR Labs.

Cadence teleported in front of him. She pressed her heels into the ground, ready to take on the seeming unstoppable meta. Instead of slowing down, Grodd's eyes narrowed as he locked onto Cadence. _/You not kill Solovar,/_ he said. _/You as weak as The Flash./_

Cadence didn't respond. Instead, she waited as Grodd moved closer. Knew exactly what he was going to do. He showed his fighting style; it was similar to hers in many ways. Relied on strength, that was his advantage. Grodd was already strong due to his strength as a gorilla, it had been increased five-fold with his metahuman abilities. Grodd continued to run toward her, when he was close enough, he threw himself into the air. Using the gravitational pull as he came back down, Grodd brought his hands together and brought it towards her in a slam.

Cadence brought up her hands, crossing her arms so that her wrists created an 'x' and caught his large fists in her hand. She felt her knees buckled under the weight of Grodd's fists but continued to hold her ground. Her entire body quaked with effort to keep Grodd up. Grodd bared his teeth, pressing himself down as hard as he could. Cadence shifted one of her legs back, giving herself a stronger stance to hold Grodd off. When she felt herself starting to get the upper hand, Cadence released one hand, easily holding off Grodd.

He pressed harder and harder. Flames erupted around Cadence's arm. She pulled it back and sent a straight shot, as close as pinpoint, to Grodd's side. Grodd immediately screeched with pain and bent away from the flame. Just as she wanted. Cadence clenched her hand into a fist. The flames jumped and swirled around, twisting itself into the shape of a war hammer. She brought back her arm and swung it forward, striking Grodd in the same spot she'd hit seconds before. Grodd fell to the side, Cadence teleported before he hit the ground. She grabbed his arm with both hands, spun on her heels while lifting Grodd up off the ground, and threw him as hard as she could.

She cried out, feeling something wrench in her shoulder as she did so, watching Grodd sail overhead. Just as he was about to hit the ground, a lightning streak shot out form STAR Labs, colliding straight with him. Grodd fell to his back on the ground while Barry came to a stop with his arms around Oliver and Cisco. The moment Barry stopped, Oliver was firing arrows left and right, striking them straight into the fleshy parts uncovered by the protective shields.

They fell one by one, allowing Wally, Jesse, and Jay more opportunity to move through the ever-growing army. "Cisco, you need to stop her," Barry called to Cisco. He motioned to the woman who stood toward the back of the group, effortlessly holding a breach open for more and more gorillas to come through. "As long as that breach is open, the harder it'll be for us to stop Grodd."

Cisco gave him a thumbs up in response. He lifted his goggles over his eyes and ran towards the breacher. She hadn't noticed his arrival. He had the upper hand. He was going to take her down. He was—going to get thrown on his ass when, at the last second, the female breacher turned and threw out her hand, sending a vibrational blast into his chest. Her face remained unchanged; a blank look in her eyes, but the corners of her lip turned up in a smirk.

Cisco got back to his feet and charged toward her. She continued to hold the breach open with one hand, the other being used to fend off Cisco as he came at her once more.

"You okay?" Oliver called over to Cadence still releasing arrow after arrow.

"Yeah," Cadence called back. Not entirely. She was sure she'd ripped her arm out of its socket. Something that'd heal in seconds if she could move it back in place. "I'm fine. When'd you get here?"

"Long story." Oliver ducked when a gorilla broke rank and charged toward him. He spun around and stuck an arrow tip directly into the armpit of the gorilla, sending an electric shock through its body, so cartoonishly bright, that Cadence could see it's skeleton light up before it pitched over, dead. "Don't have much time to talk about it.

"Noted," Cadence agreed.

She noticed Grodd and Barry locked in battle once more and lifted her hand, pulling it forward in an arc. The ground cracked open, flames leaping high into the air, creating a barrier that held Barry and Grodd away from the other gorillas that continued to come closer. Not completely blocking them off, she still gave them an out if needed, but enough so that they were on their own. Barry nodded to her. He streaked toward Grodd, disappearing behind the flames.

"Cade," Cadence heard Caitlin in her comm. link. "Come back to STAR Labs, I found a way to stop the missiles." Cadence pressed her finger to her ear-piece, twisting back to STAR Labs. She could see a side door on the street level open and Caitlin hurrying out. Then she looked back to Jesse, Wally, Jay, Brady, and Leah. "They can handle this, we don't have much time."

Cadence immediately teleported to Caitlin's side. "Where are we going?"

Caitlin looped her arm around Cadence's shoulder, allowing Cadence to lift her up into her arms. "The roof."

"Couldn't you have just met me up there?"

"Shut up."

* * *

Wally and Jesse crashed into each other as they were thrown aside by gorillas. Leah and Brady were then flung next to them, rolling like pinballs across the ground, bouncing off the speedsters before coming to a stop, arms covering their faces. Cisco, who continued to fight against the female breacher—and losing badly—was already screaming with effort, blood pooling down from his nose as he threw vibrational blast after vibrational blast.

Wally sat up, rubbing sweat off his forehead. 'So," Wally said. He looked to Jesse, who woozily got to her feet, then at Jay, who bent over, hands on his knees. He fought to catch his breath. "Any ideas of how to stop a few hundred gorillas?"

"Go for the legs?" Jesse suggested. "That seemed to be working for a while." She pressed her fingers into her side, working hard to press out the cramp that was starting to form. Speedster or not, cramps were something she wasn't short of. "Just try not to get caught. Trust me, they won't let go."

"No, they won't," Jay agreed.

The gorilla army continued to amble towards the team, easily knocking cars out of their way, swarming through the breach by the second. Brady and Leah surged to their feet, this time taking flight above the gorillas. If they weren't touching the ground, it would be harder for the gorillas to grab them. Even with their spears poking the air, trying to reach them.

Barry and Grodd circled each other, watching for their weak points. Where they'd be the most vulnerable. Oliver stood behind Barry, waiting for the gorillas that came too close, shooting arrows into them to keep them back. When the arrows didn't deter them, he took to hand to hand combat to fend them off, taking a few solid hits to the face and chest that'd take him longer to recover from.

Barry side-stepped a shot of Grodd's spear to his chest and ran in a large circle. He threw lightning to Grodd, who used his spear to deflect it into the air. Barry gritted his teeth. Grodd was a lot harder to defeat this time around. And it certainly didn't help that there were more gorillas coming by the second.

Coming up with a new tactic, Barry sprinted directly toward Grodd. Grodd, however, knew Barry's moves well. Seeing Barry come close, he turned the left side of his body toward Barry. Barry could see the eyes of his reflection widen in horror, the second he knew what was going to happen. There were many things people didn't expect about speedsters, and one of them was not knowing the effect of crashing into things at high speeds.

Running into a brick wall was running into a brick wall, running into a solid metal was running into solid metal. Add in thousands of miles per hour for speed and it was like running into one hundred brick walls at once. Barry knew his body was going to be seriously hurt the second Grodd started to turn his shield toward him with no way of Barry to stop in time.

Time slowed down around him, Barry saw every possibility that'd come from his running into Grodd and all of them ended with him bouncing off like a rubber ball. _This is going to hurt._ Barry closed his eyes, everything sped up around him and he ran into Grodd's shield.

Barry bounced back, striking the car behind him. He fell onto his stomach, fire raging up his back as his spine worked through the pain that shot through his body. Grodd towered over Barry. He pinched the back of Barry's suit, lifting him off the ground with ease.

"Flash!" Oliver shouted.

Barry's eyes swam as Grodd dangled him in front of his face. Even Grodd's smelly breath couldn't rouse Barry from the darkness that slowly started to creep in on the edges of his vision.

 _/Your city will fall, Flash,/_ Grodd gloated. _/There's only one way to end this. You kill me./_ He shook Barry back and forth, making his arms and legs flail. _/But you won't do that. All you care about is mercy./_

Barry coughed, the feeling slowly, very slowly, returning to his legs. Not fast enough, his spine must've been bruised. Not completely severed or else he wouldn't have been able to move in the slightest. "You're right. Except I'm not the only one who wants to stop you."

The breach the woman held open widened until Solovar's figure leapt out, dressed in the same armor as Grodd as the others. Grodd immediately let go of Barry and turned to face his new opponent.

 _/Solovar,/_ Grodd growled.

Solovar growled back at him. _/I challenge you, Grodd,/_

Grodd's nostrils flared. He took a step toward Solovar. _/And you will fall again,/_

Barry smiled to himself. If there was anything Grodd didn't think about, it was how Barry was going to come one step ahead of him. If Grodd was preoccupied with Solovar, it'd give Caitlin and Cadence more time to stop the missiles.

* * *

Cadence lowered Caitlin to her feet once they arrived on the roof of STAR Labs. She brushed her hair back from her face. She looked over as a fleet of police cars pulled behind Oliver and officers all piled out, pulling out their guns and started to open fire on any of the remaining gorillas that came close to STAR Labs.

"How long do they have to last?" Cadence asked.

"Not much longer," Caitlin replied. She pulled her hair back from her face, the wind from atop STAR Labs blowing it around her face. She tilted her head back, watching the chem trail that continued to streak through the sky. This time back down toward the city. They'd already reached their apex. Time was running out. "The missiles are falling fast."

"What's the plan?" Cadence asked.

"Fire tornado," Caitlin replied. She lowered her chin and looked Cadence in the eye. "Can you throw one that high?"

"I've never measured it, but I'm sure it's not hard," Cadence said, cracking her knuckles. She flicked her hands, shaking out her fingers. So long as she kept up her confidence she could handle, it, right? It was only thousands upon thousands of people that'd die if she couldn't. Much more than she could heal. "So we're going to blow up the missiles?"

"No. The addition of the fire to the friction the missiles are experiencing on the way down will just cause more devastation once the missiles reach a certain point and implode. What we're going to do is set up a fire tornado and…" Caitlin swallowed hard. "Then I'll use my powers to cool down the temperature of the fire until it's a cold fire so that when it meets the missiles it'll create a triple point that'll keep them from detonating."

Cadence eyed Caitlin carefully. Watched as she brought her hands up behind her neck to remove her dampener necklace. It shone a bright blue, fading as she started to remove it from her neck. She watched Caitlin's hands shake in trepidation. "Are you sure about this, Cait?"

Caitlin nodded, pulling her hands down from her neck. She held the necklace in front of her, watching the snowflake spin around before dropping it to her pocket. "I've never been more sure of anything in my life. Even if it doesn't work, at least we've tried."

"Famous last words," Cadence joked.

"I should warn you though," Caitlin started, moving up to Cadence's side. "This is going to hurt."

Cadence smiled wryly. "You or me?"

Caitlin returned the smile with a wry one of her own. "Both."

Cadence nodded. She took in a deep breath, focused on her fire power and started to create a flame above her hand. It grew by the second. Bigger and bigger. Then, with her left hand, Cadence ran her fingertips along the side of it, as if using the hand to spin a record. The fire continued to grow, twisting and turning as it stretched into the sky. Higher and higher it went, with Cadence and Caitlin tilting their heads back, watching as it came closer to the missiles that equally moved closer to them.

Caitlin waited until Harry's voice came through her Comm. Link. "The missiles are right on target, Snow," he said. "If you're going to do something, now is the time." He paused. "Be careful." She nodded and threw her hands forward. The vapor on her hands stretched forward like fingertips.

Once in contact with Cadence's fire, the two gasped at the burning sensation that stretched up their hands. The ice continued to shoot around the fire tornado, stretching into the sky. One of the missiles, that came too close to the ice-fire tornado reacted immediately. It's sides simultaneous caved in and imploded. It spiraled off into the air before falling apart, frozen pieces of metal concurrently melted, re-froze, and melted until noting but a vapor remained.

While the exhilaration of taking out one missile flowed through the fire and ice metahumans, Cadence and Caitlin found themselves unable to not wince in pain as each other's powers affected them.

"Keep going!" Harry encouraged them.

"There's five more missiles to take on," Iris added. "You can do this."

Cadence looked to Caitlin and nodded. Caitlin nodded back and, at the same time, they put more energy into their powers.

* * *

Grodd and Solovar raced to each other and were immediately locked into battle. They threw each other into nearby buildings, quickly following right behind. Reaching the roof, it was a melee of punches and kicks that knocked each other backward, giving them each the upper hand. Until, finally, Solovar knocked Grodd to the ground. Solovar leapt down after him, knocked Grodd to his back. He thumped his chest, alerting the other gorillas to stand down.

Brady, Leah, Wally, Jesse, Jay, and Oliver watched in surprise as the gorillas immediately stopped attacking. At the same time, they backed a few paces away and lowered themselves to one knee. Their heads bowed, as if watching a royal majesty walk by.

It was then that Cisco, finally, received the upper hand on the female breacher. As soon as Grodd fell to the ground, her head dropped forward, her arms falling to her sides. Grodd's hold on her hand been broken. Unfortunately, it wasn't in enough time for Cisco to stop his last vibrational attack toward her. He thrust his fist toward her.

She reacted quickly and shot out her own fist. Her vibrational blast, which was red compared to Cisco's blue, struck him in the stomach, knocking him onto his back. She leapt after him, grabbing him by the lapels of his jacket.

"Ooh, girl!" Cisco cried, gasping for air. "You done did it, now!"

"Who are you?" The girl asked. She snarled into Cisco's face. "Where am I? What'd you do to me?" She continued to shake him, pulling him closer to her face. "How did I get here? I was on Earth-2, what did you do?"

"How about we answer each of your questions when you're not squeezing my neck?" Cisco wheezed. She removed her hands form his neck, allowing him to, painfully, drop back to the ground.

Solovar ambled toward Grodd, spinning his spear in his hand. Now that Grodd was down, he didn't need to move quickly for the kill. He was going to make Grodd's death slow and painful.

 _/Goodbye, Grodd,/_ Solovar picked up his spear and posted it over his head. He looked down at Grodd, who glared defiantly back at him, and practically smiled. His lips pulled back from his teeth in a grotesque, hellish smile of success. He'd won. Solovar started to throw his spear toward Grodd's heart, stopping only when Barry zipped in front of him.

Barry threw up his hands, seconds away from his palms being impaled by the tip of the spear. "Stop!" Barry cried desperately. Solovar glared back at him, slowly lowering his arm. "Stop…" Barry licked his lips. "Death isn't the way."

Solovar snorted. His eyes shifted behind Barry to Grodd, who glared back at him, not moving from his position of defeat. _/He betrayed me,/_

"I know." Slowly, Barry lowered his hands, feeling he was no longer in danger. "So leave him here, where he's from." Solovar growled but listened to what Barry had to say. Oliver and Brady took a step forward, pulling up their bow and arrow and slingshot respectively, ready to take on any gorillas that moved to take Barry down. "We won't let him go back to gorilla city ever again. Just spare his life like yours was spared."

Solovar nodded. He motioned to Cisco and the female breacher. _/Send us home,/_ he declared. _/All of us./_ He lifted his spear and stamped it on the ground. All at once, the gorillas surged to their feet and stood, waiting to be sent back to Earth-2.

"Yeah, I'm not touching that one with a ten-foot-pole," Cisco said. He threw up his hand and opened a breach. The female speedster noticed the size of it and snorted, making a show of opening a bigger one that, when combined with Cisco's, was wide enough to let all the gorillas back to.

Leah let out a sigh of relief when the breach closed. "That's all the gorillas."

"We can't celebrate yet," Oliver said. He nodded to the top of STAR Labs where the ice-fire tornado continued to cyclone in the sky. "Not until all the missiles are taken down."

* * *

Cadence felt her body starting to grow exhausted the longer she and Caitlin used their powers to stop the missiles. They had three down and within seconds took down another two. The last one was the one that escaped their grasp. A fail-safe mechanism as it were. It seemed to dance out of their grasp every time they tried to turn the ice-fire tornado to take it down.

"This isn't working," Caitlin said. She gasped for air, a sheen of sweat appearing on her forehead. Her eyes continued to clash from brown to blue, changing as the seconds passed. A streak of blonde appeared at the front of her hair. And yet, as she spoke, her words were still filled with the warmth that only Caitlin could exude. "We have to get higher."

"I'm trying," Cadence said. Another burst of flame had her short of screaming with effort.

"No." Caitlin shook her head solemnly. She swallowed hard. " _We_ have to get higher. Higher up in the atmosphere and the lack of heat higher up will cause an increase in the vacuum of thermals that'll take out the last missile."

Cadence looked at Caitlin as if she were crazy. In her mind, more ice meant more chance of Killer Frost coming out. And for someone who tried her hardest to keep Killer Frost from coming out, Caitlin certainly was doing her best to make it a possibility. And if she were trying to make Killer Frost come out…maybe it was time for her to make on that promise she'd made to her.

" _If I ever become Killer Frost…I need you to kill me."_

Caitlin flicked her wrist and created an icy path that stretched toward the sky. She leapt atop it and started to surf the ice upward.

"Cait!" Cadence lowered her hands and did the same, following a fire trail into the air. Caitlin and Cadence streaked toward the last missile that rocketed toward Central City. The higher then went, the more Cadence felt herself started to slow down. With less oxygen in the air as they went, the fuel it gave her fire. "Caitlin!"

Caitlin, on the other hand, continued to grow stronger as she went. So much so that the further she moved, the longer her brown eyes stayed blue. Every few seconds, Caitlin would close her eyes and turn her head aside, shaking off the presence of Killer Frost. Her hair slowly, very slowly started to turn blonde.

Finally, the two reached the missile and moved aside as it shot past. Turning around, they followed it, streaking toward Central City. At the same time, the threw out their hands. Minutes passed as seconds, their powers working together for the missile to reach triple point. Finally, one side sank in.

The missile spiraled through the air, twisting and turning out of their grasp to take it down. It continued to spiral, little blasts of fire and ice catching it on its sides. "Come on, come on," Caitlin murmured. She pushed harder, willing herself to slide faster. She came closer and closer to the missile, throwing out ice as she went.

Cadence followed, teleporting when she fell behind, working her powers to their full extent to keep up. Finally, she reached Caitlin's side, and, at the same time, they threw blasts of their powers forward. Fire and ice engulfed the missile. Rather than the missile exploding as the others had, with one side of it already damaged, it twisted and turned, falling further and further, streaking past Central City and towards the forest area where it struck the ground and exploded in a bright light.

"Yes!" Barry cheered from the ground, punching the air. Relief washed over him so quickly it left him exhausted. Seconds before he felt nothing but a shot of adrenaline.

Caitlin smiled to herself, pulling herself up to a stop. Then her eyes fell closed and her hands fell lifelessly to her sides. The ice path beneath her vanished and she fell toward the ground, falling head over heels as she went.

"Cait!" Cadence turned and teleported after her. Unfortunately, her reach wasn't as far as it once had been. As cold as it was further up in the atmosphere, she didn't have as much energy to bring herself to move further, faster. And yet, Cadence continued to propel herself toward her falling friend, frantically trying to reach her.

"Cisco!" Cadence cried, desperation more than evident in her voice. She continued to watch Caitlin fall toward the roof of STAR Labs. If they didn't get to her in time, no matter her metahuman capabilities, it'd be a nasty collision. "Open a breach!"

Cisco punched forward, focusing his energy on a singular breach. A smaller one opened just above the roof of STAR Labs. But with Caitlin's falling over and over, he could see it would be difficult to determine where she would land and if he could breach her through in time.

"I can't, she's too far away," Cisco cried, lowering his hands.

Barry thought for a moment. "Not just one," he said. "Multiple. Open as many of them as you can."

Cisco looked at him in confusion. Then he understood, if he opened enough breaches, it'd give him the chance to maneuver Caitlin's fall so that they could catch her. A 'hall of breaches' that he and Cadence had worked out but hadn't put into practice within his training. Cisco sucked in a deep breath, steadying himself. _Come on, man, you can do this._ He threw open a breach with one hand, then with the other threw open another.

And another.

And another.

And another.

Soon, the sky was filled with breaches. Caitlin fell through the first one, came spiraling out of a second, horizontal one nearby, and immediately dropped through a third. Over and over, Caitlin fell through the breaches, coming closer to STAR Labs' roof with Cadence following close behind her. As she came closer, Barry grabbed onto Cisco and sped them to STAR Labs' roof.

They landed in a crouch, immediately craning their neck upwards. Then Barry was off, racing up one of the four spires on STAR Labs' roof. He pumped his arms and legs, forcing himself up as high and hard as he could. "Come on, come on," Barry murmured, feeling himself starting to slow. And yet he pushed as hard as he could. He raced off the top of the spire and through the air, stretching out his arms. At the right moment, Caitlin dropped form a breach overhead and landed in Barry's arms.

His projection took him to slide down the face of the spire opposite his. Stretching out his foot, he slid down toward Cisco, kneeling in the middle of the roof. A flash of light in front of him found Cadence, surrounded by an aura of fire, landing on another spire and slid down the face of it as well.

The two came to a stop in the center of STAR Lab's roof where Cisco waited for them, palms placed on the concrete as he fought to catch his breath. Drops of blood stained the concrete below him, nevertheless his first concern was Caitlin, who lay quietly in Barry's arms. He studied her face, then his eyes shifted to the blonde streak in her hair, then back to her face.

"Is…is she?" He started to ask.

Cadence reached out, pressing her fingers to Caitlin's neck. She shook her head. "I've got a pulse," she said. At her words, a low moan escaped Caitlin's lips, her eyelids twitching.

Barry let out a wheezing laugh of relief. Cisco smiled over at Barry and Cadence before opening his arms. The four—though one was unconscious-came together in a group hug.

They did it.

* * *

 **A/N:** This was probably the most POVs I've ever had a chapter bounce around, but I hope it was still easy to follow and enjoyable. It had to work that way or else there wasn't much that'd make sense if it played in a more linear fashion.

 **Cheers,**

 **-Riley**


	39. Slow Down

**39**

 _Slow Down_

* * *

Barry was pulled out of his blissful slumber by the sound of low voices that reached his ears, blocking out the rapidly shifting dream he was having. Nothing that he could particularly remember, his dreams shifted within seconds. One moment he dreamt he was at the beach, the next he dreamt he was fighting Savitar, the next he was with his parents, then he was back in high school wondering why he was there with his best friends when they hadn't known each other then.

Nevertheless, Barry slept soundly. His dreams didn't permeate his thoughts as much as they would. TO the point that he found himself to be completely refreshed when he woke up. No nightmares, he realized. Still, he couldn't quite place the voices he was hearing. It took him a second longer than he was used to, though gave him reprieve to know he wasn't going crazy. Not as he'd thought when he first understood the less than ideal side-effects of his powers; having too many thoughts at once that tended to blur together into nothing but a dull noise that kept him up.

Twisting around, Barry looked over his shoulder to find Cadence sitting up in bed, watching TV. Images on the TV flickered across the lenses of her glasses, momentarily hiding her eyes form him. Barry watched her for a second then turned, running the back of his hands over his eyes. He flopped onto his back, bringing his arms up to stretch over his head. Then he sat up and glanced at the TV, still rubbing at his eye. A sigh immediately escaped his lips, reading the headline that scrolled across the bottom of the screen.

 _Nuclear Tragedy in Central City._

Cadence brought her hand up to her mouth, started to chew on her thumbnail. Barry sat up as well, resting his arms around his upraised knees. He studied the screen, watched the same images flicker across. The burning forest, the blackened crater, the police cars and ambulances racing past to help those that ended up caught in the blast.

 _"There are still those in the hospital, but it is unknown whether or not they'll survive the ordeal."_

Barry swiped the remote from between them and jabbed it at the TV to turn it off. "Stop watching that," he murmured, voice scratchy from sleep.

Cadence lowered her hand from her mouth, gently shaking her head. "I can't help it," she murmured. Silence stretched between them for a moment. "We could've saved those people." Finally, she looked at him. Sadness swirled through her eyes.

"You don't know that."

It was a hollow statement because deep in his heart he knew it was a possibility. Something that, if he were still traveling through time, he would've gone to make happen. It was the hardest decision he ever had to make once the news first broke, not to go back. It kept him up at night. But there was nothing he could do. Time travel had some of the worst consequences any of them had seen and he wasn't about to make things worse for it.

It was the hardest decision as a hero to make. To let other people suffer because he knew the consequences. He tried hard not to let it get to him. But a big part of him, when he wasn't paying attention, would let himself wonder 'what if'. What if Grodd had given them enough time to stop all the missiles. What if they'd kept Grodd from firing them off in the first place. What if Caitlin had been strong enough to help stop the last one. Then what? From how long she'd been unconscious after the long exposure to her powers, Barry was sure she'd have ended up dead.

But was that better? One of them dying to help save hundreds of others? It was easy to say 'yes' on paper, but when presented with the situation, it was a tough pill to swallow. Barry tried to make peace with it, but without his job at the CCPD he found it difficult to keep himself preoccupied with anything other than 'what if' games. Patrolling the city didn't take too much time, cleaning up the apartment, which was already immaculate due to his daily cleanings didn't take long, even studying up on all things mechanical engineering and biochemistry didn't take so much of his day. Especially when things being converted from his short term memory to long term took nothing more than a few seconds of speed-reading through a book.

"I guess not," Cadence agreed. She shrugged, playing with the blanket that laid tangled between her legs. Finally, she climbed out of bed and grabbed the corner of the sheet, pulling it into place. Barry followed her lead, getting out the other side of bed and helped to fix the sheets. "Seems like the city's already made their decision over everything, anyway."

Barry tried not to grimace. That was the other part. As there were with other metahuman struggles that came up, it split the city in two. Some were still in favor of The Flash, Flare, and other metas that were working to keep the city safe because 'if metas can't do it, who can?' but there were others that used the incident to continue claiming 'all metas need to be destroyed'. It was no wonder the MRA had been brought up on conversation again. Lex Luthor's presidential campaign with it was beginning to gain ground as well.

It seemed that he was doing his best to instill fear and trepidation within those that wanted metahumans to go away so that it'd push his numbers even higher. Barry didn't pay too close to politics in that mean, he kept his head down when office conversation broke out into the subject. However, it was growing harder and harder to ignore. Especially when Tess was put right in the middle of it.

She'd reassured the team that there wasn't anything moving forward, but even Barry noticed the glimmer in Chief Paulson's eye whenever he took the podium to speak during police conferences and with his words to the city when questions were asked. It was one of the few times Barry was glad he didn't have to go into work every day, so that he didn't have to live in even more fear of his secret being revealed and what it meant for other metas.

Julian hadn't said anything—why would he, Barry rationalized, they weren't the best of friends—about any of the meta encounters he had within the last few weeks and the climate around the CCPD. Even Joe had said, albeit distractedly, that he didn't hear anything about it either.

"They're going to change their minds," Barry said confidently. "They're just scared right now. And who wouldn't be? Watching a horde of sentient gorillas come charging toward the city?" The two flapped out the sheet, dropping it to the mattress. "If I didn't know metas were a thing, that's what would really get to me."

Cadence laughed to herself. "You'd be able to handle everything but the sentient gorillas?"

Barry shrugged and side-stepped a pile of pillows and blankets making a makeshift bed on the floor. "Even before my powers, I thought the 'weird' was interesting. I traveled to Star City just to follow a lead on a man who could lift more than ten times his body weight." He bobbed his head back and forth. "If it wasn't for the Reverse-Flash, who knows what I'd be doing now."

"You'd probably end up in the same place," Cadence pointed out. Barry cast her a curious look. Cadence smiled back. "You couldn't give up your sense of justice no matter what. I mean, your parents were still alive on Earth-2 and you were still in the CCPD. But then again, you were a lot more skittish and fearful."

"Excuse me, but even without powers over there I tried to help everyone."

"You're still proving my point."

"Okay, but I wasn't _that_ scared."

"Uh-huh." Cadence threw a pillow to him. Barry caught it against his chest and shook it out of its pillow case before speed-changing it. He then noticed Cadence looking at him curiously and lifted his eyebrows to ask a silent, 'what's up?'. Cadence kept her eyes on him, shaking out her own pillow. "You sure you don't want to look into the future and see what's changed?"

What could have changed? They hadn't been able to stop the missiles, and there were more than enough headlines that they _could_ change later. As it was, Killer Frost hadn't made an appearance yet and while Caitlin continued to permanently sport a blonde streak in her hair, she hadn't had any issues with her powers. Cisco's meta-dampening necklace seemed to be holding up well.

"No," Barry said. It rolled easily off his lips. Not a lie. Not even a struggle. He'd made the decision long ago he wasn't going to time travel anymore, and that included traveling to the future if he wasn't going to be traveling to the past. Time travel simply was too dangerous for anyone to live comfortably with. Barry shook his head. "I'm done with that."

"You sure?" Cadence pressed. A teasing smile came to her face. "I mean, I'm sure anyone else with your powers would want to do it. It took a while to convince Wally it wasn't a good idea after Harry threatened him."

Barry tried his best not to smile. It wasn't funny, not really. But watching the way Wally's face had paled when Harry had not-so-subtly threatened him about Jesse staying on their Earth was something he couldn't quite ignore.

"Just so we're clear," Harry said, stepping up into Wally's face. So close that his nose nearly touched Wally's. He reached out and pointed toward Jesse, who rolled her eyes, used to her father's antics and waiting for it to be over. "This is my daughter. There's nothing more important to me. So you do right by her or there's nowhere in the multiverse where I won't find you."

"Dad," Jesse groaned in warning.

Wally swallowed hard against the nervous lump that formed in his throat. "They'd have to kill me," Wally agreed.

Keeping his eyes on Wally, Harry moved to Jesse and wrapped his arms around his daughter. Jesse hugged him tightly, a simultaneously warm and sad smile on her face. "Bye, dad," she murmured.

"Bye, my Jesse Quick." Harry squeezed her back, pressing a kiss to the side of her head.

Harry then let go of Jesse and moved over to Barry. He reached out and shook his hand firmly, giving him a warm smile. His blue eyes flashed in amusement. "Always another way, Flash, always another way," he said.

Barry smiled and nodded back. He had wanted to ask Harry to stay, to help them out with Savitar, Alchemy, and the Assassination Bureau. He knew it would be fruitless. Harry had work to finish back on Earth-2, Grodd or no Grodd, he was going back to his work and do his best to ensure the city didn't continue to suffer through the fallout of Zoom's presence. Then he turned and gave Cadence a hug, surprising her despite her eagerness to return it. "That advice goes to you as well."

Now, as Barry stood in his apartment, he was sure of nothing more than wanting to spend some time away from the past and the future. If they were going to defeat Savitar, they had to be one step ahead of him, that was sure. He needed to get faster than ever. But after numerous days of being questioned on whether or not Flash and Flare should be run out of the city, he needed nothing more than to sit back and take time to himself. Something he hadn't been able to do, even without his job at the CCPD.

"I'm sure," Barry agreed. He paused. "For now, anyway."

"That's what I thought."

Barry threw the pillow back to her. Cadence caught it against her chest and flashed a teasing smile, placing it carefully back against their headboard. Barry took a step to the side, ready to tuck the sheets underneath the mattress. He smiled back at her, his eyes lowering to the engagement ring that sat on her left hand.

"You know, my great-grandfather gave that to my great-grandmother after World War II," he said. Cadence glanced to her ring then up at her fiancé. "He wanted to propose before he was shipped out but he didn't have the money and he bought it three years later when he was stationed in London. He fought his way across France all the way to Berlin and…" he nodded toward her hand. "that ring, around his neck with his dog tags, and when he got back she was waiting for him at the dock of the Brooklyn Navy Yards. He proposed on the spot. After my mom passed away, Joe held onto it for me."

"Wow." Cadence extended her hand, tilting her head to the side to examine her hand. "Now I _really_ feel bad about nearly knocking it down the drain this morning," she teased.

Barry rolled his eyes and stretched across the now completely made up bed. "Good to know you're taking such good care of it."

Cadence followed Barry's lead and curled up in Barry's lap. She wrapped an arm around his shoulders. She leaned against him, her eyes searching his. "So, Grodd's been taken in by ARGUS, Savitar hasn't shown himself in weeks, and the city's been quiet for a while now." She crossed her legs. "Are you finally going to get some sleep tonight?"

A smile came to Barry's face. He reached up a hand, brushing Cadence's hair from her cheek, running his fingertips around the shell of her ear. "That's entirely up to you."

An amused laugh escaped Cadence's lips. "Oh, really?"

"Really." Barry brought his hand around to cup Cadence's neck, moving his face against hers, giving her a breathtaking kiss.

Cadence kissed him back then sighed through her nose, leaning away from him. Undeterred, Barry lowered his chin to kiss her neck and collarbone, gently nuzzling her skin with his nose. "Barry, we _just_ made the bed," She pointed out.

"I'll do it quickly," Barry replied.

Cadence snorted. She leaned back to look him in the eye. Her eyes flashed with a mischievous fire that Barry easily recognized to mean she was about to tease him about something. It'd happened so much since they met that he could tell from a subtle change in her face or even in her voice when it was coming. And reminded him he was still looking for something he could tease her about.

She wasn't easy to embarrass, and he wouldn't stop until he found at least one thing to do it.

"Selling yourself a little short there, don't you think?" She teased.

Finally, Barry leaned back and glared at her, both affronted and amused. "I meant making the _bed_."

"Sure. Okay." She gave him another kiss, patted him on the shoulder, and climbed off the bed, leaving their room to go to the kitchen. She'd only made it to the bottom of the stairs before she suddenly found herself sitting atop the kitchen counter, hair blowing out of her face. "Really?" She asked.

Barry appeared in front of her. He grabbed her knees and opened her legs, stepping between them. With a grin, he put his face closer to hers, skin tingling as he started to lightly vibrate. "Really," he replied and closed the gap between them.

Cadence giggled quietly, throwing her arms around his neck to draw him closer. Barry brought up his hands to frame her neck. Focused on feeling her skin beneath his hands. She was there. Right then. In the present. Barry pushed away all thoughts of the future and what it was to bring. It wasn't a certain future, anything could happen by then.

"Is this one of those moments where you want me to leave so you guys can do your thing?" Brady's voice suddenly came from the doorway to the kitchen, making the young couple jump. Rather than be grossed out by any form of affection like others would be, Brady stood with his arms folded, eyebrows rose. Once he had their attention, he tilted his head toward the front door of the apartment. "'Cause I can go to dad's place if you want."

"No, you're safe," Cadence replied. She pushed against Barry's shoulders, moving him away from her. Cadence jumped to the floor and leaned over to kiss her son. At first, he leaned his head out of the way, but then accepted her kiss. "Speaking of your dad, though, he's going to be picking you up in a few minutes to go to the doctor."

"The doctor?" Brady's face screwed up.

"To get your shots?"

"Oh yeah." Brady nodded. Then his face screwed up once more. "What about school? Are you going to write me a note?"

"You don't have school today, I pulled you out," Cadence explained.

"Really?"

Barry laughed. "You actually _want_ to go to school?" Nearly every morning, Brady did his best to sleep in and keep from having to go to school. Numerous times, citing he was too tired. He was just going through a growth spurt, Cadence had explained to Barry, who wondered about it. The taller anyone grew, the more it wreaked havoc on someone's body—the body needing more time of sleep to perform the necessary work needed for the rapid growth. "Are you sure you're feeling okay?"

Brady shrugged. "I get to see my friends," he said. "That's the only good part about it."

Barry wouldn't know, honestly. Iris was his friend, yes, she protected him when he was navigating school. But she was still more popular than him, with people flocking to hang out at the West house with her day after day. It helped that Joe was consistently called away to cases he needed to handle, making the house a good spot to hang out and party as there was no adult supervision. It wasn't until he started to date Becky that other people took more notice of him, nevertheless Barry wasn't quite sure if it was true or if people were just feeling sorry for him.

"Conner went back with his mom, huh?" Cadence guessed.

Again, Brady shrugged. "Oliver and Mamaw did say they were only able to have him out of hiding for a short while." He looked away, blowing his fringe from his face. "I knew he was going to go back sometime."

"Well, you're up kind of early," Barry said slowly. "Did you sleep okay?" He thought back to when he and Cade were making up their bed and the small, make-shift bed on the floor he'd stepped over. Since having heard about the future, Brady hadn't been sleeping on his own very well. And while Barry thought he was too old to want to sleep in his parents' bedroom, he could understand under the circumstances.

"I slept fine." Brady quickly leapt toward the door as there was a knock that grabbed his attention. He went to open it, immediately beaming when he saw his father. "Hey, dad!"

"Hey, buddy." Ryder reached out and ruffled Brady's hair. "Are you ready to go?"

"Almost." Brady stepped back and allowed Ryder into the apartment. He went to the counter and grabbed the lacrosse stick that leaned against it. He smiled when he saw Ryder lean over to give his mother a kiss on the cheek as well as a hug. "I just had to get my lacrosse stick."

"I was going to help him practice for the team right after if that okay," Ryder added. He turned to Barry and the two slapped palms before giving a quick handshake. "Hey man, how's it going?"

"Not bad," Barry replied. "We haven't seen you around for a while."

"Yeah, I've just been busy," Ryder explained. "I've taken on a lot of contracting jobs lately."

"Hopefully nothing we've done," Barry said, apologetically. "I try to get around to fix things as quickly as I can."

"No, I've been doing a lot of development tracks," Ryder said. "Building homes for people. Reinforcing those that have had termite damage. Things like that. A lot of busy work, I've just been trying to keep my head low."

Cadence frowned, noticing the sudden shift in tone in her ex-boyfriend's voice. "What do you mean, Ry?"

"It's nothing to be worried about," he said quickly. "Just some stupid inter-industry politics going on."

"Sounds boring," Brady remarked.

"'It is," Ryder agreed. "Ready?"

"Yeah." Brady hugged his mom tightly, then moved to Barry and did the same. "Bye mom, bye Barry! I'll see you later."

"Bye." Barry waved after the two. He didn't speak again until the door to the apartment closed. Then he turned a curious look to Cadence. "I don't think Brady's ever hugged me before," he said.

Cadence gave him a funny look. "It's not that weird," she pointed out. "When we get married you're going to be part of the family. He's probably going to hug you sometime."

"No, I understand that, I just mean…" Barry trailed off.

He wasn't quite sure what he _did_ mean. That he was worried over Brady deciding to sleep in their room. That the display of affection from a boy who ducked, bobbed, and weaved out of his mother's way to not get kissed as he felt he was too old for it was concerning. They hadn't really had a chance to talk about what the Assassination Bureau's want with Brady meant.

There hadn't been a good time.

Since Grodd had been taken away and the missile blew, they'd kept as much conversation away from STAR Labs and Team Flash as much as possible. Even so Harrison practically banning them all form going to STAR Labs. The city was quiet, he'd call them over if something went wrong, he promised. He didn't want them to get too bogged down with everything they saw, they needed to keep a low profile.

And Barry agreed.

To an extent.

Sometime soon they needed to come together as a team to talk about everything. But it wasn't the time.

"I mean I didn't expect it," Barry finally said. "It's different; going from just your boyfriend to now being your fiancé. And then him getting another parent out of it. I just wonder if it might be too much for him."

"The fact that you're that concerned about it shows you really do care," Cadence pointed out. She reached out and ran her fingers through Barry's hair, a featherlight touch that made goosebumps appear on his arms while simultaneously making his fears wash away. "And that we're on the same page because I worry about it, too. You're not just boyfriend or just my fiancé." She grinned wickedly. "You're both of those things."

Barry laughed. "So, what are you doing today?"

"I'm getting breakfast with Caitlin and Cisco. You want to come?"

"Can't. I'm having breakfast with Joe, Wally, and Iris."

"They can come, too."

"It's a family thing," Barry said. He noticed Cadence's eyebrows rise and he quickly added, "I'd invite you, too, I mean, if it weren't a family, not that you're _not_ family, all you guys, but—uh—I mean—it's a West thing."

"I'm going to be a West," Cadence pointed out. "Technically." Then her eyebrows furrowed. "And a Nash…and a Wells…and an Allen." Barry grimaced, realizing, technically, he'd be the same as well. "Our family tree is going to be so messed up." Barry laughed in agreement. "Have fun, we'll just meet up with you guys later. It's been a while since all four of us hung out without meta stuff to worry about."

"Don't jinx it," Barry said.

With that, he pressed a kiss to her forehead before super speeding through the apartment to get dressed and race out the door.

* * *

Caitlin sighed, twirling a pair of scissors in her hand. She lowered her hand, tapping the blades against her desk top. She lifted her chin and looked at her reflection in the mirror. Her meta dampener necklace shone brightly against her brown eyes, making the blonde streak in her hair turn silvery in comparison. That darn blond streak that didn't seem to be going away.

A constant reminder of how closely she'd come to losing control. It would've been worth it, she knew. A way to take care of those within a city she loved. If it meant making sure that her friends were okay…Caitlin briefly closed her eyes. What would it have meant? More blackouts? More lost time?

Since putting on the dampener necklace she didn't have those moments. She remembered everything perfectly, didn't have random purchases popping up. It didn't take long for her to figure out the connection between them. But did it mean she couldn't use her powers ever again? It had taken a lot out of her to even stop the missiles and without the adverse effects, it didn't mean it wasn't going to happen again.

Didn't mean that the meta dampener necklace was working. Maybe it meant she was still holding back. Holding back the potential to help others.

 _Face it, Caitlin, you really helped them,_ Caitlin thought, looking at her reflection. _Even if you couldn't stop that one missile…_ her hand shook, fingers curling into her palm. _That one, damn, missile._ Caitlin brought up her scissors once more, moving it toward her hair.

A knock at her bedroom door startled her into slamming her hand down to the top of her desk. She looked in her mirror to see the door edge open and Cisco step inside, hand over his eyes. "I know I'm broaching the sanctity of your room, but I just wanted to make sure you didn't pass out or something."

Caitlin smiled. "Cisco, I'm fine."

''Okay." Cisco lowered his hand. "Now I can ask, what's taking you so long?" He crossed the room to stand behind her. "You know you don't wear enough make up to make you take this long." He held up a finger, wagging it back and forth. "And you better not be thinking about cutting off that sweet piece of blonde hair out your head."

Caitlin gave him a pointed look.

"Cait, no!" Cisco gave an overly dramatic gasp that nearly made him choke. It's super badass and makes you even more of a badass than you already are."

"Sorry if I don't feel very badass about it," Caitlin replied. She turned in her seat, crossing her legs at the knee. "If I could have—"

"Cait, stop." Cisco's voice was stern yet held nothing but warmth in it. "We can't save everyone, we knew that going into what we're doing now. If we keep wondering about it, it'll drive us all crazy. And you know what does good to keep us from driving crazy?" Caitlin tilted her head curiously. "Breakfast at Jitters. And while the idea of Valentine's Day absolutely repulses me at this point, they make some amazing love doughnuts."

Caitlin smiled to herself, watching as Cisco rubbed his hands over his stomach, licking invisible frosting and sprinkles from his lips. Then she noticed his smile fade and asked, "What's up, Cisco?"

"Everyone else gets to have their love doughnut," Cisco said. Caitlin paused for a moment, trying to figure out what Cisco was trying to say this time. He had some wacky euphemisms and sometimes his pop culture references went over her head. Most of the time, though, she could figure it out within seconds. "When am I going to have one?"

Oh, that was it. Valentine's Day was approaching, and Cisco was starting to feel left out. "Love is complicated," She said soothingly.

"Understatement of the century." Cisco snorted. "So, uh, what about you?" He asked, gently pinching her bedspread between his fingertips. "Anything new on the love doughnut front for you?"

"No." Caitlin shrugged. "Nothing. I've been too busy to even think about it. And I still don't think I'm ready for it, there's too much going on. Even if I were just to be friends with someone—"

"Ah, the friendzone." Cisco nodded sagely. "I know it well. Pretty sure I have a permanent residence there." His voice dripped with sarcasm. "You know, maybe I should just swallow the pill. Maybe my game just aint' strong."

Caitlin sat up, shaking her head. "Your game is so strong." Cisco glared at her, making Caitlin smile sheepishly. Maybe she hadn't been as convincing as she'd like to be. Or maybe she was _so_ convincing Cisco saw right through her attempts to make him feel better. Nevertheless, Caitlin said sincerely, "For what it's worth, I think Lisa Snart was totally into you." Cisco started to smile a smile that Caitlin quickly shut down. "Not that I'd actually let you date her."

"Jealous?" Cisco taunted.

"You'd want to date a criminal?"

"Hey, a girl that fine is hard to come by. I wouldn't mind visiting her in prison every now and then."

Caitlin laughed. She moved to Cisco's side, throwing her arm around his shoulder. "Cisco, I promise, there's a beautiful, intelligent woman out there who's going to challenge you and make you the best version of yourself." She gently shook him. "In fact, she might just be right around the corner."

Cadence took that opportunity to teleport into Caitlin's bedroom. "Or under your nose," she remarked, sending Cisco what appeared to be a sweet smile, but was actually a knowing one. Cisco glared back at her while Caitlin laughed. She shifted aside on the bed, giving Cadence space to sit next to her.

"I mean, our gorgeous intruder Gypsy, could've been the one," Cisco remarked, his tone turning wistful. Cadence rolled her eyes while Caitlin smiled encouragingly. "If we had the chance we could've talked over coffee or dinner…I think the Thai place would've been good. Would Thai have been good?"

Caitlin shook her head. "Thai would've been great, Cisco. But you know what I want right now? Some of those love doughnuts you keep talking about. I'm starving."

"Starving for something," Cadence murmured.

Cisco reached over and flicked her on the ear. Cadence shoved him back. "Come on, children, we don't want to miss out." She moved back to her dresser and looked in the mirror. She tucked her blonde strand of hair behind her ear, made sure her dampener necklace was in place around her neck, and turned back to her friends, holding out her arms.

Cisco moved between Caitlin and Cadence, looping his arms between theirs. "To Jitters," he declared, opening a breach.

Caitlin smiled as the three stepped inside.

* * *

Barry's eyebrows furrowed. His footsteps slowed along the sidewalk leading up to the West house. He pressed his phone against his ear, working hard to ensure he was hearing the words correctly. A British accent wasn't difficult to ascertain, he could hear Julian's words clearly. It was making sure he wasn't getting his hopes up that was the problem.

The message ended, Barry quickly replayed it. _"I spoke to Captain Singh, and he was only in the middle of the process of your resignation work,"_ Julian's voice said. _"What with everything that's been going on around here. So, if you'd like your old lab back, or, I mean, like to share it again…the offer's there. Cheers, mate."_

Barry slowed to a stop. He pulled his phone from his ear, staring at it. Not that he wasn't excited for the chance to have his job back but…why now? Why all of a sudden?"

"Barry!"

Barry looked over his shoulder and grinned as Iris and Wally headed his way. They shoved each other back and forth as they approached. "Hey." Barry greeted Iris with a hug and Wally with a man-hug. "What's going on? You guys look annoyed or something."

"Or something," Iris agreed. She nudged Wally with her shoulder. "Wally here thinks that he doesn't need to study for any of his upcoming exams. And that he doesn't need any help on any of his papers." She put a hand next to her ear. "What grade did you get on the last one, again?"

"It wasn't _that_ bad," Wally defended himself.

"Didn't you get a 'C'?" Barry asked, falling into step with them as they moved toward the house.

"Only because my writing wasn't that great," Wally admitted. Iris gave a loud 'ha' then smiled sweetly at Iris, knowing her point had just been proven. "But my professor did say my ideas were spot on. So what if my spelling and grammar isn't so good?" He shrugged. "I'm an engineer, not an English major."

"Why does that sound so familiar?" Iris turned her gaze to Barry, who held his hands up, defensively holding his palms out.

"I never said that," he declared.

"But you _did_ continuously make fun of me for my interest in our English classes," Iris said. She folded her arms and wiggled her neck. "And look where I am now! One of the best reporters the CCPN has ever seen! So, excuse me, Mr. I'm-In-Every-AP-Class-In-Existence, but how is that treating you now?"

Barry smiled at Iris. "You know I would've failed AP English if it wasn't for you."

"Thank you." Iris shoved Wally once more, propelling him up the steps of the house. "All I want is a little recognition."

"And by recognition you mean a cake, a parade, a day for yourself…" Wally took out his keys and used them to unlock the front door. He pushed his way inside, turning back to Iris. "A national holiday—"

"I think a parade would be a bit too much, don't you think?" Iris asked.

Barry laughed along with Iris and Wally. At the same time, the three swung toward the living room and stopped laughing. Barry's mouth dropped open at the same time his eyes widened. He was sure Iris and Wally had the same expressions on their faces.

Joe certainly did. As did the woman who was in his arms, gaping at the three young adults in the stunned silence that moved through the living room.

"I, uh," Wally stammered.

"Weren't we supposed to be having breakfast?" Barry blurted. "Ow!" He cried out when Iris elbowed him in the side. She shot him a glare and turned back to her father and the woman who finally moved and scrambled to their feet. Barry rubbed the sore spot he was hit and looked closer at the woman. She looked familiar to him.

And from the way she was looking back at him, it was obvious he looked familiar to her as well. Or else the nervous smile flittering across her face certainly was because she'd just been caught making out with the police detective by his children.

"Breakfast?" Joe repeated. He carefully smoothed his tie back into place.

"Uh, yeah," Iris replied. She nodded to him. "Monday morning breakfast. Like always." Then she looked to the woman standing beside Joe and thrust her hand out with gusto. "Sorry, I'm being rude. I'm—"

"-Iris, I know who you are," the woman replied. She shook Iris's hand then waved to Barry an Wally. "And you're Wally and Barry." She motioned to Joe. "Joe tells me about you guys all the time."

"Yeah, but…he hasn't really told us about you…" Wally slowly intoned.

At that, Joe cringed even harder while the woman's eyebrows rose. She placed her hands on her hips and fixed Joe with a stare. "You told me you were going to talk to them about us."

"'Us?'" Barry repeated.

"Uh." Joe ran a hand over his mouth. "You see…Cecile and I…we, uh…"

Barry slightly tuned out when he heard the name 'Cecile'. It took a second for him to put the pieces together. Where he'd seen her before. She was DA Cecile Horton. Worked for the CCPD with those who were going through the court process, even represented some of those on the force who were being sued or accused of being too rough when arresting criminals.

"You're together?" Barry asked.

The words felt foreign on his lips. Not that he hadn't thought that Joe could've dated. There were many, many, _many_ times he and Iris tried to convince him he was ready to date as they were growing up. But Joe insisted he was too busy taking care of them, too busy working to even think about dating. Now all of his abrupt disappearances and short words made sense.

"Like… _together_ , together?" Wally asked. He took a step back. "Like we interrupted something, together?"

"Wally, shut up," Iris and Joe said in unison.

"Okay. Look." Cecile held up her hands. "I'm sorry you all had to find out about us like this. But…I've been telling Joe that I've wanted to get to know you guys. Things have been so crazy around here that we haven't really had the chance to just…slow down and talk." Joe drew a hand across his forehead, wiping away his nervous sweat. "So…you guys have breakfast every Sunday?"

Joe finally found his voice once more. "Yeah, uh, we at least try to," he stammered.

"It'd like to join…if that's okay," Cecile said.

"No, yeah, uh, the more the merrier," Barry said. He looked to Joe, who visible relaxed, then back to Wally and Iris. They both nodded.

"Yeah, we'd love to have you," Iris said. She moved forward, placing a comforting hand on Cecile's shoulder. "It's not every day people see all the charm my dad has managed to pass on to me, so I'm glad someone realizes it."

"Have you ever noticed that whenever Iris is congratulating someone else, she managed to congratulate herself, too?" Wally murmured to Barry, watching as the two women giggled their way into the kitchen with an apprehensive Joe following them..

"It took you this long to notice it?" Barry shot back. He laughed and patted Wally on the shoulder. Wally shrugged and moved to follow his family. Barry turned to close the door behind him.

In the distance, he saw a flash of white light. A flash that signified Savitar was up to something, That Savitar wanted Barry to follow him, to tease him even more with his presence and not knowing what he wanted. To show him what it truly meant to be a speedster. To tear him down just to prove how strong he was.

But, for the first time, Barry didn't run after him.

* * *

 **A/N:** Well, they all deserved some time for themselves and we deserved to have a nice, happy chapter for everyone. I finally got to some more family stuff with Cadence, Brady, and Barry, got to some more friendly stuff with Caitlin and Cisco, and Barry even got his job back—as odd as Julian was about it. Lol. And the first appearance of Cecile! Did anyone guess this was coming with the way Joe was acting? I hope that, at least, explains why he's been so MIA as of late.

Thanks for being so patient as my work really threw me for a loop. Things are slowing down now and I hope to get back on schedule for all my updates.

 **Cheers,**

 **-Riley**

 **Review Replies**

 **Ethan:** Maya was probably too glued to the television with the threat of the nuclear missiles falling to make a cake, honestly, lol.

 **DarkHelm145:** Yeah, it was kind of weird, but she had her friends around her to take care of her. It was meant to be like that, that they were there to protect her. Yes, with Oliver it'll be explained in the next chapter and when it is I'm sure you'll find it to make a lot of sense.


	40. Stand Still

**40**

 _Stand Still_

* * *

Brady followed Ryder into the doctor's office. Just a regular, ordinary doctor's office that was going to be as boring as all the other appointments he'd ever gone to. At least he was missing school for it, he reminded himself.

Though that wasn't necessarily a good thing, either. He needed to catch up on things with Leah and Alicia, especially since she got the papers back to Chief Paulson. Or, that's what he assumed. She hadn't said anything about it and Chief Paulson hadn't knocked down their door or anything. So they were in the clear, for the moment.

Brady looked around the office, shoving his hands into the pockets of his sweatshirt. He gazed at the other children that sat with their parents, all with their noses in their phones. Others were reading, some were craning their necks back like pigeons as they gazed blankly at the television where an episode of a boring home design show was on. But most had their heads in their phones, neck bent to resemble a question mark.

And Brady closely looked over each of their phones. Candy Crush, Angry Birds, Cut the Rope, every game he'd played in his own life. But then he saw a few that were a bit more suspicious. They sat hunched over their phones, wanting privacy to do…who knows what, while their parents sat right next to them. Brady peered closer, his curiosity getting the best of him.

It was like Dr. Allen had said, always stay curious. Always ask questions. And, at the moment, Brady's question of 'what are they hiding' was bigger than whether or not his shots would hurt. He watched them as the seconds passed, just two kids, a boy and a girl. A little older than him. Probably in their last year of middle school considering the small spots of acne that dotted the boy's chin and the smeared lip gloss on the girl's lips, her application shaky. He listened to what his mother said about watching everyone around him.

Not to scare him, but to make a point. You can easily see what the person is about and what their mannerisms are in within a few moments of watching. Enough to detect any danger that may be coming. Brady didn't think he was in any sort of danger in a doctor's office—then again, he thought the same about school—and continued to hover by Ryder as they waited for the receptionist to get to them.

He craned his neck, discreetly leaned back and forth to see what was on the cell phones that had them being so secretive. He'd heard it from school, heard it from his mom, "When you get older, you'll start to become more curious and look up certain things on the internet…" but he didn't think they'd be so bold as to do it in public. Finally, when the boy stretched his legs to the floor, unfolding himself from the knot he'd put himself into, Brady saw the account on screen.

The Instagram account he and Conner had made. They hadn't worked on it much, as of late, too much time figuring out what was going on with Savitar and Alchemy, so many birthdays and holidays and events coming around at once. He thrived on chaos, enjoyed the 'alternatively normal lifestyle' his mother gave him (as she called it) but sometimes he wished things would just slow down.

"Hey, buddy, it's our turn."

Brady obediently turned away from the targets of his stare and nodded up at his father when he heard his nickname from him. 'Bud' from his mom, 'Buddy' from his father. He wondered if they talked about that before he was born. Brady leaned against the counter, eyes shifting behind the smiling receptionist. Nothing too ordinary. Just boring things in all doctor's offices.

"Yes, how can I help you?" The receptionist asked.

"We have a 9:30 appointment with Dr. Hemsworth," Ryder explained. He nodded towards his son. "For Braden Nash."

"Alright, can I get your medical card and ID?" The receptionist asked. Her voice was as pleasant as ever. Brady looked at her and she smiled sweetly. He smiled back, his smile staying up for a second, then wilted. Something wasn't quite right. He didn't know what it was, but something was going on. "Okay, and can you tell me your address?" Ryder rattled off his own address. The receptionist looked it up through her computer and made a low humming sound, shaking her head. "I'm sorry, I can't find that address."

Ryder's eyes narrowed. "The last time I was here, y'all took my information just fine," he explained.

"I'm sorry, sir, but it's not coming up in our records. Is there another address you can provide for us?" Brady looked around the room, at the fidgeting line behind them.

"Well, he lives with his mother," Ryder explained slowly. He blinked twice. Almost as if stunned by the push back. Brady had been on construction sites with his father enough times to know that everyone he worked with respected him and didn't talk back unless they felt something was dangerous. Brady looked at his father, noticing his blue eyes flickered down his own attire—boots, jeans, a t-shirt, nothing too out of the ordinary but combined with the reference of his relationship status with Brady's mother and it was enough to bring some judgement. "I bet it'd be under that."

The receptionist's peculiar expression didn't change. Brady suddenly felt annoyed and defensive. How many kids had divorced parents? How many people had parents who weren't, legally, together? Why did she have to be so judgmental about it?

"May I have that address, please?"

Ryder rattled it off and waited, extending his hand to drum his fingertips on the counter top. The sound filled the waiting room, causing the tension to rise further. Even Brady wanted nothing more than to turn on his heels and run.

The receptionist tapped it into the computer, nodding as she did so. Then she leaned back, eyelids twitching, and nodded. She turned to Ryder and smiled. "That one's worked just fine."

"Great, we have everything we need then." Ryder started to turn away.

"We do have one more piece of verification that needs to be done." In a flash, the receptionist whipped out a half sheet of paper filled with the same information that was on his medical card—that Brady could see—with a box sectioned in half. One side had a sticker filled with medical jargon Brady didn't understand, and the other side was empty. She reached under the counter and grabbed a box of ink. "Please press your finger into this, Brady."

Brady shrugged and reached out to do as he was told, though a warning signal went off in the back of his mind—danger, don't do it—the receptionist grabbed his wrist and practically forced his thumb into the ink and then onto the paper. Brady reacted with surprise at her aggression, accidentally phasing. Her hand dropped through his, creating a low 'thunk' on the table. It was that sound that grabbed Ryder's attention through the few second interaction.

He looked at Brady, who looked back at him with wide eyes, then at the receptionist, then at the ink box and the finger print that was now on the page. "What the hell is that?" He demanded.

The receptionist sat up straight, bringing her hands to her lap. She looked Ryder in the eye, unfillable to the flinty expression that came to his face. His expression was almost carved out of granite, a rare sight for Brady. So much so he was glad his mother was the disciplinarian of the two. He couldn't imagine how angry Ryder could become if he weren't seeing it for himself.

"A fingerprint."

"I can see that. I want to know why y'all have his fingerprint on that sheet of paper."

The receptionist blinked but continued to hold the smile on her face. The other children with their parents started to crane their necks, looking to see what the commotion was. Brady looked at them then back to Ryder, confused, but knowing something was wrong. "For the same reason we have to ensure the address and medical ID matches to the patient."

"You think I'm going to try and bring another kid in with me? What's that going to do?"

"You'll be surprised how many parents bring in their children to take advantage of the healthcare system."

"Well, I'm not here to do that. I'm here for my son to get some shots that his school authorized him to receive. Now, I want his fingerprints off that sheet! Tear it up if you have to!"

"I'm sorry, sir. I can't do that."

"Like hell, you can't!"

"Sir, we need it to authorize—"

"—I don't give a damn what y'all need to authorize," Ryder spat. "You didn't authorize it with me."

The receptionist pushed her glasses up her nose. She slowly stood up to face Ryder, keeping her hands pressed to the counter top. "I understand you're upset about this Mr…" she glanced at his ID. "Moseley," she finished. Ryder scoffed. "But I must ask you to stop using such profane language when you're speaking to me. As it is, this is a new procedure that has been put in place due to those taking advantage of the healthcare system. I don't like it any more than you do,"—Brady seriously doubted that, the receptionist looked like she was having a good time telling Ryder off—"but it is a policy that needs to be followed. If you haven't brought your child in with you to previous appointments, I can understand how you didn't know about this. But there haven't been any complaints from any of the other parents."

At the same time, Brady and Ryder turned to the reception area. All eyes immediately turned away from them, busying themselves in their phones, books, magazines, anything that would keep them from looking at the disturbance going on.

Brady watched as the two older kids looked at him, then looked away, then would look at him over the tops of their phones. He wasn't sure what they were trying to say, _if_ they were saying anything.

"I want. His fingerprints. Off," Ryder said in such a slow, calm manner that Brady wondered if he'd been spending a lot of time with Oliver. Both of them managed to make a chill go down his spine; Oliver with his overall gruffness as being the Green Arrow, though he—just barely—held restraint when working with the young boy.

"And they'll be taken off, as soon as he receives his shots," the receptionist insisted.

Ryder shifted his lower jaw to the side. He sucked in a breath through his nose, then let it out. Without a backwards glance, he grasped Brady's shoulder and directed him to the empty seats in the far corner of the receptionist area. Brady lowered himself into the seat next to his father and looked up at him, watching as he pressed his hands to his face and scrubbed at the skin with his fingertips. If it were Barry, he would've been more diplomatic, maybe even stammered a bit while trying to wrap his head around everything.

But Barry wasn't Ryder and Ryder wasn't Barry. Their differences and similarities were like apples and oranges. Barry was soft, gentle, helpful, friendly, willing to do everything for his friends. Ryder was outgoing, rough around the edges, charismatic, and believed the amount of hard work someone showed was a testament to their true person. Barry enjoyed the sciences, Ryder enjoyed sports. Barry liked to sit back and watch Netflix, Ryder liked to go out and have a beer with his friends. Barry was introverted. Ryder was extroverted.

And even with those differences, Brady at least knew they both had his best interest at heart. Without powers, Ryder did his best to protect him, even though Brady had no idea what he was being protected from. Something wasn't right, he could see that. But… _It's a doctor's office, how bad can it be?_ He thought.

"Dad, are you okay?" Brady finally ventured to ask.

Ryder lowered his hands form his face, but brought them up to rub his neck. He pressed his fingertips into his pressure points, letting out a low groan. "Yeah, buddy, I'm alright," he said. He must've noticed Brady's skeptical look because he added, "I've been better, but I'm alright." He turned in his seat to look at his son closely. "What about you?"

Brady shrugged. "I'm okay." He rubbed his fingertips together, working to take out the stain of the ink on him. "I guess."

"You guess?"

"I don't know what's wrong. She just wanted my fingerprints." Ryder looked at him for a long moment, unblinking. Then he shook his head and turned away. "What?"

"Nothing, buddy." Ryder rubbed at his eyes, stretching out in his seat. "I'll tell you when you're older."

Brady sighed a sigh that rivaled coughing up a lung. Offended. How many more times was he going to hear it? I'll tell you when you're older. I'll tell you when you're older. "I hate it when people say that. I keep getting older, but no one tells me anything."

"Believe me, buddy, you know more than a lot of kids your age do." Ryder lowered his voice, but didn't opened his eyes. "Especially when it comes to this meta stuff."

Brady turned his gaze to the floor. He looked around the waiting room and thought about what happened. Something about it, something about the way he reacted to his fingerprints being taken clearly had something to do with being a meta. Ryder didn't hate it, exactly. There wasn't much he could do about it, but Brady knew he hated to look at the news and know he was out there helping Barry and his mom when the time came.

He sucked in a deep breath, pushing down the thoughts of Breathtaker that immediately sprang to mind. His hands started to shake. Knees bounced up and down. Fingertips tingled. Brady swallowed hard, ran his hands over his face. Memories flashed through his head.

A hand over his mouth.

Being forcibly pulled from bed.

Walking aimlessly out of the apartment, with no control over his body.

Images of his mother's dead body in front of him, images of his mother saying he was a mistake, images of his mother attacking him, saying he ruined her life. Things that weren't true, things that hadn't truly happened. Things that he'd thought he'd forgotten.

"Braden Nash?" Brady looked up when he heard his name. A nurse waited in the doorway to the office. She smiled sweetly when Brady stood up and started toward the door. Ryder followed him. "Hi Brady, how are you today?"

"Fine." He swallowed hard, caught his breath. "Better now."

"Now?" The nurse looked at him, tilting her head to study him closely. Brady looked back at her. Something about her was very familiar. He just couldn't quite put his finger on it. "Is everything alright?"

"We just had a bit of an argument with your receptionist and her ways of determining what is and isn't imperative to ID'ing a patient," Ryder said, folding his arms.

"Oh, you mean Jackie Hollowell," the nurse replied. She closed the door behind them and motioned for Brady to take off his shoes and step on the scale. He did as he was told, watching the numbers climb. "We call her 'the Jackal'. She can be a bit heavy handed with our policies."

"A bit?" Brady asked, before Ryder could. The nurse smiled. "I can see why you call her Jackal. Her smile is all teeth." He jumped down from the scale and pressed his back against the wall, waiting for the slab to lower down to capture his height. When it was recorded, he eagerly stepped aside and looked at the numbers.

"Wow, you're really shooting up there, buddy," Ryder commented, looking at the numbers himself.

"Looks like you're getting some shots today," the nurse said, looking over her clipboard. "I hope you're not still scared of them. I seem to remember you kicked and screamed so hard your mother had to bribe you with copious amounts of chocolate." She laughed as Brady's confusion deepened. "Tell her Corinne Bloom says 'hi'."

* * *

Harrison placed his palm against the cool, metallic wall of the empty hallway. He removed his hand and stepped back, careful not to let any appendages get too close to the slots on the wall that opened. He looked over his shoulder at Maya and Tess. The former gaped at the opening in the wall while Tess clasped her hands behind her back, waiting for the room to reveal itself.

"You have hidden rooms in here, too?" Maya asked. Her jaw dropped, and her arms slouched, nearly dropping the expensive purse that dangled off her arm to the ground. She looked at her two best friends before turning her gaze around to the walls of the hallway. She stepped back and ran her hand along one wall, before rapping her knuckles against it. "How is that possible? You already have eight floors of technological advancement. Is this a panic room or something? You know, Kent and I had one built in our mansion but, thankfully, we've never had to use it."

"It's not a panic room, it's a time vault," Harrison explained.

"A what?"

"Time Vault," Tess replied. She brushed her hand over Maya's shoulder, motioning for her to enter the spacious room. The lights flipped on, blinding Maya for a few seconds. She blinked rapidly, working to move the spots from her eyes. "We didn't call it that, Cisco came up with the name."

"A name I think could use a change, but I digress," Harrison said. He pushed back the sleeves of his black sweater and folded his arms. "I got out-voted when naming STAR Labs, and Cisco is the resident namer around here."

"But what is it?" Maya asked.

Harrison spread his arm around the room. The brightly lit room that, to Maya, looked like an interior decorator had decided that ping-pong balls were to make an interesting texture, didn't look to be too exciting in some way. What was so special about a room. "This is the room Eobard Thawne operated out of when he was still within my body," Harrison explained. "And is the room he used to run surveillance on Barry before and after he became The Flash."

"From in here?" Maya asked. "Oh." She understood then, the implications. How wrong it was. How utterly…devious. Thinking there was someone who was working with them, but was working _against_ them the whole time. _That's exactly how things with Cadence worked out,_ Maya thought. She briefly wondered if it was something that ran in the family.

"Yes, it was a very difficult time for us all," Harrison said. He slid his hands into the pockets of his slacks and strode into the middle of the time vault. Tess followed his movements. "And it's something, honestly, I don't think Barry will ever get over."

"There aren't many things that people can come back from and betrayal is definitely one of them," Tess agreed. She motioned Maya to move closer to herself and her husband. "But he has a strong team around him to keep him grounded. And now that he's so concerned about the future, there's something we need to show you." She looked Maya in the eye. "Do you remember the last time we spoke about Breathtaker?"

Maya nodded.

 _Maya's hands shook as she handed the papers Tess had given to her back across the desk. Tess took them and set it aside. She looked up at Harrison, who stood beside her, watching Maya's face closely. He lowered his chin and said, "I know this is really hard for you to hear, Maya. Knowing we kept it from you for so long."_

 _"No, it's not that," Maya whispered. She cleared her throat and folded her arms, pulling her purse tighter against her body. "I understand how…how you guys needed to operate. Things had to be kept a secret. For…for our safety." She took in a shuddering breath. "Just as…as I'm sure Kent understood considering he kept his illness a secret. I just can't help but think—"_

 _"—Had you known sooner you may have treaded lightly?" Harrison asked. "How you would've made different decisions. Done your best not to isolate and keep others away? I understand how all that feels as they're decisions I've made and have continued to make as the years tick by. Sometimes I feel it's something that I'd change if I had the ability to go back in time but I can't. And we've seen what's happened once Barry has done the same. Who knows how our future would've been impacted."_

 _Maya took in another deep breath. "How did it happen?"_

 _Tess reached out her hand and placed it atop of Harrison's wrist. The small, peculiar smile never left his face as he took in a breath and revealed the truth. "Eobard Thawne, just like he'd done to Barry Allen, made Cadence a metahuman long before she was to be one. Tess and I were to have made STAR Labs years in the future, where Barry would've become struck by lightning and become The Flash in his thirties. That same wave of dark matter would've been released and caused Cadence to turn into a metahuman. Instead, Eobard Thawne traveled back in time, inhabited my body, and made it so that STAR Labs was built sooner, thus making Barry a speedster sooner. However, he'd known there was another metahuman that would be as much of a formidable foe in the future."_

 _"Cadence?" Maya asked. Her eyes darted towards the papers she'd relinquished her grip on. She didn't know much about science but DNA images direct from STAR Labs's database didn't lie._

 _Tess nodded._

 _"So much so that he deemed to also make her a metahuman long before she was meant to be. He forced me to inject her with dark matter to supplement her with the powers that would then change her DNA. Thus making it so that any children she bore would have the metahuman gene as well."_

 _"Why?" Maya asked._

 _Harrison took a deep breath. "Because of Breathtaker."_

"There are more things that we need to tell you about Breathtaker, especially now that he's told our team what it is he truly wants," Tess said.

"I don't understand." Maya rubbed at her eyebrows. All these secrets and the 'underground life' of being a metahuman was really starting to make her head spin. She wondered how they were able to keep it all straight let alone a secret from most of the world. Maya felt a swell of pride for not just Cadence and Brady but for Cisco, Caitlin, Wally, Jesse, Harrison and Tess as well. And now that she was being pulled more and more into the world, having aided in the advertisement for STAR Labs even before its inception, it was only a matter of time until she truly learned what went on. "You told me that—"

"—I told you Barry and Cadence were made into metahumans much sooner than they were suppose dto be," Harrison explained. "All because of Eobard's changing of the timeline, wanting to get revenge on Barry."

"Because of Breathtaker," Maya agreed. She worked hard to remember what exactly she had been told. It was hard to keep everything straight. "He's someone they want to keep from taking over the world. Like they do with every speedster that comes out each May." Harrison and Tess exchanged amused smiles. "I understand that. But what I don't understand if _why_?"

Harrison lowered his head. His eyes squeezed shut behind his glasses, as if warding off unfortunate, painful thoughts. Maya watched him for a long moment. Finally, Harrison lifted his head and took in a breath. "From what I've seen with the mind-meld between me and Eobard I was able to discern that Breathtaker, in Eobard's version of the future, would've enslaved the world."

Maya gaped at him.

"Metas were taken from their homes, ripped from their families, ripped of their lives and very essence—"

Maya blinked quietly. She tried to wrap her head around it. _Essence?_ What sort of essence did metahumans have that others didn't? It was times like these she wished Kent was around, he was able to figure things like that out better than she could. Maybe due to her more naïve view of the world. She was slowly starting to understand why Cadence was so short with her sometimes. "You mean, they would've kept the metas from being able to use their powers?"

"Not just keep them from using their powers" Harrison said. "Remove them completely. Experiment on metahumans to ensure it was a possibility and then execute when possible. They first used the so called 'cure' on those they deemed to be threats to national security."

"The goal is to return all metahumans to humans so that he would be the only one to rule them all," Tess explained. "A God."

"But Breathtaker has said he wants to make sure the metas come to power," Harrison said, speaking Tess's unasked question out loud. "'In this timeline, in this _time_ that is exactly what he intends to do. He will bring the metahumans to power and then, slowly, he'll take over, becoming a supreme ruler to the world. The Flash will go missing in crisis…and Breathtaker will enslave the world."

"What does that have to do with Cadey? Or Savitar? Eobard made her a meta sooner, what was to happen to her in the future?"

Harrison was silent for a long moment. He cleared his throat and when he spoke again, his words were gruff with emotion. "She was to be a formidable foe to Breathtaker's plans, stopping them at every turn. Until she couldn't. She wasn't to make it that far. In the future…the original future…she's murdered."

Maya gasped quietly. There was always a possibility of it happening, but to have it confirmed was tougher to grasp. "By who?"

"By those that deem her resistance network to be a threat against national security," Harrison explained.

Maya gazed at him. _Resistance Network?_ Despite not knowing if that future was going to come true or not, despite not knowing how Barry's traveling to create Flashpoint did to affect the future, Maya felt a twinge of pride for her daughter. Since she was old enough to start working, and practically threw a tantrum when her parents hesitated on the idea in the first place, Cadence never held a job for more than a year. There were the same excuses: "It wasn't fun", "my bosses were mean", "my co-workers sucked", "it didn't pay enough", "I didn't like it". But to know she would be doing something that great…?

Harrison pulled off his glasses and rubbed at his eyes. "She's taken from her home and beaten to death. A private metahuman registry was created from a database of DNA obtained from fingerprint scans, crime scenes, and other such tasks of illegally obtaining information. It is then, eventually, sold to world governments. Cadence's resistance was making great strides to taking those in power and convicting them and they murder her."

"What does that have to do with now?" Maya asked.

"Well, there are more things we need you to know now that you're becoming more integrated with Team Flash and the goings on in Central City," Tess said. She looked at Maya seriously. "With Lex Luthor's presidential campaign, there are things we need you to bring back to Metropolis as there are those in power there who are trying to push forward on the segregation of metahumans and humans."

She nodded to Harrison, who extended his hand, hovering his palm over a white pedestal in front of him. A blue light emanated and scanned the palm of his hand. In seconds, the light flashed and faded, before a face warped out of thin air in front of the three.

"Hello Harrison Wells," Gideon greeted him. "Hello Tess Morgan. Hello Maya Nash. What can I do for you?"

"Gideon, show us the future."

"Certainly, Dr. Wells."

Gideon's face was then replaced by a massive newspaper article. The title: _The Flashes Missing In Crisis,_ headlined by Iris West and showed an up close and personal shot of Barry's face in his mask, charging towards the camera that was taking the picture of him. Maya silently read the newspaper article. Read about the fight with Eobard Thawne and how Barry will disappear in 2024. Only in seven short years.

Brady would be 19 then.

She could hardly wrap her head around it.

"What else do you notice?" Tess gently pressed.

Maya's eyes roved over the newspaper, bouncing off the names she recognized and others she didn't. Flash. Green Arrow. Hawkgirl. The Atom. The Reverse-Flash. Vibe. Shadowhunter. Killer Frost. Geo. She didn't see Cadence's name in there.

"I don't see Cadey in there," Maya remarked.

"There's also mention of the Anti-Metahuman Act," Tess said tonelessly.

"Which goes into practice in 2021," Harrison said.

Tess frowned. "So…everything they're doing now. It doesn't matter. This is all going to happen."

"Not necessarily, this is just one of the many possible futures that coul come to pass," Harrison explained. He jabbed his finger into the air. "'It says the Anti-Metahuman Act doesn't go into practice until 2021. It doesn't many any mention of Lex Luthor, doesn't make any mention of his presidential campaign."

"Which means?" Maya asked.

"Which means we have a lot of work to do," Tess said.

* * *

 **A/N:** Whew, chapter 40. That's a feat I'm equally excited for and slightly frustrated for. I hadn't anticipated the story getting this long but there was a lot of things I needed to touch upon. I'm glad you guys are still sticking around with the start of the last arch of the story.

 **Cheers,**

 **-Riley**

 **Review Replies**

 **DarkHelm145:** Does this count as going to hell? Lol. I hope you enjoyed and now have plenty to think about.

 **Ethan:** Barry has matured a bit, that much is true. But it's definitely not something that's easy for either of them. As for Barry stumbling through the name thing, they really do have a 'messed up' family tree. Cade is connected to nearly every major family by the time they get married. And her realization is exactly thought I had when I figured it out. But, yes, it's something I haven't touched upon a lot, where she fits in with Barry's family as Barry has usually needed to fit in with hers.


	41. Megalomania

**41**

 _Megalomania  
_

* * *

Savitar frowned as he looked at the inner mechanisms of his suit. Too much work to do, too little time. But he digressed. It wasn't the mechanisms of his suit that were bothering him anyway. Not even the fact that he had to work on what would happen if his suit were to break. He really needed to fix the points of the suit that rocketed across the clearing when he tried to summon it back to himself wasn't going to help anyone. Not unless the Flash was standing directly behind him managed to get caught in the crossfire.

There wasn't much more he had to do to improve his suit anyway. First to go was the way the suit was made. No more heat-resistant leather for him. It didn't breathe, his suit stank, and there was only so many times he had to continually patch his suit whenever it got damaged. Savitar was lucky when he engineered the metal he created his suit from. Too much static build up was too dangerous.

Too many times he had magnetized random pieces of metal that shot across the room and nearly impaled him to the wall. Too many times he launched what may have been shrapnel around him because he couldn't control it. Until he could. And Savitar only increased his suit from there. Retractable blades. A way to handle the immense amount of charge he generated while running.

He reinforced the suit to be extremely resilient and enormously durable. Bullets bounced off him. Shots of energy with any elemental medium hardly permeated his suit. And, of course, there was the mechanized parts, and other material that gave him strength. Even more strength than Barry could ever imagine. How easy it was to demolish their fight against him when he first encountered them.

Just to see how they fought back against him. Just to see where their power levels were at. Even with those new speedsters, there wasn't a way for them to break through his suit. No way to give him any sort of damage. His suit couldn't be burned. Couldn't be frozen. Couldn't be phased through and couldn't be breached. He watched the team long enough to know everything that would be used against him.

And, of course, he needed to add to his suit in a way they wouldn't see coming. His suit being able to move and attack on its own, when he needed it. Voice modifiers that kept anyone from recognizing his voice. So stupid, so primitive that Barry would continue to just 'Flash his voice' as the rest of his team called it. When it was still so obvious the voice he had wouldn't change no matter how many decibels it was distorted by.

A perfect suit for a perfect specimen.

Savitar smiled to himself, twirling his wrench in hand. The scarred side of his face barely moved, green eye shadowed over. A small price to pay, nearly being blinded in that eye. Just so that he was able to do everything he needed. And yet, there was a part of him that wasn't going to be completely satisfied, no matter what he did to enhance his suit.

A grunt of frustration escaped Savitar's lips. He gritted his teeth, clenching his grasp around the wrench. He stopped spinning it around, resisted the urge to hurtle it against the wall in front of him. He just couldn't figure it out. Why hadn't Barry taken the bait? Why didn't Barry go running after him?

 _How_ could Barry not go running after him?

They were basically the same person. If anyone would understand what Barry was thinking, it was Savitar. As if to prove his point, Savitar closed his eyes, focused on his mind's eye, focused on what Barry was doing. Same old, same old. Now, the only difference being that Barry was back at work. What a waste of time.

Savitar opened his eyes and pursed his lips, going right back to work. He needed to be invincible. If Barry wanted to squander away his potential, that was fine. It just gave Savitar the upper hand when they were to face each other again.

"What are you doing?" Killer Frost strutted over to Savitar, her head tilted to the side as her blue eyes roved over Savitar's suit. She reached out a hand to run her fingers over it, stopping only when Savitar transferred the wrench to his other hand and poised it above her hand.

"Don't touch," Savitar drawled. "I'll break your hand before you can even think about it." Killer Frost brought her hand back to her side. Savitar waited a beat then went back to fixing his suit. "I'm working on my suit."

Killer Frost's eyes shifted from Savitar to the suit. She nodded. "Pretty badass," she remarked, appreciatively. "Very God like."

"Well…" Savitar couldn't stop the smile that came to his face. Credit where credit was due. If he was going to do something right, it would be everything he put into his suit. If he was going to crush Barry into a paste, a red smear across the grounds of Central City, then he needed to have everything at his disposal. "Dress for the job you want."

Killer Frost hummed to herself. She walked in a large circle around Savitar and his suit. She folded her arms, tilted her head to the side as her hips swayed with each step. Savitar looked at her out the corner of his eye, not stopping his movements. Yet, he kept an eye on her every move. He sucked in an annoyed sigh and let it back out, all through his nose.

"Is there something I can help you with?" He asked.

"Mm?" Killer Frost lifted her eyebrows.

Savitar's eyes narrowed. "Don't make me ask you again," he growled.

Killer Frost nodded, understanding the not so subtle threat in Savitar's words. She stopped and stood next to him. So close he could feel the temperature next to him immediately drop. As she spoke her next words, released a sliver of vapor from her blue lips. "We're a team, right?" She asked. "Barry and Caitlin at it again?"

Savitar's eyes narrowed. He tilted his head back, regarding Killer Frost carefully. His eyes roved over her body, not admiring, searching. Finally, Savitar stepped back. One step. Two steps. Three. Four. Enough so that he was able to see all of her and not just her face. Savitar pointed at her with a menacing finger. "You're not Caitlin." He curled his finger toward himself. "And I'm not Barry."

Killer Frost twisted her mouth to the side. She folded her arms, jutted out her hip, watching Savitar as closely as he watched her. "You sure you're going to go through with this?"

Savitar's lower teeth covered his top teeth. A Bulldog ready to attack whatever came too close. And Killer Frost was coming scarily close to having her head beat in with the wrench in his hand. "What?" He spat, though his voice was entirely emotionless. A word he managed to say with much vehemence but continue to stay flat.

Killer Frost shrugged, slightly moving her shoulders up. "Killing Iris." She said it so calmly. So finally. "You're going to take her to infantino street and ram a metal spear through her back."

Savitar's lips pulled back into a smile. He tilted his head to the side, allowing his fringe to fall from his face. Something crossed Killer Frost's features then. Something that made her turn her head to the side and squeeze her eyes shut. Almost as if a wall of icy water had been thrown into her face. Savitar's smirk widened. "It's either her or me," he remarked. "If she doesn't die, I'm never born."

"You know Breathtaker can change that," Killer Frost pointed out. Her eyes were still closed, shoulders twitching ever so slightly. "Can make it so that you're completely unstoppable."

"I'm _already_ unstoppable. I'm a God!"

"Right." Killer Frost took in a deep breath. She then let it out and faced Savitar once more. Her eyes, suddenly, didn't shine as brightly as they had before. "But…behind that pretty little face of yours,"—Savitar chuckled—"You know everything Barry does and has done. Your mind-meld—"

"—I never mind-melded with him," Savitar interrupted. "It's a primitive tactic."

"You're saying all the times that you had your hand around Barry's neck you weren't able to get anything from him?"

"I didn't say that," Savitar interrupted. He tossed the wrench aside, the loud clattering sound it emanated made Killer Frost jump. Savitar continued to stare at her. "I just said I never had to mind-meld. It's not needed when you're already a time remnant," he commented. "But…it's an interesting thought. Who's to say what would happen if a time remnant mind-melded with the original?"

Killer Frost tilted her head to the side. "So, you've never thought about it?"

"Of course I've thought about it," Savitar sneered. "I just never needed to put the practice in motion." He ran his fingers down the side of his scarred face. "I've already got a big enough reminder of my time with him. With Zoom…" He shook his head.

"But you remember everything Barry does," Killer Frost continued. Whether or not she noticed the frustration in Savitar's stature, she didn't react to it. She was getting to be too courageous, Saitar realized. He didn't like it. "So, you remember growing up with Iris. Falling in love with her…falling _out_ of love with her…falling in love with Ca—"

"'Shut up!" Savitar snapped. The first crack in his armor. His lips trembled with the effort of his cry. A second passed and he was able to regain his composure. Casting a dismissive glance at Killer Frost. Almost as if he'd forgotten about her completely.

"You sure you're ready to end her life?" Killer Frost asked.

Savitar tilted his head. He slowly lowered himself into a squat, focused his attention on the legs of his suit. He needed to make sure they moved right, so that he was able to keep from short circuiting as he ran. Too much lactic acid within the body…to much lactic acid within a suit…There were only a few things he was able to keep from happening. Sooner or later, biology won out.

Savitar sighed. "What I remember…is being created as a disposable life. Something to be…thrown away, when _Barry_ Allen,"—he practically vomited, at the mention of Barry's name. "Was done with me. He didn't care about me. Why should I care about his life?" His eyes narrowed once more. "You're not having second thoughts, are you?"

Killer Frost shook her head. As she did so, Savitar could swear some of it was starting to turn brown. Every time her hair shifted, it was like an Ombre was forming from the different shades within her hair. Then she winced, bringing a hand up to her forehead. Her eyes flashed. Blue. Brown. Blue. Brown.

Savitar watched with a hint of curiosity and barely concealed disgust. "Good," he said. "Because you know what you need to do. And when the time comes, I expect you to be ready."

"I…I know…" Killer Frost continued to rub her forehead. "Breathtaker…"

"Believe me," Savitar murmured. "Breathtaker isn't anyone you should take too seriously. You shouldn't take anyone too seriously. Except me. No one can make things happen. So he can pass powers around…so he can make people stronger…he's not a God."

"He's going to let you do what you want," Killer Frost reminded Savitar. She brought her hands down from her forehead. "All we have to do is help him."

"And we have been. We want the same thing."

"Really?"

"Really." Savitar tilted his head to the side. "What's wrong with you?"

"She's trying to break out again."

"So, let her. I'm starting to get bored. You ask too many questions. At least she's quiet." Savitar started to stand, then fell back to his ass as something flashed across his mind. He sucked in a sharp, painful breath between his teeth. "Gah!" Savitar grasped his forehead, sure it was going to explode out into his hands. Then, the pain subsided.

He blinked his eyes open, blinking back the tears that formed from the pain.

"What is it?" Killer Frost asked. Her chest heaved, working hard to catch her breath after the pain that moved through her.

Savitar chuckled. "Let's just say…Barry's a little bit dumber than I thought a future CSI Director should be." He picked up his wrench and started to tinker on his suit once more.

If anyone were to look at him, they would've thought he was positively happy.

* * *

Barry watched as Wally's lightning circled the Speed Lab repeatedly. Without turning his head, he continued to track Wally's movements. Knew what it was Wally was seeing. Knew how the world seemed to warp away the faster he went. How everything blurred until it stopped, until he forced himself to move in a slower speed so he could react to anything coming his way. It was the mistake he consistently made, relying too much on his speed.

And it was the same mistake Wally was making…as he threw himself into the wooden wall once more. Barry winced at the sickening _thud_ of Wally's body crashing into the wall. He slammed his eyes shut and turned away, not wanting to see what may have happened to Wally's face. Barry'd broken his nose running straight into walls multiple times before and he still wasn't quite sure his nose was as straight as it was supposed to be.

Finally, Barry looked over, seeing Wally roll back and forth across the ground, groaning quietly. Barry ran a hand over his face, sucking in a deep breath. _That has got to hurt!_ They were going to be doing a lot of work if they were going to get Wally up to speed, literally, if he was going to be fast enough to help take down Savitar.

"Oh, that hurt," Wally gasped. He pushed off his hood, rubbed at the growing knot on his forehead. Despite how quickly he could heal, that painful reminder was going to last longer than any of his visible injuries. The embarrassment and mortification would last a long time. Just like Barry caring so much about the time he basked in the citizen's glory for him that he ran face first into a street light. "That hurt like hell."

"Well, it should," HR said frankly. He stood aside Barry, noisily slurping from his coffee mug. He swallowed loudly and pointed at HR with the tip of his drumstick. "You just ran into a wooden wall." He, again, slurped noisily, ignoring the glare Wally sent him.

"Not just any wooden wall," Cisco pointed out from, standing on the other side of the Speed Lab before his tracking equipment. "That wall is made of the strongest stuff on the planet."

"That's great, Cisco," Wally breathed.

Barry shook his head. "Well, it doesn't matter," he remarked. Wally took HR's outstretched hand and allowed himself to be pulled to his feet. He turned, waiting for Barry's words. Barry sucked in a deep breath and stood up, brushing off the seat of his pants. "If it's wood or steel or stone, if you're moving fast enough, you can phase through anything."

"Even molten lava. If you, you know, end up in a volcano." HR nodded to Barry. "And, that stuff has got to be hard. Let me tell you, I've seen Candace throw out a doozy of a fire wall before but that…that really took the cake. It certainly made great use of our sprinkler system. And Cisco's handwork with a suit." He grinned proudly, finishing his mini spiel.

Barry, Wally, and Cisco looked at him for a long moment, silence stretching between them. HR, however, didn't notice as he continued to smile at his memories. Finally, Barry tore his eyes away when Wally spoke up.

"Okayyy." Wally continued to rub his forehead before pleading to Barry. "But I…I still don't get it. How do you do this?"

"Okay, just watch." Barry got up from the steps he'd perched on, watching Wally, and strode to the wall that was set up. He held up his hand, thumb tucked in to rest against his palm. Palm facing the wall. "When you vibrate, the natural frequency of air, your body, your cells, will be in an excited state,"—he ignored HR's giggling at his choice of words—"to allow you to phase."

Wally nodded. Then he frowned. "Yeah, it's not…it's not really helping. What exactly do I do?"

Barry's face twitched in visible frustration. They'd been at it for days now. How much longer was it going to take for Wally to get it? _I can't make this any simpler,_ Barry thought. "Connect with the body. Right, connect with the air. Be pure electricity. You have to feel everything that's around you."

Wally blinked blankly at him. "So, go fast and feel things. Right. No worries."

Barry sighed, slapping his hands over his face.

Cisco tilted his head back to look at the ceiling.

HR, on the other hand, cheered loudly as Wally's lightning trail whipped him from the floor of the Speed Lab. "You can do this, Wallace!"

"You can do this," Wally repeated…seconds before slamming into the wall once more. Once again, he found himself lying on the floor, groaning quietly.

Barry, however, felt no sympathy for him. He stood over Wally, arms folded, tilting his head back to the entrance of the Speed Lab. "Alright, again." And again, he watched Wally shoot himself into the wall. Barry blinked once. "This isn't working."

"This isn't working," HR agreed.

"You've been training him. What works?"

"Vocal encouragement." Which led HR into another hollering session to encourage Wally to run as fast as he could. And right back into the wall, over again. Barry was starting to really hate the sound of Wally's body smashing into the wooden wall. He was sure Joe was going to be on his ass when he saw how bloodied and bruised Wally would be when he turned up for dinner.

"I don't know why you ask him," Cisco murmured, successfully retrieving Barry's attention.

Barry huffed, tightening his arms over his chest. He grasped his elbows. "What did Wells do with me?" He asked. "How did he get me to phase so quickly?" He remembered hearing Well's voice in his ears. Remembered running fast enough to take off the bomb that had been wrapped around him.

"His plan was more methodically constructive," Cisco admitted. "He had a bit more time to work it out by, give or take, _fifteen years!_ "

Barry's eyes fell shut. Fifteen years. Fifteen years where the man who was supposed to be his mentor was nothing short of an imposter. Who wanted nothing more than to kill him. That very same motivation thrusting him into a life he wouldn't have known without it. "We don't have fifteen years…" Barry murmured. "We,"—he paused, feeling his phone vibrate in his pocket. He pulled it out and looked at the ID on the screen. "I have a crime scene to get to."

"Must be fun to have your job back," Cisco called. "Instead of spending every day running through the city, stopping bad guys, staking out metas, sleeping on my couch…" He grinned, chomping on an end of a long Twizzler, eyebrows rapidly raising and lowering.

Barry gave him a look, pointing directly at his best friend. "I'll get you that," he said before taking off to the crime scene he'd been called to. Barry slid through the front doors of the bar, nodding towards the police officers that milled around, speaking to witnesses and the owner of the bar.

Joe and Julian stood aside, a body under a tarp nearby. Joe grinned as Barry approached, his bag of CSI supplies hanging off his shoulder. "How does it feel?" Joe asked. He grasped Barry's shoulder, squeezing it tightly. "To be back at work?"

"Better than ever," Barry said honestly. He really did miss his job. It was much better than sitting around, wondering when a meta or a criminal was going to stir up some trouble. _Especially_ when he worked so hard and fast to take them down that there were many days where criminal activity stopped by noon. What else could he do as The Flash then? He worked hard to clean up as many destroyed sites as he could, but he needed to let people keep their jobs. "I really missed it."

"Well, let's hope you feel the same way after you see this," Joe said, directing him to the tarp on the ground.

Curiously, Barry walked over to Julian, who stood with a mask over his face. Barry took a few more steps before immediately coming to a stop. Had he run face first into a wall and hit so hard he didn't realize it? The permeating smell of decay and death sucker punched him in the face. Heaving, Barry turned away, bringing a hand up to cover his mouth, doing his best not to breathe in.

Julian, who knelt by the body, the source of the smell, lifted his eyes to Barry. "I should've warned you, mate," he apologized. "But this is a pretty ghastly body."

"I'll take your word for it," Barry gasped. He covered his mouth with his arm and watched as Julian carefully pulled back the tarp to reveal a shriveled, brownish-green body lying on the floor. Its mouth dropped open in a silent scream.

"That's the body?" Joe asked. His eyebrows shot upwards, looking over the body himself. His darkened skin turned green and he took a step backwards, removing the page cap from his head to cover his mouth. "He died less than eight hours ago."

Julian's eyes widened. "Eight hours?"

"He was a chef here. The owner said he was working last night." Joe's cheeks ballooned. He turned away and swallowed hard, breathing heavily through his nose.

Barry, recovering from his own wave of nausea, suddenly wondered how Cadence would've reacted if she were still working as a medical examiner. Considering all the gut churning stories she'd casually told him and Brady over dinner—with Brady continuously demanding more and more disgusting stories—of her times working residency in the doctor's office and hospitals, she would've been able to handle the crime scene like a champ. And laugh at his reactions every few seconds.

Barry glanced around the bar. There were enough officers around, his co-workers, that he knew he was being watched for a report back to Captain Singh. To ensure he was doing a good job on his first day back. Barry forced himself to hold his breath, examining the body himself. He knelt by the body's side and looked over it.

His accelerated perception kicked in, just as it had when he was first tracking down the Mardon brothers. This time around, he couldn't quite figure out what it was that had happened. Nothing mathematical or scientific related. It _had_ to be a meta. But which one? "That's a lot of damage in a short amount of time," he murmured.

"A meta?" Joe asked.

"Possibly," Julian said slowly. His gaze shifted to Barry, holding it for a long moment, then dropped back to the body. He removed the gloves from his hand with a loud _snap_ , tossing them aside. "Although certain chemicals can cause a similar reaction."

"Yeah, any acid with a pH below 2," Barry agreed.

"Precisely."

Barry's eyebrows furrowed together. Any other time, Julian would've done everything eh could to make sure he knew how stupid Barry's ideas were. Then again, there was also a time where Julian wanted nothing more than for Barry to be completely gone from his life. He practically jumped for joy when Barry had no choice but to quit his job, and then to offer it back?

Julian tilted his head back and forth. "We could be looking at an aggressive variant of a necrotized facititis." He noticed Joe's confused expression. "A flesh-eating disease."

"In a restaurant?" Joe blinked rapidly. His eyes darted around the bar, as if he could little microbes squirming and sliming around every surface. Joe stepped back, keeping another officer from running into him. "I'm never eating out again."

"So an autopsy might help us find out what really did this," Barry suggested. He was already thinking about how to get the body to STAR Labs and have Cadence looked it over when she got the chance. There were many things Caitlin could do with a living body, but dead ones certainly weren't her forte. And, honestly, he was itching to see Cisco's reaction to it.

'I agree," Julian said.

Barry did a double-take. He agreed? Julian Albert actually agreed with him? Firstm he kicked him out from his job while blackmailing him about Caitlin, then Julian got his job back. And now this? _Is the sun going to blow up next?_ Barry thought. It'd be just his luck. He looked to Joe, who raised a skeptical eyebrow as well.

Joe had been excited to hear Barry had his job back, when Barry got the chance to tell him during their breakfast with Cecile. And that had only been after Cecile left. Joe had been so nervous during the breakfast that he could hardly sit still, stammering whenever Iris peppered him with questions.

How long had you two been going out?

Why didn't you say anything?

What was your first impression of him?

What was your first impression of _her_?

Even Wally got in on the questions. What are your intentions with my dad?

That was the one that threw Joe over the edge, chocking on his mimosa while Cecile gently patted him on the back. Even Barry got one in that made Joe blush harder than a tomato and threaten bodily harm to the speedster. Are you guys, like, an official thing?

And Cecile looked at Joe expectantly as he tried to stammer out an answer. Finally, the conversation topic changed, and Barry made his announcement. Joe crushed him in a hug so tight that it made all Barry's pre-first day jitters melt away. Now they were back and bigger than ever.

"Unfortunately, the county denied my request for a 3d medical image scanner," Julian continued. "It'd make short work of the process." He stood up, bringing his bag up over his shoulder. An ambulance arrived, backing up to the doors of the bar so that the body could be transported. "But, as they say, it's not work if it isn't hard work, yeah?" He looked Barry in the eye. "Do you think you're ready to be back in this, Allen? I wouldn't blame you if you backed out now."

Julian's eyes flashed.

Barry's eyes narrowed. "I think I can handle it," he replied.

"Too right." Julian tilted his head towards the doors. "Let's get back to the lab. I want to get these specimens dealt with sooner rather than later."

Barry tilted his head, watching Julian leave the bar. He addressed Joe. "I'm getting a feeling of déjà vu," he remarked. "Remember, Eddie?"

"Like when you thought he was going to beat you up?" Joe asked, cracking a smile.

"Yeah, that."

"I don't think Julian's going to beat you up. Let alone could. He doesn't look very strong."

"You don't think I look strong either, and I'm the Flash."

"Yeah, but you've got the speed on your side."

"True."

Joe laughed and clapped Barry on the shoulder. "Have a good first day, Bare. I'll see you later."

"Later, Joe." Barry flashed him the peace sign before leaving the bar. He looked around, taking a few steps to the side. Started to run. Started to feel the speed force enter his body, ready to rocket him to the lab where he could get a head start on the initial resting. Ready to tell the others at STAR Labs what was going on.

He started off at a jog, pumped his legs to—"

"Going somewhere in a hurry, Allen?" Julian's voice made Barry stop on a dime, almost falling over. He casually stood on the street corner.

How had Barry not noticed him before? _Always be aware of your surroundings,_ Barry reminded himself. _Oliver told you that!_ That reminded him, he needed to catch up with Oliver before he left Central City. There were a few things he needed to figure out. Like how he knew to be there to help out with the Gorillas. "Julian. I, uh—I was about to head back to the lab."

"So was I," Julian agreed. "I was waiting for you."

"You were?"

"It's your first day back. I reckoned it'd be best if I checked to see how you were doing." Barry regarded him suspiciously. _Since when does he care how I'm doing?_ "You know, after being away from the force for so long." The two fell in step with each other, heading in the direction of the CCPD.

"Things are going fine, I guess," Barry said quietly. "It's my first big case back. I'm not too surprised it's meta related. But I never expected to see something like that."

"Yes, I guess it's not quite your speed," Julian remarked.

Barry's nose wrinkled. What was that supposed to mean? He looked at Julian out the corner of his eye. Julian continued to keep his face forward, not reacting to Barry's reaction. "Anything that moves too slowly seems to bore you. Even Captain Singh couldn't help but notice the decline in speed of the result reports while you've been gone."

A days' worth of work finished in an hour, giving Barry more time to come up with excuses to run from the CCPD whenever a meta made an appearance. "Right…" Barry said slowly. "Well, I work hard when I can."

"Which his hardly at all."

Okay. That was it. Barry stopped walking, prompting Julian to stop and face him as well. "Okay, man, what's the deal?" Barry asked.

Julian blinked innocently. "I don't think I know what you mean, mate."

"I mean, you got me my job back." Julian nodded. "You got me my job back after blackmailing me to quit it because of…" Barry lowered his voice to a harsh whisper. "Because of Caitlin. Why, all of a sudden, would you want me to take my job back?"

For a long moment, Julian didn't respond. Instead, he smiled a scarily serene smile at Barry. The sounds of Central City's busy streets stretched between them before Julian finally spoke again. "I never liked you, Allen," he remarked.

Barry rolled his eyes. "Yeah." _Tell me something I don't know._

He got just that. "And I hope you know that no matter what you do, nothing is ever going to change that. Especially because I didn't think I could hate you as much as I hate metas. And here, to find out, that you _are_ a meta."

Barry's blood ran cold. Froze. Rooted him to the ground. His heart stopped beating. He died and came back to life. All because of Julian's last four words. _You are a meta._ Barry did his best to laugh it off, but it came out strangled. Wheezy. "What?" He asked. "That's…that…that's ridiculous. I'm not a meta."

"And I'm not stupid," Julian continued. His voice turned flinty, expression still pleasant. "I know everything about you Barry Allen. I know what you're hiding. I know more than you'd want me to know."

"Julian…" Barry swallowed hard. "I don't think you know what you're talking about. I'm not a metahuman. I _can't_ be a metahuman."

"There's a lot of things, in my eyes, you can't be. But there's nothing you can say that will change my mind." All of a sudden, Julian let out a yelp, his head twisting hard to the side. Then, his face went blank. He turned back to Barry with a sinister gaze. Much more sinister than it had been seconds before. "Hello Barry," he said, voice distorted. Once again, Barry's blood ran cold. "It's been a while."

Barry knew whose voice it was, the second Julian started to speak. He should've been used to it, finding out there was someone who was close to him that was actively trying to hurt him. Harrison…Eobard. Jay…Zoom. Julian… "Alchemy?'

Julian's held tilted back, looking down his nose at Barry, despite being shorter than him. "You're not on your knees," he growled. "It's a smart move to bow before a deity."

Barry shook his head. "You're not God," he murmured.

"I'm not, but Savitar is. To be a God you just have to make people believe you are." Julian stepped closer to Barry, his eyes starting to glow a bright blue. A sinister blue. "You should, Barry. I hold the power of life and death over you and all those close to you. I know you, Caitlin, Cisco, Joe, Wally, the fake Wells, Cadence, Brady. I know your fears, I know your weaknesses, I know you better than you know yourselves."

"How?" Barry demanded. He could feel his blood start to boil. He was tired of this. Tired of not knowing who he could and couldn't trust. Now he knew how Cadence felt with Breathtaker and the rest of the Assassination Bureau. The cold and horrifying realization that, no matter what he did, there was a higher power held over him. One that seemed to watch every move, breath, and step he took. "How do you know so much about us?"

Julian smirked, ready for the question. "I know your destinies," he rasped. "I know your futures. And what a future it will be. One shall betray you. One shall fall. One shall suffer a fate far worse than death. This is the knowledge I have for you. About your everlasting damnation."

Barry stepped forward. He got into Julian's face. "Who are you?" His eyes searched Julian's, looking for any sign of familiarity. This time, however, instead of that pinched, smug look Julian could only master, Barry saw nothing but pure evil. "How do you know so much about all of us?"

"I am the Future Flash."

"What do you want."

Julian reached out his arm and grasped Barry's neck. He lifted him off his feet and slammed his back into the wall behind him. Barry gasped in pain, feeling the bricks of the store behind him rub against his back. "Everything. Everything you took from me, I want it back. And I'm going to _take_ it back. Then, I will. Destroy. You."

Barry swallowed hard, his Adam's apple bobbed painfully. It pressed flat, almost choking him as he tried to breathe. "Then why haven't you already? If you're so powerful, then why don't you just kill us all now and be done with it?" The realization struck him within seconds of asking the question. "Because you can't."

His taunting words did the trick. Julian tightened his grasp along Barry's neck. He gasped, sucking hard, trying to get a few mouthfuls of precious air into his lungs. He could feel the edges of his vision tunnel in.

"You did this to me," Julian rasped. "You trapped me in this eternity! Your future self, you did this to me, Barry. And now my freedom is at hand. You will feel my wrath!"

Barry chuckled, entertained by Julian's rage. Some God. "You're just a man," he continued to taunt. "A man like me."

Julian's lips pulled back into a snarl. "I'm nothing like you, Barry. You're cruel, you're selfish. From my perspective, you're the big bad." Barry desperately grasped at his neck now. Everything was starting to turn black. He thought back to his training with Wally. _Phase. Come on, Phase!_ He tried to focus, couldn't tap into the Speed Force. Needed to breathe.

"Only one of us can live. You thought Thawne and Zoom were your biggest foes but, it's me. It's always been me. You took everything from me! I never asked for any of this. I am only this way because of you. Your team! I'm closer to my freedom than I've ever been. Every step, every move you make only brings me nearer to it. I only need one thing. And despite your feeble efforts to change the future, you can't. Because I am the Future Flash, Barry. You've had to suffer worse than anyone. You've endured pain your whole life. Your mother…your father…"

"Zoom and Thawne tried to break me," Barry gasped. "They couldn't do it. I'm stronger now."

Julian smiled, showing all his teeth. "Trust me…you'll never get over this."

A bright flash of light was the last thing Barry saw before everything went black.

* * *

 **A/N:** Guys, you have no idea how excited I'm getting now! We're getting to the final wind down parts of the story and I'm so excited for you all to see what's going to happen; how Brady's plot with the Top and Mirror Master merges with Barry's and Cadence's as well as how it affects him, the reveal of Savitar (I bet you didn't expect Barry to find out this soon, ;) ) as well as some other stuff.

Again, I apologize for the chapter not being uploaded yesterday, but I got very into some stuff for the next story which, story title reveal coming soon! Can anyone guess what it'll be? (Honestly, with what I've done so far it won't be hard, and no, Storm isn't it, but it's still reserved for a story title within this series).

 **Cheers,**

 **-Riley**

 **Review Replies**

 **Ethan:** Your alarm bells are right…for all of it.

 **DarkHelm145:** I hope things are clearer this time around. And I had to push back the Oliver explanation one chapter.

 **Noblecrescent:** Glad you enjoyed the chapter!

 **Yummers:** That we know of, yes, she has two ways to die.


	42. Baseless Accusations (1)

**42**

 _Baseless Accusations_

* * *

"One will betray you, one will fall, and one will suffer a fate worse than death?" Cisco asked. His eyebrows rose so far they nearly disappeared into his hairline. "That's not the kind of fortune cookie I want to get."

"Leave it to you to think about food at a time like this, Cisco," Iris said, folding her arms. She heaved a sigh so heavy that even Barry practically felt it from the other side of the Speed Lab. He paced, watching Jesse and Wally zip around and around the Speed Tube. His mind was torn, half of it focused on the speedsters racing around in circles, the other wondering how he'd managed to go so long and not know Julian was Alchemy.

How had he missed all the signs? How'd he miss Julian's consistent dislike for metas as anything but…but what exactly? It wasn't like Julian was trying to figure out that Barry was a meta. He hardly looked at Barry for more than a few seconds. Or else, maybe he'd known the entire time. Maybe Flashpoint had done it.

Caitlin leaned against the computer panel she stood behind. Her eyes scanned the facts and figures in front of her, watching Wally's and Jesse's vitals. She shook her head, seemingly not noticing Barry's plight. "This doesn't seem to be getting any better for us," She murmured. "First Flashpoint, then Savitar, then Killer Frost, and now…" her fingers curled into her palm, nails cutting into her skin. "Now Julian's Alchemy and he's working for Savitar."

"You're forgetting the whole death and destruction at the hands of metahumans thing," Cadence commented. She held up a finger. "Which is also helped by Savitar, who is making metahumans from those that were metas in Flashpoint to ensure Breathtaker's master plan goes through." A humorless chuckle escaped her. "And, of course, I'm going to die, Caitlin's going to die, Iris is going to die, and Brady may or may not become Breathtaker's apprentice." She noticed the looks Caitlin and Cisco shot her way and shrugged. "Just saying. We can't leave anything out. If we're going to stop these guys, we have to keep everything in perspective."

 _So, like usual, it's all brought back to me,_ Barry thought. He ran his hands over his face. Once again, he needed to think before he made any rash decisions. "No one's going to die, alright?" Barry said, sounding more than tired. Downright exhausted and tired of everything. "We'll think of what to do."

"With which part?" Cisco asked. "The prophecy part or the we're all going to die part?" Barry glared at him. Cisco turned back when there was a strong gust of wind that tugged at his clothes, leaving Wally and Jesse standing in the middle of the Speed Lab, hands on their knees, gasping for air. "I'm just checking, dude, geez!"

"Guys, you're really starting to kill the vibe here," Wally said, standing up straight. His chest heaved with each struggle to catch his breath. He pressed his hands into his sides, working out a cramp. "Aren't we trying to learn how to phase right now?"

"Yeah, I don't think I can handle running into walls anymore," Jesse added. She rubbed at the lump on her forehead. It would've healed within minutes, but with the amount of times she'd thrown herself into the same wall Wally had run into, her healing wasn't working as quickly as it should have.

"Just…" Barry waved his hand. He dropped it to his side, clenching his fist as hard as he could. His hand shook. His entire body shook. He didn't know what to say. Didn't know how to confront anything while simultaneously unsure of how to comfort everyone.

Forcing them, forcing _anyone_ to keep going as if nothing had just happened surely was not the way to go. If they were open about everything, then they'd all continue to have black clouds over their heads. If they pretended nothing was going on, it'd all build up until they couldn't take it.

Hence, Flashpoint.

Barry ran his hands over his face and blew a long breath out through his lips, making them flap. "I don't know," he admitted. "I don't know."

"Okay, so why don't we start with signaling that each problem we have is a portion of a bigger problem," Jesse suggested.

Cisco gave her a look. He turned to the others, spinning his finger in a circle beside his head, making the universal, 'crazy' sign. "Uh, I think we already established that. You know, cause, all of this all seems to be happening at the same time and with the same people involved. And, you know, death and destruction and all that."

"Just another Tuesday in Central City," Iris agreed.

Barry managed a rare smile.

"No, I think I get what she's saying," Caitlin said. She folded her arms, hugging her elbows tightly. "Whenever we have a problem, we're always working on it in steps. You can't work on the result until you figure out what cause and effect is going on. So, we need to think about all of this in steps. And the first step, is Julian."

"We know he's working for Savitar as Alchemy," Wally pointed out. "That was literally just pointed out to us since Julian left Barry lying on the street like that." He gestured with his hand. "And if it weren't for dad, something else could've happened to him."

Barry nodded in agreement. Had Joe not still been around at the crime scene, finishing up his round of questions with the chef, Barry could've been lying on the sidewalk for a long time with no one knowing where he was or what happened. Let alone Julian opting to do something stupid. Barry had done, what he thought, was a good job at deflecting from the fact that he was, indeed, a metahuman. But how Julian knew and found out…? That was the part that worried him. Had he known all along? Was _that_ why Julian hated him?

And if that were the case, why not say anything? Why target Caitlin throughout the whole thing and not Barry? _Unless, like Jay, he was trying to keep me close,_ Barry reasoned.

"But does _he_ know he's working for Savitar as Alchemy?" Cadence pointed out. Barry looked at her, eyebrows coming together in concern. "When I was working for Breathtaker, I was aware of everything I was doing because my body was being controlled. Not my mind. Mindboggler can't control my mind and my body at the same time. When Caitlin becomes Killer Frost,"—Caitlin winced at the mention of her alter-ego—"She completely blacks out and doesn't remember any of it. Maybe it's the same for Julian."

"And Julian doesn't even have any powers," Iris reminded them. "He just has the Philosopher's Stone. What if it's the stone that's making it easier for Savitar to control him? To use him as Alchemy."

"So, we get the stone, we get control," Jesse remarked. "Sounds easy enough."

"Easy isn't the word I'd use," Cisco murmured. He pulled his hair back into a ponytail. "We'd need to get the stone from Julian first. If he even knows he has the stone."

"That's going to be the hardest part," Caitlin reasoned. She stepped out from behind the computers and started to pace the Speed Lab. She stepped around HR, who sat unusually quiet on the steps leading to the floor, gently spinning his drumsticks within his fingers. "Making sure that Julian understands he _is_ Alchemy and that we're not accusing him of _being_ Alchemy. If you told me I was Killer Frost without the proof, I probably wouldn't believe you." She reached up and started to run her fingers along the dampening necklace around her neck. "We need to be delicate about this whole thing or it'll push him further away."

"And take my identity along with it," Barry murmured. He leaned against the wall, shoving his hands into his pockets. "If Julian really does know, and not just Alchemy, then I may as well give myself over to Savitar now."

"Well, it seems to me that there's only one way to go about this," HR spoke up, eyes lighting up with an internal shine that didn't seem to be quelled. Not even when Barry, Caitlin, and Cisco all rolled their eyes, unable to hide their irritation. "Ask him."

"Ask him what?" Sarcasm dripped from Cisco's voice. "Ask him why he's willingly going along with Savitar's plans? Ask him why he wants to get rid of Barry? Ask him if he knows he's Savitar's lacky?"

HR blinked back at him, his smile widening. "Exactly." He pointed to Cisco with his drumstick, chuckling to himself, then waved the drumstick around. "You know…you scamps are always so fun to watch. You…you're all so smart and you do a great job of making sure everyone is heard. It's like you share leadership around here. I like that."

"And?" Barry asked, his tone implying he wanted HR to hurry up with his point.

"And, it really doesn't make much to figure out that you don't need a huge plan here. You just need to utilize what you have. See everyone's strengths and understand how you can use them to your advantage." He stood up and went to Iris, throwing his arm around her shoulders. "Alice here,"—Iris made a face at the name HR gave her—"is a journalist. Have her ask some questions." He then turned to Barry and Cadence, holding out his arms. "BA, Candace, you work for the police. You should all know by now how to get answers you need. I mean, you were raised by a police officer for God's sake."

Again, Cadence lifted a finger. "I wasn't," she pointed out.

"And yet, you have some of the better know how when it comes to figuring out when people are lying," HR said. "And then, just give the audio feed back to our lovely team here and we can figure out what's going on with Savitar and Alchemy. Come on, you guys." He tapped his drumsticks against the side of his head. "Use your imagination."

"And what are you going to be doing the whole time we're working on Julian?" Jesse asked. She pressed her lips together, watching the doppelganger of her father. A mirror image despite how bouncy and excited HR was. Her father had been like that, once upon a time. When he wasn't so bogged down with following her everywhere, making sure she was safe, doing everything he could to avoid speaking about her mother.

"Thank you for asking, Jessica." HR's smile widened. "I'm still working on that museum to make sure everything is right as rain for our opening."

Iris's eyes widened incredulously. "After all that's going on you _still_ want to open the museum?"

"Why not?"

"Uh, because have a speedster killer on the lose," Cisco pointed out.

HR waved a hand. "And we need distractions. Guys, listen. If there's anything I know about life, it's that there's always something good that comes along with the bad. This is all…this is really…everything's terrible right now. But the STAR Labs Museum is going to be one of the best things that happens to us."

"Until Savitar and Breathtaker get their hands on all of us," Iris murmured. "For all we know, they plan on striking at the same time."

"Breathtaker wouldn't be so stupid," Cadence denied with a shake of her head. "He doesn't like to share. He likes a lot of attention. If Savitar attacks in May, Breathtaker will either attack before or after. He needs the notoriety."

She exchanged a glance with Barry, wo nodded back at her. It was the same when he attacked years before. How he'd addressed the entire city before they saved the day. Before the minds of everyone in Central City had to be erased to make sure they didn't remember anything that'd happened.

To everyone but Barry and Cadence, it was like it never happened. Flashpoint made it easier to forget. And yet, they were able to still remember. Barry because not even Flashpoint could wipe his mind, and Cadence…well, Barry realized. He wasn't quite sure. But it was probably that Breathtaker wouldn't allow her to forget.

"Well, it doesn't sound like we have a lot more to go off of," Jesse said with a sigh. "We just need to bite the bullet and see what he knows. Especially, since he seems to know about Barry."

"Not unless Barry continues to deny it," Cisco pointed out. He snorted. "I mean, come on!" He waved a hand towards Barry, whose eyebrows rose, but his expression otherwise didn't change. "He's tall, gangly, kind of has a weird run if you slow him down enough, isn't _that_ athletic, and the best thing about the lightning strike was that it gave him abs. Do you think anyone would _really_ believe that Barry's The Flash?"

All eyes turned to him in a glare. Cisco jumped, noticing the fiercest glare—which was only just staving off an air of offense—coming from Barry. Cisco cleared his throat and muttered something about looking over Jesse's and Wally's vitals, and lowered his head over the computer screen. Caitlin smiled, patting him on the shoulder, leaving her hand once she'd finished.

Wally, grinning at Cisco's comment and Barry's irritation, turned to the team leaders. "So, you think you guys are up for an interrogation?"

Cadence shrugged, a small smile coming to her face. "I'm not so sure about Barry and Cadence, but Flash and Flare are ready to go."

Her eyes crackled with fire at the same time Barry's crackled with lightning.

At least he'd be able to have some fun while talking to Julian. Maybe he'd be able to get out everything he'd ever thought about _him._

* * *

Brady hardly waited for the car to stop before he pushed open the door and climbed out. So much so that he stumbled, yanking his backpack out of the car as he did so, barely able to right himself. He turned back and grabbed the lacrosse stick that sat behind his seat. "Thanks for the ride, dad."

"You're welcome, buddy," Ryder replied. He leaned over from the driver's seat when Brady slammed the door shut. "Remember what I said."

"I know. I know." Brady rolled his eyes. "Call the nurse if I feel sick. Dad, I feel fine. It was just a shot. I'm not going to suddenly get the flu. I've never had the flu in my life."

Ryder looked at him seriously. "When the doctor can't completely answer my questions about what kind of virus we're trying to prevent with your shots as well as to why they needed your fingerprints scanned to be admitted for said shot, I think I have the right, as a father, to worry."

At that, Brady ran a hand through his hair, his eyebrows momentarily twitching upwards, "But not worried about it enough to tell mom?"

Ryder sucked in a deep breath through his mouth, let it out of his nose, leaned back against the seat. "There are some things that your mom doesn't need to know," he said finally. "Especially until I have the answers I need."

"But mom's a doctor."

" _Was_ a doctor."

"Don't you think she'd know?"

"She knows about the shots or else she wouldn't have signed off on the permission slip. Just as, because she was a doctor, I'm sure she would've heard about them becoming mandatory for students throughout the city."

Brady thought it was probably true. He didn't know much about adult stuff like that, but his dad seem to know for sure. And…it wouldn't be the first secret they kept from his mom. A lot of their trip over the last summer had been a secret. Especially with how Ryder actually managed to break his leg. That was an entire other thing that he didn't want to think about or even remotely bring up knowing what it'd cause; tests to be run, blood to be collected…a lot of things he wasn't quite in the mood for.

Not, especially, when he still wasn't quite sure how to go about dealing with the metas he'd found at school. It wasn't like they could go on a field trip to STAR Labs when the rest of the team was gone and use the equipment to help them out.

 _The most important thing, is figuring out whether Alicia got the papers back to her dad,_ Brady thought. Brady shrugged. "Mom doesn't tell me anything."

"Your mom tells you everything," Ryder contradicted. Brady pressed his lips together, knowing it was true. The irony wasn't lost on him. He and Ryder were keeping a secret from his mom, and he and his mom were keeping a secret from Ryder. "Just do this for me, please."

"Fine." Brady watched as Ryder popped open the glove box and reached inside for some pain medication. "Does your leg every stop hurting?"

"Do you know how many surgeries I've had on my leg? There's only so much I can do before I, probably, have to have it amputated. "And believe me, I don't think you ever want to see what it's like when a one-legged man is chasing after you."

Brady shuddered, taking a step back. "'Bye dad." He waved when Ryder pulled from the curb then immediately turned to the school. He pulled up the hood of his sweatshirt and started up the walk to the school, eyes darting back and forth over the faces in front of him. Some he recognized, others he didn't. And all were in as much danger as he was.

In danger of being used by Breathtaker to attack, in danger of being turned into a meta by Savitar and Alchemy. It was bigger than what he'd wanted to do before; find other kid metas to make sure the school didn't find out. No, now he had to find those metas to make sure they were kept safe from danger. And the first way to do that was by making sure Chief Paulson wouldn't suddenly come knocking at the door to their apartment.

Brady walked up the front path into the school. He spotted Leah ahead, waving goodbye to a teacher as they finished their conversation. Brady reached out with his lacrosse stick and jabbed it between himself and Leah, using the long end of the stick to propel her forward.

"Hey!" Leah cried in surprise. Her eyes widened as she was ushered along the hallway. "What are you doing?"

"We need to talk." Brady moved his lacrosse stick aside and moved to her other side, making sure not to trip any of the other students walking by.

"About?" Leah asked. Then her face screwed up, looking Brady up and down. "Is there any reason why you're dressed like a cat burglar?"

Brady scowled. "I see you've been spending a lot of time with Alicia, lately," he remarked.

"She's my best friend."

"I still don't understand why."

"Conner's your best friend and I don't question you about that."

"That's because Conner's not crazy." Brady then lifted an eyebrow. "And, I think that's the first time I've seen you _not_ blush whenever Connor's name is mentioned." Leah rolled her eyes, shaking her head.

"I was collecting all his homework. I don't know how it'll get to him, but I don't want him to fall behind in case…you know…" She shrugged. "In case he's able to come back."

Brady decided not to say anything about the chances of Conner being able to come back when he was in hiding in the first place. When it was, really, his grandmother's pulled strings and favors that made it so that he was able to be found and brought back. He didn't know what it was that made it so that his grandmother had that power, probably something else he wasn't supposed to know until later. All he knew was he'd gotten better and figuring out how not to get his hopes up so that he truly was surprised later.

 _Not to mention that, right now, the further away he is from all of this, the better,_ Brady thought. He was a big help in figuring things out with the Top and Mirror Master. If it weren't for him being there, he probably wouldn't have figured out the connection between that, the Assassination Bureau, and Amunet.

"Anyway," Brady said quickly. "I wanted to ask you about your shots. Have you got them yet?" Lean nodded. "And?"

"And what?" Leah replied. "I went to the doctor's office and got shots."

"That's it?" Brady watched her face, looking for any signs of insincerity. Any sign she was hiding something. "Nothing weird happened?" He stopped by his locker and yanked the door open a little harder than he meant. It swung back and crashed against the metal front of the locker beside it.

Leah leaned against the locker, shoving her hands into the front pocket of her own sweatshirt. "Like what? And why do you look like the grim reaper?" She pulled his hood back, seeing his face clearly. "Are you being stalked or something?"

"Or something." Brady sucked in a deep breath, putting his things away. His eyes narrowed in thought as he spoke. "With the way my dad reacted, you'd think so. I went to get my shots and it was all pretty normal. But when I was signing in, it was kind of weird. They wanted my fingerprints."

"They wanted mine, too," Leah agreed.

"That's not weird to you?"

"You can unlock your _phone_ with your fingerprint. Or by holding it up to your eye. Why would singing into a doctor's office be so different? And anyway, my mom and dad say that it's just new technology that's going to be set up everywhere. Soon we'd be able to sign into gyms and other membership programs by doing that." Leah giggled quietly. "Maybe even just by spitting on everything." Brady made a face. Leah shoved him on the arm. "Oh, like you and Conner don't _still_ have spitting contests."

"Just watermelon seeds and spitballs," Brady defended himself. "I'm a little classier than that." He paused. "Most of the time."

Leah giggled again, making Brady smile. The hallways filled with more students, waiting for the day to begin. He looked over, watching the faces of every one that passed him. Some were friendlier—such as the guys who played on his soccer and lacrosse teams, and some that weren't as friendly—such as Rachel who sneered at him and Leah as she passed by before skipping over to Alicia's side.

The two girls talked for a minute while Brady and Leah waited for the all-clear. Brady wondered why they didn't just go ahead and talk to Alicia, ignoring Rachel, and Leah explained they couldn't, that it would be suicide if they were to interrupt. At that Brady shook his head.

Girls.

He didn't get it.

But whatever worked so long as they were able to talk with no one else overhearing. It was bad enough they had security at the front desk, policemen to patrol the campus, security cameras almost everywhere, and meta dampeners in the walls. So far, he hadn't found many places in the school where the dampeners hadn't been put in yet. He needed more time to figure out how to get away if Savitar or someone else were to attack again. He had a list of excuses ready to go.

Finally, Alicia and Rachel finished their conversation and Brady and Leah went over. She tucked her head inside her locker, studying her reflection in the mirror hanging at the back, running her fingers through her hair, working to get it perfect.

Her eyes shifted when the two friends approached. Brady noticed his reflection in the mirror, his eyes widening slightly. When had those dark circles appeared under his eyes? When did he start to look so tired? It was fitting, in a way, considering what his powers were.

"So?" He asked, tearing his eyes away from his reflection.

Alicia blinked in surprise. She looked over her shoulder, looked at Leah, then looked back at Brady. "Like, so, what?" she asked, still running her hands through her hair.

Brady did his best not to let his upper lip curl. He lowered his voice to ask, "So, did you get the stuff back to your dad?"

"Oh, that." Alicia waved her hand. "Piece of cake. He, like, didn't even notice it was gone. I guess he was just too busy."

"Too busy with what?" Leah pressed.

Alicia shrugged. "Just too busy. I went back to my house, the day after we had everything, and he was holed up in our drawing room with some guys. I don't know who they were, but as soon as they saw me get home they closed and locked the door on me. I asked mommy what was going on, but she said she couldn't tell me. That not even daddy told her." She placed her hands on her hips, pouting. "I asked him later that night when we went on our nightly walk with Teeny—"

"—Teeny?" Brady repeated.

"My dog," Alicia explained. "Remember, she was, like, part of my costume at the Halloween party when I was Dorothy?"

Brady only remembered eating copious amounts of candy, leaving the party to stop Shade, and then throwing up all the candy the rest of that night. Truth be told, it felt so long ago that he didn't even remember what his own costume was. Though, it did remind him that he hadn't seen Black Blade in a while. The thought alone didn't sit well with him, among everything else it was like a black hole was starting to form in the center of his very being. Everyone around him was in danger, everyone around him was slowly but surely getting sucked into his double life.

He didn't know how much longer he could stand it.

"Well, what did these guys look like?" Leah pressed. "Do you remember? Any scars? Tattoos?"

"No," Alicia said slowly. "Like, nothing out of the ordinary." She thought for a moment. "Actually, there was this guy there, really tall, dressed really rich. I couldn't really recognize his voice, though, it sounded familiar."

"Anything else?" Leah asked.

"The other guy there wasn't dressed as well as the first one. You could tell he's not from money. He was wearing flannel. And muddy work boots. But they were talking to my daddy really seriously. I couldn't hear what was going on, but I think it might've had something to do with Lex Luthor."

"Did you hear his name brought up?"

"No, I just…" Alicia shook her head, suddenly looking troubled. "I just…had a feeling. But everything was given back just fine. I promise." She earnestly looked to Brady and Leah. "I was telling the truth back there. I don't want anything to happen with the good metas. It's the bad ones we have to figure out."

"That's the problem," Brady said. He sighed, resting his back against her locker, watching everyone in the hallway move about without a care in the world. He wished he remembered what it felt like. Where he wasn't so stressed all the time. Twelve years old and he had the weight of the world on his shoulders. Slowly crushing him further every day. "How can you tell a good one from a bad one?"

"The good ones are trying to save the city," Alicia pointed out.

A small smile came to Brady's face. "How do you know the good ones from the bad?"

"Steal from the rich and give to the poor and all that," Leah pointed out. She tucked a ringlet of blonde hair behind her ear. "I guess you can never really tell."

"You're wrong." Alicia's voice was so emphatic, much stronger than it had been before. "You can always tell. If they put other people in harms' way and don't care, they're evil."

"So, is your dad evil, too?" The question slipped from Brady's mouth before he could stop it. Leah gasped quietly while Alicia's eyes widened. Her eyebrows furrowed together, and she lowered her gaze to her feet.

"I don't know," she murmured.

Silence stretched between the three. Leah looked back and forth between them, then cleared her throat, quickly changing the subject. "So, uh, how did you guys do on the math homework? I thought it was kidn of hard. I had to wait for my parents to get back to get their help on it and even they couldn't quite figure it out."

"What are parents good for anyway?" Alicia asked. "They haven't been in school for a bajillion years, like they could ever help." She looped her arm through Leah's, pulling her to her side. "Come on, we have some time before class, let's figure out what we're going to do this weekend. You could come over and we could do makeovers."

"That sounds like fun."

"And after that we can…"

"…What about we…"

"…I think…"

"…Brady?"

Brady's head jerked back, crashing against the lockers behind him. He felt two pairs of hands grab onto him, holding him up. A dark haze swept over his eyes. A shadow covering his vision. Fatigue took over his body. Not again. Not again. Brady shook his head back and forth, fighting to work off the exhaustion. He felt his feet start to give out from beneath him, but Leah and Alicia continued to hold him up.

"Brady! Are you okay? Can you hear me?"

Brady blinked, slowly feeling the exhaustion wash away. He nodded once, twice, three times. Took a deep breath. "I'm okay," he murmured.

Alicia shook her head, looking over him closely. "You look terrible. You should go to the nurse."

 _And have her use all her instruments at her disposal to figure out I'm a meta? No thanks. I'd rather alphabetize all of Aunt Caitlin's inventory again._ "I'm fine."

Alicia tightened her grasp on his wrist. "Leah, tell the teacher I took him to the nurse. I'll be back as soon as I can." She grabbed her purse from the floor and hitched it up her shoulder before dragging Brady down the hall behind her. "Come on."

"I don't need the nurse."

"Have you looked at yourself lately?"

"Is that supposed to be an insult."

Alicia sighed, brushing her hair back from her eyes. Looked at him closely. "Look, I guess I'm, like, worried about you, okay? You just seem, like, really stressed or whatever. And this whole thing with my dad obviously isn't helping."

Brady tried not to let his surprise show. "What do you mean?"

"I mean, I, like, don't want your mom or Barry to lose their jobs. That's why I was so careful with making sure my daddy didn't find out about my taking his files. He might've been table to, like, trace it back to you or something. I don't want your mom to, like, lose her job. From what my daddy says, she can hardly keep one as it is." Brady scowled. "But she does great work."

"That's the only reason why?"

"What other reason would there be?"

"I don't know, Alicia. Up until this past year you never liked me."

"And you didn't like me either." Alicia pouted. Stopped and turned to face him as they arrived at the nurse's office. Dropped his hand after a second. "I didn't like how you thought you were better than the rest of us. You constantly missed school because you were traveling a lot and didn't talk to anyone when you got back. Every year."

Brady nodded. That was hard to explain as well. How could he explain that part of the time he'd been kidnapped and held for ransom, tortured and mistreated for days, _weeks_ all just to get back at his mother. The memories bothered him more than he'd like to admit, but the way it felt that his brain had been breaking when it all came flooding back was the worst part. The part he was…afraid of. Still, how could he tell her that when he couldn't tell her who he was?

Not when it'd put her in so much danger.

"I didn't know what to say," he said honestly. "People already don't like my mom and treat me different because of that. I didn't want to bring attention to myself."

"So how come you didn't like me?" Alicia asked.

Brady gave her a 'duh' look. "Because you're a spoiled brat."

Alicia gave him one back. "Yeah? And?" Brady smiled. She threw her hair over her shoulder. "Anyway, I didn't want to say this before because I wasn't really sure if it would mean anything to you. But since it's like you're so plugged into this meta stuff—"

"I'm not plugged into it." Brady left it at that lame defense, didn't need to bring more attention to himself. "All of Barry's work is with metas. And so are Aunt Caitlin's and Uncle Cisco's work made metas so…"

"Anyway, I thought you might want to know. Those guys that were with Chief Paulson, I think your mom might know one of them."

"Who was it?"

"I think it was Clark Kent."

Brady's nose wrinkled. He pushed off another wave of exhaustion. "Why would Clark Kent be talking to your dad? And why would he be here in Central City? He does reporting work in Metropolis."

"I don't know." Alicia shrugged. "I don't even know for sure it was him. He wasn't dressed like a reporter. Not like he usually does. He looked more comfortable in the flannel, honestly. It's just a feeling. I can't explain it."

"Okay. I'll ask my mom."

Brady wasn't quite sure what she would know that he wouldn't, but things had been changing with Team Flash lately. He'd been able to make his own decisions that the others listened to. Part of him was surprised that Barry and his mom had agreed with his decision to stay back on Earth-1, but they were the ones who thought nothing would happen if they decided their whole team could charge off to Earth-2 without anything happening.

It was naïve, to the point he didn't understand how he could see it but none of the adults—and some of the smartest people on the planet—couldn't see it. Add that they were taking his training and letting him out in the field more seriously and he was truly starting to feel part of something. Of course, there were still times where their overprotection got in the way, but it'd been few and far between the longer Savitar and Alchemy were around.

"Are you sure you're going to be okay?" Alicia asked. "I could wait with you."

"No, I'll be fine. Thanks, Alicia."

"You're welcome." She flashed him a smile over her shoulder as she hurried to class. "I'll see you later."

Brady waved after her then stepped into the nurse's office. He looked around for a moment, not finding her there. He shrugged. A few minutes of sitting on the bed wouldn't be so bad, he'd just explain what happened when she came back. Brady pulled his phone from his pocket, wondering if he should call Ryder and tell him what happened.

Something washed over him then. A feeling, a sense that something was watching him. Brady lifted his chin and looked around the office. An everyday office; a desk that held a computer and a small version of a filing cabinet for mems form the teachers and administrative faculty. A larger filing cabinet that held the medical history of all the students in the school. An examining table, a large cabinet that held all the medicine and bandages for whatever ailments arose, probably filled with EpiPens and inhalers as well. Very reminiscent to the medicine basket in the linen closet in his own apartment.

No cameras.

No motion detectors.

Nothing.

And yet, he still felt that he was being watched.

"Brady."

Brady jumped, whipping around to see Black Blade stepping through a small shadow in the wall, practically contorting himself as he went around. "Are you sure you're not a stalker?" He asked, partially joking. "Because you seem to know where I am all the time. And, my mom's a cop, she has put a lot of people like you in jail."

Black Blade leaned against the filing cabinet, holding a hand against his lower stomach. He breathed heavily, face almost as pale as his hair. "I found you as soon as I could. I don't have a lot of time. There's a lot you need to know."

* * *

Barry paced the clearing of the park, glancing over his shoulder every few seconds. The last thing he needed was for anyone to notice him and gather around, wanting to get as many pictures and autographs as they could. He'd do anything for his fans and since Flash Day became a thing, there were more people standing around at crime scenes taking pictures and videos while Barry smiled and waved bashfully to them.

This was ten times more important than that.

Cadence leaned against her car, watching as Barry paced. It was probably the slowest she could remember seeing him move as of late. When he wasn't sleeping, anyway. But even through the throes of slumber, Barry managed to most fast. He had restless legs, managing to shift them more times than not as he tried to get comfortable. Kicked her hard enough to bruise when he moved too fast. Then there were the days where he was up at all hours of the night with a brain that wouldn't quiet enough for him to sleep.

It wasn't so often that, during the day, he was so restless when not stopping a meta or fighting crime of some sort. Even when running tests for cases or doing paperwork, he was in a relaxed, serene state. Julian's knowing of his identity had to have thrown him far more than he wanted to let on.

"You're sure he's going to be here?" It took a moment for Barry's question to register to Cadence.

She looped her arm around the steering wheel and leaned back in the driver's seat, smiling a small smile. "Well, I don't think he's ever going to turn down the chance to talk shit about you, so yeah, I think he'll be here." Cadence's smile widened as Barry turned an irritated glance her way. He reached up, fiddling with the hood of his suit, making sure it was snug over his eyes. "If he already knows you're The Flash, I don't think hiding your face is going to make much of a difference."

"You know why I have to wear my mask," Barry said.

"Yep, it's part of the plan," Cadence agreed. Barry looked at her once more. "Sorry, that sounded a lot more sarcastic than I meant it to be. I'm just saying, if he's so emphatic that you're the Flash, do you think showing up in your suit is going to change his mind?"

"It's not about changing his mind, it's about figuring out what he knows."

"Really? Because, to me, it sounds more like your desperation for justice."

Barry planted his hands on his hips. He finally stopped pacing. "If this were Breathtaker that were doing this, or Stratos or Mindboggler, if they didn't let you know until now that they knew your identity, that they had a message for you for what's going to happen in the future, for a future that I'm desperate to stop…" his eyes searched hers. "Wouldn't you do whatever you need to do to get answers."

"Yes," Cadence said readily. "But, all the same, I'm starting to worry about you. Your sense of justice is, borderline, an obsession, and…" she trailed off.

"And?" Barry prompted.

"And, I'm starting to wonder what it's really for." Cadence lifted her gaze from the dashboard to her fiancé. His eyes narrowed for a fraction of a second. A heavy sigh escaped his lips and he turned his head away, moved his hand as if to run through his hair. "Don't give me that look, Tholly."

"Mm?" His eyebrows rose. "What look?"

"That 'Barry-Allen look'," Cadence explained. "Not the wounded puppy one, but the one where you're ready to do something stupid and you're frustrated because you know deep down it's not a good idea and you're starting to regret it even before you've made the decision look."

Barry chuckled in amusement. "Do I really give that many looks?"

"Only the ones I pay attention to," Cadence explained. She started to count on her fingers. "There's those, your guilty look, your pissed look…" she waved a lot of hands. "There's a lot of looks. I've learned to distinguish them."

"I hope you're as good as figuring out if Julian is lying as you are to figure things out with me," Barry said.

"I'd have to spend a lot of time with him if I wanted that. Maybe date a little. Maybe get engaged…" Cadence propped her chin in her palm, watching as Barry's smile widened. Cadence's eyes shifted behind Barry, noticing another car pulling up nearby. "He's here."

"Are you sure you're going to be alright?" Barry asked her.

Cadence snorted. "I think I can handle myself about Julian Albert. I don't know if you've noticed, but he doesn't really put forth an air of being intimidating. I mean, not unless he's got some sort of a magic wand hidden somewhere and can turn me into a frog." She wiggled her fingers, jumping out of the driver's seat, slamming the door shut. The she nodded to the nearby picnic table. "We'll be right there in plain sight. I'll get as much information out of him as possible and let you guys know if he's lying. And once this is all over, we can all go back to our normal lives." She shrugged. "As normal as it is."

"If we get everything we need to know, I'll take you to that restaurant you've always wanted to go to," Barry promised.

"Ooh." Cadence sucked air between her teeth. "Sorry, Flash, I guess I should've mentioned." She lifted her left hand, showing off her engagement ring. "I'm already taken. Got a wedding to plan and everything."

"He's a lucky guy," Barry remarked.

"Oh no, I'm the lucky one." Cadence pressed a hand to her chest as if she were about to swoon. "I haven't met anyone who was wimpy enough that I could completely control. It's great."

Barry's smile immediately faded. He pointed at her. "You're going to pay for that one," he said before zipping out of sight, leaving a streak of lightning behind.

Cadence watched him go, then turned her attention back to Julian, who walked up the grassy knoll toward her. He, for once, looked calm and casual, dressed in a black sweater and jeans. Compared to his tailored suits at work, it was a good change. Enough so that, for a moment, she wondered if she were greeting an old friend. All until he spoke.

"Let's get this over with," he said, hands shoved into the pockets of his slacks. "What is it that you want?"

Cadence's eyelids twitched. She gestured toward the picnic table and the two sat down. She clasped her hands together and leaned toward Julian. If he were to know about her abilities, he'd know to look closely at her eyes. Would know that the blue-green that imperceptivly took on an orange sheen was her looking closely at his body temperature to watch for any change.

"Allen went running to you, has he?" Julian asked, the first to speak. "Spoke to you about what I said to him."

"You mean, what you accused him of," Cadence shot back.

"It's not an accusation when it's based on truth, that's allegation." Julian mimicked her stance, clasping his hands together, leaning toward her. "As a part of the police force, I'd expect you to know that, yeah?"

The side of Cadence's mouth turned up. "I know as much as you do. And plenty more from the numerous areas I've worked within the CCPD. And, as you've incorrectly stated, the way you spoke to Barry about his being a meta was an allegation, not an accusation. As you don't have the proof needed to determine the truth."

Julian chuckled, leaning back. "And you're planning on marrying this guy?" He asked. "The man can never be on time for work, is always flippant about the rules that are put in place for all of us that work at the CCPD, he has blatant disregard for his work, and the moment someone ever tries to speak poorly about him, it's like kicking a bloody puppy." Cadence tried not to snort at the irony of his comment. "All because his bloody parents died?" He paused for a moment, looking away from Cadence. "I'm sorry that happened, a tragic loss like that is very difficult, but it shouldn't give him free reign to do what he pleases."

"If this is a problem with the CCPD, then take it up with the CCPD," Cadence pointed out.

"Don't you think I've tried?" There wasn't a spike in any of his body temperature, not negatively. The intense expression on his face hadn't changed. Julian's hands clenched into fists. He was telling the truth and was angry. "Talking to Captain Singh is like talking to a bloody brick wall. It goes in one ear and out the other. If it were for Chief Paulson, no discipline would go on in that precinct."

"Why not leave then?"

"I have my own reasons for staying, thank you very much." Julian leaned back, stretching his arms over his chest. "But I must ask you the same question." Cadence turned her head, looking at Julian out the corner of her eye. "Why do you defend Barry so much? Working at the CCPD, when you were a medical examiner no less. His tardiness and absence had to have put a toll on your own work."

"I did okay."

Julian continued to eye her as suspiciously as she did him. "Or, maybe it's the same thing. Your feelings for Allen cloud your judgement. Isn't there a rule against dating within the police force?"

"Can't date within the same department," Cadence explained, already ready with the answer. She and Barry, since making their relationship official to announce to the CCPD, had scoured the company policy on what was allowed of their relationship. There was a gray area of their dating when she was still a Medical Examiner and he was a CSI; working within the same department but under different bosses. Barry reported directly to Captain Singh while Cadence reported to another Captain. "Though that's not entirely any of your business."

"I mean, it must be difficult having to sleep next to someone who manages to ruin nearly everything he touches."

Cadence ran a hand through her hair, her eyebrows twitching upwards. "Sleep next to or sleep with? Because I can assure you that both are amazing."

"Isn't that grounds for harassment?"

"We can ask Captain Singh, considering you were the one who brought up the conversation topic in the first place."

Julian's upper lip curled. "What is it that you called me out here for?"

 _Fell right into my trap._ Cadence's smile widened. She leaned toward him, resting her chin atop of her hands. "You work as the Meta-human CSI Expert, I'd expect you to know who is or isn't a metahuman considering all the work you've had to do to get the job in the first place."

Julian cleared his throat. "Yes, well, before there was the position of the Meta-human CSI Expert at the CCPD I've done my fair share of studying it. Which, thankfully, fell in line with my studies."

"I thought you were a archaeologist."

"I was. Archaeology has a lot to do with what I do as a CSI, it is the study of human history after all."

"And what have you found out about human history in comparison to metahumans?"

"That there are more remarkable people in the world than we've ever thought there were," Julian said. He tilted his head, running a hand through his hair. "So much so that, if I can make a good link, I can prove there have been metahumans for years and more to come."

 _Just like Breathtaker,_ Cadence thought. She thought back to the conversation she'd had with Caitlin and Iris with their theory. The four horsemen of the apocalypse. Breathtaker's wanting to take over the world as long as he could live. He'd lived for years…Cadence continued to watch Julian. Wondered if she could get him to slip up. "And you think Barry is one of those remarkable people?"

"Ordinarily I'd have to say 'no'." Julian's voice was flat. "There's nothing remarkable about Barry Allen, but considering he is a metahuman, I'd have to say that's the only thing I can say is truly remarkable."

"And you're sure about that? That he's a metahuman?"

"I can just about guarantee it."

Cadence's lips pursed. "What if I told you I could prove that he's not?"

"I can assure you I've never been surer of anything in my life." With that, Cadence brought her hand across her forehead, swiping her fringe to the side, so that her hair moved out of her eyes. She scratched her forehead, just above her left temple. The moment she lowered her hand, there was a gust of wind that blew across the clearing, making Julian jump.

His eyes went from the Flash to Cadence and back again. Cadence watched Julian's every move. He shifted his hands from the table top, curling his fingers to his palms, dropped them to his lap. He was slowly starting to grow nervous. Cadence smirked. The small movement of her mouth was pointed, increasing the temperature around Julian. He shifted in his seat. "What's going on?" He demanded.

Barry folded his arms. "Let's just say you're going to be our guest for a while." His vocal chords vibrated rapidly, disguising his voice.

Julian's eyes narrowed into slits. Anger. Cadence felt and saw the burst of his body temperature. " _You_ ," Julian spat. "I always suspected that you had your own ways of getting around the police's work when interrogating your enemies." He glared back and forth between him and Cadence. "You want to explain why I'm here?"

"I know You're Alchemy, Julian," Barry said.

Julian snorted. "I don't know what you're on about, Allen, but I'm not Alchemy."

"You're turning innocent people into metahumans," Barry continued, ignoring the way his stomach clenched when Julian called him, 'Allen'. So sure that he was indeed Barry and not just some man who was the impossible. "Worshiping Savitar?"

Cadence continued to watch Julian. Her eyes continued to glow orange, increasing in the shine as she watched him. She looked at Barry out the corner of her eye. He looked back at her, seemingly unconvinced. "You think I'm Alchemy?" An incredulous laugh escaped Julian's lips. He grasped the edge of the picnic table, the wood creaking beneath his grasp. "That's the saddest thing I've ever heard in my life. It's absurd. And anyway, I should be asking you about your double life."

His eyes shifted behind Cadence, eyes widening. Cadence looked over her shoulder and smiled, seeing Barry come their way, running as fast as he could go. He stopped at the table, gasping for air, pressing his hand into the picnic table. "Sorry I'm late," he apologized. "It took me a little while to…well, to find this…" He pulled fabric from behind his back, dropping it to the top of the picnic table.

An ominous wind blew as the three looked over the fabric, a mask with a long beak at the front. "What is that?" Julian asked.

"It's a mask," Barry replied. He started to stutter. "A-a mask I found in your…uh, our lab."

"You went through my _things_?" Julian spat.

Cadence jumped on his slip-up. "So, you admit this mask is yours?"

"No!" He spat back. Angry. "I've never seen that mask before in my life." He pointed a shaky finger at her. "You're trying to set me up. You're framing me, aren't you?" He laughed again. Another incredulous laugh. His eyes shifted to the Flash then to Barry and back. A new wave of disgust washed over his face. "The Flash of all people setting me up."

Barry, as The Flash, shook his head. "You're insane," he murmured. But Julian wasn't able to be quelled from what he thought he knew.

"The great hero is trying to set me up!"

Barry, as the Flash, started to ask a question, but Cadence broke in. She could only listen to Julian's incessant ramblings for so long. _Most of the time I can ignore it, but now it's getting annoying._ "Have you ever been losing time? Blacking out?" Julian scowled at her. She pressed on. "Hours pass, you wake up somewhere different? Not sure how you've gotten there?"

"No," Julian said flatly.

"No?" Barry repeated.

"No," Julian spat. His eyes shot back and forth between Barry and Cadence. "And I'm tired of your baseless accusations and ridiculous theories."

"Julian, we're trying to help you," Barry, as The Flash, said. He reached out a hand, making Julian back away. Afraid to be touched. "But you need to trust me."

"Why should I trust you?" Julian demanded.

"Because, you're Alchemy. I don't think you're aware of it."

Julian folded his arms over his chest, smug. "Well, there's just one problem with that theory, Flash,"

Again, Cadence watched Julian through the conversation. She tilted her head. Something about the way he was suddenly so smug...she wasn't quite sure what the connection was, but something about the manic look in his eye made her ask, "What do you know about the philosopher's stone."

Julian rolled his eyes. "What I've already told the Flash before. I'm sure he could've filled you in." He eyed the Flash warily. "We went to India, we looked for it, we found it. Next thing I remember, I woke up in the hotel room with my team slaughtered. I fled to America; my team had been found dead at the site. I thought they would blame me for their deaths, so I ran. I already have that weight of the world on my shoulders, you can't pin anything else on me that shouldn't be. No matter the silly little games you've been playing to frame me, especially with this two-cent piece of rubbish." He jabbed at the mask.

"I know you don't like me, Julian, but you've accused me of being a meta—"

"—And to get back at me you've decided to accuse me of helping the very thing I can't stand?" Julian shook his head. "I knew you were a weak man, Allen, but I guess I never knew how weak." He looked to Cadence, his words dripping with sarcasm. "I hope with your upcoming nuptials that you understand what you're getting into. I'll be sure to send you both a toaster as you live out the rest of your miserable lives. Now…" he glared at the three. "Are we done here?"

"Don't go too far," Barry, as The Flash, replied.

"I'm anticipating your visit."

With that, Julian walked back to his car. He climbed inside and peeled away from the park. The second his car disappeared around the corner, Barry, as The Flash, let out a loud groan and collapsed onto the bench next to Cadence. The second he sat down, Barry, the speed mirage, disappeared, leaving Barry gasping heavily, bringing a hand to his chest.

"You okay?" Cadence asked, running her fingers through his hair.

Barry reached up and yanked off his hood, beads of sweat rolling down his cheeks. "I've never run that fast before." He took in another deep breath. "Did you get everything we need?"

"And more."

* * *

 **A/N:** This chapter was twice as long, but I ended up cutting it in half. That being said, Black Blade returns and has a bigger part from the story on out, thanks again for DarkHelm145 for coming up with him for me. As well, with the rest of the story there are going to be major changes with the way things went on the show (as per usual) so I hope things continue to be exciting as the story goes on.

Thank you all for being so patient for this update. For those wondering, Brady, now that he's older, will have a large part in the next story. To the point that you'll see a lot of his school life, not just parts in the hallway between classes, and what I've revealed on tumblr/twitter where he has a love interest. Also, as a warning, the next story will start as a 'T' rating and eventually move to a 'M' one.

I hope you're all excited.

 **Cheers,**

 **-Riley**

 **Review Replies**

 **Ethan:** They'd have to have skin to skin contact for Savitar to mind-meld with Barry, thus revealing himself to Barry for it to work.

 **DarkHelm145:** Thank you so much! Hope you enjoyed this one as well!


	43. Lowered Defenses (2)

**43**

 _Lowered Defenses_

* * *

"Is this what it feels like to be on CSI?" Cisco asked, looking down at his gloved hands.

Caitlin looked up at him and smiled, pulling on her own gloves. She paused, taking the ring off her left hand, carefully putting git in the pocket of her scrubs, before sliding the gloves onto her hands. Carefully, she pulled a mask above her face, covering everything from her eyes down, making sure she didn't jostle the necklace away from its place around her neck.

 _What's the matter, Caity? Are you afraid I'll come out and ruin something?_ Killer Frost's voice whispered through her head, much like the icy vapors her—their—powers exhibited. Caitlin shook her head, equally brushing away Killer Frost's words and letting Cisco know she was partly amused by his analogy to the Hazmat suits they wore.

The voice had started to come more often than she'd like to admit. Her dreamless nights were broken up with a whisper of her name, _Caity,_ that made Caitlin stay up for days afterwards, only allowing herself to fall asleep when she could no longer stave off her exhaustion. When she gave herself too much time to think about Killer Frost, it was like summoning her. Nothing about her outwardly changed, her eyes didn't change color, her fingernails didn't turn blue, her lips stayed a fresh pink. But it was that damn blondes streak in her hair, the one that wouldn't go away, that let Caitlin know she was there.

The _Miss me?_ Every time she looked in the mirror. The small nuances within Caitlin's own movements that she knew weren't her own. She was all for dressing professionally in the work place and numerous times she'd find herself halfway out the door in a pair of stilettos, tight jeans, and a tank top before she'd regain control of her mind and run back inside to change.

That was when Killer Frost didn't take control for those few moments. The black outs she couldn't explain and didn't want to think about. The ones she should've told her friends but wasn't quite sure _how_ to bring it up without drawing their ire for multitudes of reasons. She couldn't imagine the thought of them abandoning her. The smart part of her knew they wouldn't go anywhere, they'd stay by her side.

But the sensitive part of her feared that it would be the last straw. Shed betrayed them once before, what would keep it from happening again? The necklace was only going to work for so long…the presence of Killer Frost's voice was a testament to that.

 _Afraid I'll come out and play?_

Caitlin shook her head, cleared Killer Frost's voice from her thoughts and focused on getting herself ready. If it was a meta that'd attacked the man, turned him to a decaying corpse, she didn't need to accidentally touch something and trigger it on herself. It was hard enough for Barry to transport it to them in the first place. Something he didn't think too much about when he haphazardly dumped it onto an examining table in the medical bay. He was otherwise, too preoccupied with his conversation with Julian.

"I think, using the speed mirage, it's thrown him off the trail for a little while," Barry explained when he got back. "But not for too long. If he thinks about the sorts of things The Flash can do, he'll realize what I've done." He ran a hand over his head. "And I showed my face to him. It'd be even harder to convince him that I'm not The Flash."

"Yeah, but from what we know of Julian, he seems to be a bit short sighted," HR commented. He placed his hands on his hips. "Happens to the best of us. Can be a doozy of a flaw. But there's more than that we have to worry about, like…" he tapped his drumsticks against his lips. "What do we hope to gain from that examination they're going to perform?"

"Cause of death, time of death," Barry explained, standing a safe distance away with Wally and Jesse. "Anything on that level. The exact cause so we know for sure if it's meta related or not. Once we know that, we'll have a better idea of what we're dealing with."

"Okay, and how are you going to get the body back to the CCPD?" Wally asked. "I mean, I know there are a plethora of excuses we can use, but dad's not that great of a liar when it comes to meta stuff."

"If it _is_ meta stuff," Jesse reminded him.

Cisco gave her a 'duh' look. "Have you not lived your life? Have you not been on Earth-1 long enough to know it's _always_ meta related in some way?" He made a humming sound and pointed to Wally. "You better get your girl before I have to come after her," he remarked.

Wally and Jesse exchanged a glance, chuckling to themselves. Barry would've fallen along with the laughter if things weren't so serious, Caitlin surmised, watching the expression on his face. Saw the amusement flash through his eyes though the expression on his face remained the same. A scary realization for anyone paying attention.

For a moment, Caitlin studied Barry, suddenly thinking about his time in therapy. His time being mentally examined by psychologists. His time being interrogated by the police to know what really happened that night. After a while, no matter how much believed what he saw the night his mother was murdered was true, he had to keep quiet. Had to act like he'd seen his father murder his mother. All just to get them to leave him alone. How many times had he faked a smile while his eyes were dead inside? How many times had he been having fun with something, but his face refused to bring an expression that would show it, due to the injustice bestowed upon him.

How he managed to keep going every day was beyond her. _I'll be glad to let you in on the secret, Caity. Once you let me out._

Caitlin took in a deep breath. Ignored Killer Frost, got her tools ready and lined up alongside the examining table.

"Until we can figure any of the rest of this out, we need to train," Barry said.

Cadence lifted an eyebrow. "You sure that's a good idea?" She asked. "We just got more information out of Julian than we could ever imagine; he proved that what Breathtaker had been saying was true. He's been around for thousands of years. And, like Jay said, Savitar has been around for who knows how long, as well. Time travel isn't difficult for a speedster."

"And we have that information written down," Barry agreed. He gestured vaguely. "In the metahuman database and Iris is working on it for her blog." Cadence gave him a look. "It's not anything that she's going to post to the public, but it's a new place to keep it in case things get to be…" he trailed off, bobbing his head back and forth.

"Even more of a shit show than things have already become?" Cisco suggested.

"Right," Barry agreed. "And, right now, Captain Singh knows I have the body and that I'm in charge of it. So long as Julian doesn't say anything about my not being at the CCPD, things should be okay."

"And we can trust Julian to not say anything?" Caitlin asked, skeptically. She looked to Cadence, who didn't appear as concerned. Caitlin lifted her eyebrows and Cadence sucked in a breath saying, "If he wanted to say something, I could claim harassment for something he said to me earlier today."

"So, we're going to blackmail now, huh?" HR asked, his grin wide. "I'd hate to see what he has on you. I guess it must be a Wells thing, keeping secrets and stuff."

"Yeah," Jesse agreed, looking toward her sister with an impressed glance. She ignored HR. "What's he got?"

HR brought up a hand, rubbing his chin. "Kind of like that whole, Breathtaker making you a meta before you were supposed to thing—"

"-We don't need to worry about it now," Caitlin quickly jumped in. She pressed her fingertips to her forehead. Working to push away the throbbing headache that was starting to form. "We need to figure out what's going on with this body."

"And until then, we need to train," Barry insisted. "The only way we're going to stop Savitar from killing Iris is if we can move fast enough to stop him. To move faster than he can move." He nodded to Wally. "And Brady and I'll help him learn everything he needs to know about phasing."

"Yes," Wally cheered.

Cisco looked interested. "You think Brady can really help? I mean, speedster phasing and his power of phasing aren't exactly one and the same."

"I know," Barry agreed. "But it's the only thing I can think of. I can give Wally the fundamentals on how to phase, but Brady is the one who's entire powerset is based on it. It gives him the ability to _fly_ for crying out loud!"

HR stopped rambling to himself, turning his attention on to what Barry had been saying. "You know what, we should probably come up with some simulations to help Wallace learn this new skill," he remarked, tapping his cheek with his drumstick. "Run some time trials. Get his blood pumping."

Cisco's eyes widened incredulously. "And I'm going to be left out of it?"

"Cisco," Caitlin said patiently. She blinked bashfully, hoping she was able to change his mind with just the look. It'd worked many times before. "I need you here. To help me."

Her look proved not to work. Instead of falling to her whims, she was also banking on the promise of clearing out the frozen food section for some Pizza Pockets, Cisco gestured towards the fire metahuman. "But Cade is a doctor, why not get her help?"

Barry answered his question for his fiancée, "She's already training with Jesse."

"Fine." Cisco turned back toward the dead body. He pouted, folding his arms. Trying to ignore the sounds of the speedsters and fire metahuman all racing from STAR Labs, taking HR with them.

Caitlin, instead of worrying about it, simply turned back to the corpse that lay on the table. The withered corpse that lay with wide, unblinking eyes towards the ceiling. Mouth opened in a permanent, agonized scream. Skin a rust brown, sucked of any moisture and life that it had been before…before whatever met it. Caitlin shook her head, thinking. Wondering what it was like in the man's last few minutes.

"What?" Cisco's question was soft.

"I'm just…" Caitlin took in a deep breath. The front of her mask sucked in as well, pressed against her nose and lips. Her ringlets danced as she shook her head once more, mentally prepared herself to get to work. _You've always been such a soft touch._ She swallowed hard. "Wondering what his name is."

"He's practically a zombie, Caitlin, why does he need a name? It's not like he's a meta that we need to give a nickname to."

Caitlin's glare to him was so sharp it could've cut glass. "Because he was still _a human Cisco_." She lifted her head, staring him down. His eyes, the only part of him visible beneath his surgical mask and hair net, widened at his faux pas. "And your bedside manner sucks."

"I never had to come up with a bedside manner, I work in facts and figures, remember?"

"Then it's a good that you never went into this field."

"Ha ha."

For the next half hour, the two worked in silence. Utter silence. No Killer Frost to distract her. Caitlin could feel her other side's curiosity as she moved along her examination over the corpse. Cisco stayed silent as well, only making 'mhm' and 'huh' noises when Caitlin instructed him to turn the corpse one way or the other while she scraped off samples she could use to test. Once she had her samples, she'd put them under a microscope to look closer, taking notes as she went.

And that was alright with her. The less time they talked, the less she had to think about what she was keeping from them. The less she had to wonder about Killer Frost overpowering the meta dampener around her neck to take on whatever got in her way. If they didn't talk, the more they could get done. And the more her examinations failed for any of the normal bacterial and germ responses to a early death, the more frustrated Caitlin became.

She took in a deep breath, bit her lips to keep from getting too angry. If she got angry…Killer Frost would respond with glee. _Oh! Caity knows how to feel! She isn't a cold-hearted monster like I am. Go on, let it out…_

Caitlin hugged her arms to her chest, watching the computer in front of her whirr quietly, taking on the scraping of skin she'd placed inside. New tests. Different idea of figuring out what had happened to the body if it weren't nature made. The computer beeped, bringing up a split screen as 'SCAN COMPLETE' ran over the image of two DNA strands. Caitlin's eyebrows came together.

She tilted her head, watching the screen. Impossible. And yet, everything they dealt with was the impossible. It was something she had no choice of seeing and having to believe. Cisco, who'd taken on watching TV on his phone while waiting for a response, made a low humming sound when Caitlin took a step forward. Knowing she had her best friend's full attention, Caitlin waved her hand toward him. "Cisco, look."

Obediently, he turned off his phone and moved to her side. He looked at her. "What happened?" Then looked at the computer screen. Cisco was a man of many talent; a mechanical engineer who created technology that even the most talented could only dream of, had no idea what the split DNA strands on the screen were telling him.

Caitlin stared at the DNA on screen, watched the one on the left twist and wiggle, unraveling form itself, rapidly and haphazardly, like a child untying a knot. Turning around, Caitlin and Cisco watched the body they'd been working on rapidly rot before their eyes. Becoming a pile of dust within seconds. The dust wafted on the air from the vents that circulated through the medical bay. The two jumped backwards.

"What'd you do?" Cisco declared, tone accusing.

"I didn't do anything!" Caitlin defended herself. _But you could have._ She held her hands up defensively. "I just took some samples, worked on them. I didn't do anything to him. So…we know this is from a meta."

"We do?"

Caitlin gave Cisco a bemused look. "Does this look like something that was manmade or from bacteria?" She gestured wildly toward the body lying on the table. "And Barry and Joe said that it's the body they took from the crime scene."

"Define 'take'."

Caitlin threw her hands in the air. "Cisco!"

"What?"

"What's going on?" Caitlin's voice turned soft, soothing. She folded her arms. Usually, Cisco was up and rearing to go, ready to take on whatever meta problems came their way. And now? He was skeptical of it all? "You're acting very weird lately. Like, you mind hasn't been here. Like…it's been on something else." She watched him closely, watched as he turned away from. Though she knew the problems. "Or maybe, _someone_ else."

"Do you really think this is a conversation we need to have right now?" Cisco ran a hand over his face. He turned and gestured towards the dust. "Over a dead body? Someone who needs to have that impeccable bedside manner you keep trying to push on me."

"Cisco," Caitlin warned. A 'you better tell me know, or regret it' noise. And yet, Cisco didn't turn to look at her. He merely shook his head, copying her stance, arms folded over his chest. A move to protect himself, Caitlin realized, while hers was a move of being fed up with his attitude. Two best friends who were slowly growing closed off to each other. Something she'd noticed since Gypsy's arrival.

Something flashed through her then, made her stomach clench. Hurt her heart. Something that dissipated within seconds. And, she couldn't help but notice, Killer Frost didn't have a comment about.

"Cisco…"

Their phones went off at the same time. A response to their warning app. Cisco whipped out his phone, ignoring Caitlin's disapproving glance as there was a computer nearby and she didn't want anything to contaminate their work, and check it over. His eyes widened, and he turned to face her. "Hey, we've got another body coming in."

"Another one?" Caitlin repeated.

"A Julio Mendez."

"Never heard of him." Caitlin gestured toward her computer. "Which is just as well. I'm not getting anything from any of these. And we need to be sure we can figure out what happened to this new body before it turns to ash, too. We don't know how much time we have."

"Maybe we should get Cade's help?" Cisco suggested again. He started to pace the floor of the medical bay. "Have her run the autopsy."

"You know." Caitlin gritted her teeth. Had to keep the image of throttling Cisco out of her head. _As much fun as that would be._ I've run plenty of autopsy's before, Cisco."

"I know, but that was her job for a year. Not to mention what she's known for going through medical school and residency." Caitlin gave him a look. "I'm just saying it's different than becoming a bioengineer. You went the actual science route, she went the hands on-route."

 _That's right, he doesn't think we can do it,_ Killer Frost whispered. _That we're too weak. That we're not as good._ "Meaning, you just don't want to get too close to the body," Caitlin surmised.

Cisco paused, twisting his mouth to the side. "…Yes, that, _and_ , she has a lot of experience with it."

Caitlin shook her head. She laughed, rubbing at her face. One thing she certainly could count on was how easily Cisco made her laugh. No matter how serious thing were. Caitlin turned back to her computer, looking over the photos they'd taken of the body before it'd turned to ash. Looked for anything out of the ordinary. She found it in a few minutes. "The gradation is darker on the palm of his hand, from the point of contact." She looked back to the two strands of DNA on the computer, the one torn apart and the one holding still. "One of these must be from the killer. The other one has some sort of element in it."

"And it wasn't destroyed?" Cisco sounded incredulous. He moved to Caitlin's side, grabbing her shoulder to allow himself to lean closer to the screen. "Score one for the good guys." He squinted, tilting his head. "Have you ever seen anything like that before?"

Caitlin thought back to it. They'd done a myriad of scans and reports since Barry had explained Flashpoint to them. _Come on, Caitlin, think. You're supposed to be the smart one aren't you? The one everyone cane depend on. I'm sure it's somewhere in that brain of yours._ Killer Frost, if anything, was at least helpful in spurning Caitlin to figure things out, out of spite. "On the meta husk created by Alchemy…"

"So, this guy was created by Julian, too." Cisco grinned, showing all his teeth. A sarcastic smile as he brought up his thumb and said with as much enthusiasm as he could muster, "Awesome!"

"I'll cross-reference it to the CCPD," Caitlin decided. She moved through the windows on her computer screen, bringing up, simultaneously, the CCPD database as well as the metahuman encyclopedia she'd created. She and Cisco waited with baited breath as numerous files and profiles rolled across the screen. Finally, it came up with the unsmiling face of a man who looked more than pissed off when being process into the CCPD.

The name beneath it read Clive Yorkin. "Mm." Cisco shook his head. "That's not the kind of guy I'd like to come up against in a dark alley. Especially not when one touch would make me _Gone With The Wind_."

"Do you come up with these on the spot or do you constantly think of them when things are slow?" Caitlin looked at him, jerked her head back when she realized how close their faces were. If Cisco noticed, he didn't say anything. Instead, he whipped out his phone and called Barry.

He connected the Bluetooth to the speakers on the computer and waited for Barry to pick up. He responded, sounding out of breath. "Hey, what's going on?"

"We've got a DNA match to CCPD records," Cisco explained. "The meta's name is Clive Yorkin."

"Does it sound familiar to you?" Caitlin asked. "Someone the CCPD may have arrested before?"

"If he's in the CCPD database he must be," Barry remarked. "But the name doesn't sound too…" Barry trailed off. Then, seconds later, he appeared in the medical bay, blowing papers around. He ripped off his hood and looked to Caitlin and Cisco. "Clive Yorkin, that's the name of the guy I saw in Flashpoint. He was being processed for some crime he committed."

"So, this _is_ another Flahspoint meta," Caitlin realized. _Good, Caity. Sound it out._ Caitlin clenched her hand into a fist, willed the burst of anger within her to go away. _Nice try._ "Alchemy made this one…. _Julian_ made this one. Just like Frankie and Wally."

"But why would this Yorkin guy want to do anything now?" Cisco asked. "Why not before?"

"Maybe he's working for someone else?" Barry pointed out. He lifted a hand to his comm.-link and called in Cadence. "Cade, does the name Clive Yorkin mean anything to you?"

Cadence paused. "Sounds familiar," she said slowly. " _Very_ familiar. I'm sure I've heard that name somewhere before. What'd you find out?" Her voice took on a strange tone, Caitlin noticed. A little warble at the end of her question. _She sounds scared._

Caitlin turned her head aside, catching her reflection in the computer monitor. Killer Frost looked back at her, smiling wickedly. Caitlin gasped and backed away a step. She regained her composure when Cisco and Barry turned her way, she waved them off. But Cisco continued to watch her when Barry explained.

"Clive Yorkin was someone I saw in Flashpoint, he was caught and processed through the CCPD. He's one of the metas that Alchemy made over here. Caitlin checked his DNA and it has the same element of the other DNA strands we've tested from those in the encyclopedia. From Frankie to Wally…"

"So, what does he want with things here? Now?" Cadence asked. She spoke again, her voice becoming alarmed. "Clive Yorkin? He worked with Amunet once."

Caitlin tightened her grasp on the back of a chair in front of her. Her fingers protested the pain that swarmed through them, her fingers continuing to squeeze together by the second. Clive Yorkin was from Flashpoint. He had powers due to Alchemy. Clive Yorkin, before he got powers, worked with Amunet. Amunet had some sort of a relationship with Breathtaker. Breathtaker had some sort of a relationship with Savitar.

 _And Savitar is going to win,_ Killer Frost said. Caitlin closed her eyes, lowered her head. _And you know it. You know there's nothing you can do about it. Poor Caitlin Snow, able to figure out everything at the drop of a hat, it's what you were known for. What you were hired for. And yet, you ruin everything you touch_

"Stop," Caitlin whispered _._

"Stop what?" Cisco asked her.

Barry gazed at her. "We didn't say anything." He took a few steps closer to her. "Caitlin, are you okay?"

"Stop," Caitlin repeated. She looked to the boys. Not them. Not any of them, they weren't doing anything wrong. _And yet, they're getting in the way of everything we need to do. And you know it, Caity. You know everything that's happening. You're a smart girl, you can figure it out. Do you need me to give it to you step by step? That's not very fun?_

A sharp pain shot through Caitlin's head. She closed her eyes, backing away. Brought her hands up to the side of her head and fell to her knees. Her head felt that it was splitting open, she struggled to hold it together. Hoped her worst nightmares weren't coming true.

 _Oh, but it's not a nightmare._

"Cait?"

A whimper escaped Caitlin's throat. She grasped her hands tighter to her head. _Because, you know, nightmares aren't real._ Another jolt of pain. This time, accompanied with the feeling that she was flying. An out of body experience taking her from STAR Labs and floated her miles and miles away.

When Caitlin opened her eyes again, she was in the mountains. Peaks loomed in the distance, dark gray and cloudy against the ash colored sky. The clearing she stood in was filled with trees, perfectly carved away in a circle. Caitlin took a step back, continued to scan the clearing. Something about it was familiar, she knew it in her heart. Snow fell around her, her breath condensed in her face, but she didn't feel it.

Even standing in a thin blouse, slacks, and her flats, she felt warm. As if she were simply standing on the sidewalk in Central City in the middle of a warm, Spring day. A loud crack filled the air, sending birds racing into the sky. The sound of footsteps heading closer to her. Caitlin turned to follow the sound, found herself face to face with a tree trunk behind her.

Initials carved into it.

T.S.

C.S.

What was typically a gesture between lovers, carving initials into a tree, these were simply that of family. Of hers and her father's camping trip that they took to the mountains every year. A father-daughter trip. As his father's MLS continued to worsen, her mother continued to refuse her presence on those trips. Caitlin, however, didn't mind, it gave her more time with her father. She remembered watching as her father painstakingly put each letter into the three, framing them into the shot he set up with his camera on his tri-pod. She remembered giggling every time something would go wrong with it; it'd drop to the snow, the shutter would come too soon, too late, a bright flash would go off, the flash wouldn't go off at all…

And she continued to laugh the more frustrated her father became before they got the final picture; the two with their arms around each other, laughing without a care in the world.

"It still hurts, doesn't it?" Caitlin whipped back around to find Killer Frost had come to stand behind her. Her eyes were dull, without any light as she gazed at the initials. Her white-blonde hair blew in the frosty wind that encircled the clearing, kicking up sparkles of snow as it went. Killer Frost tilted her head. "That he had to leave you like that. That Ronnie had to leave you. That Jay had to leave you." She shook her head. "Everyone keeps leaving you."

Caitlin didn't respond. She dropped her hand from the tree trunk, her fingertips snagging on the grooves of her father's 'S'. She faced Killer Frost, who moved at the same time to face her. Brown eyes locked with blue. Caitlin studied Killer Frost. Everything about them was the same; same face, same body shape, same blank expression of sadness. And yet, Caitlin could sense the power and danger Killer Frost held around her. So much danger in her movements. Pure evil.

"But I guess it's to be expected," Killer Frost continued. "There's not much to stick around for."

"You're lying," Caitlin breathed.

Killer Frost's eyebrows rose. "Am I? I mean, you've been told this before. If your Earth-2 counterpart says the same thing then…" Killer Frost shrugged, her blue lips pulling back in a smile. "It must be true, right?"

 _Caitlin gaped at Killer Frost in dumb surprise. "You died," she murmured. She'd seen it happen. Saw how her stomach had been puncture, saw her intestines and…and everything spill out. Saw the blood that escaped her body and pooled along the floor before Zoom had taken her away. Exactly what Zoom had been about to do to her if she hadn't stabbed him._

 _"Having the power of healing really comes in handy," Burnout bragged, resting her hands on her hips. "Myself, others…kind of makes it like a horror movie. People just keep coming back to life, huh?"_

 _"You've got what you wanted," Cadence said. "Zoom's got the Flash's power. You don't need us."_

 _Killer Frost wagged her finger back and forth. "No, Zoom got what he wanted. The Flash's power. What we want is entirely different." She blew on her fingernails and rubbed them against her chest. "We want to get away from Zoom and the only way that'll happen is if you're gone!" With that she swung out her hand. Her nails shone a bright blue and icicles in their likeness shot towards Caitlin and Cadence._

 _Caitlin stood firm in front of Killer Frost, the icicles coming closer. She was tired of running, tired of being the damsel in distress, and would do everything needed to take down Killer Frost once and for all. She brought her hands back and thrust them forward, using all of her energy to send an icy wave back at Killer Frost. A block of ice formed and the icicles embedded themselves in the face of it._

 _Killer Frost frowned, almost pouting._

 _Caitlin smiled, pleased at being able to hold her off. Then she noticed the red glow that slowly started to form in the center of the ice block before a wave of fire caught her in the chest, sending her backwards off her feet. Then the ice block exploded as Killer Frost followed the path of fire and caught Caitlin in the stomach, knocking her to the ground. The two rolled on the ground, grabbing each other's hair and clothes, trying to get the upper hand to pin each other down. Killer Frost pinned Caitlin to the ground with a foot to her shoulder, her other knee resting into Caitlin's stomach, painfully cutting off air-flow._

 _"You know, I never knew what Zoom saw in you," Killer Frost drawled. "Must be something warm. Otherwise, he hadn't even looked at me as anything other than a means to fulfill his plans." She tilted her head, still looking into Caitlin's eyes. "And my husband wouldn't have had to die for you." Her upper lip trembled violently. "There've been many breachers…who says there can't be any that have managed to successfully make a life over here?"_

 _With that, Killer Frost raised her hand high above her head, revealing an icicle resting in her grasp and plunged it down towards Caitlin's heart. With a scream, Caitlin swung her free fist upwards, it became encased in ice and when it collided with the icicle it shattered in her hand. Killer Frost reacted with surprise before crying out in pain, feeling Caitlin's icy fist smack into her palm, breaking the bones in her hand._

 _Caitlin lifted her legs and swung them down, giving herself momentum to get back to her feet, knocking Killer Frost away from her. Killer Frost rolled away and Caitlin wiped sweat off her forehead. It was hot. Too hot. Glancing to the side, Caitlin caught sight of Cadence and Burnout fighting against each other, teleporting every few seconds, flashes of fire shooting back and forth at the small glimpses she caught of them._

 _Their attacks were vicious and filled with strength, mimicking the power of fire they shared. Just as hers and Killer Frost's attacks against each other were cold and calculated, mimicking the ice they shared. Fire melted ice jut as ice snuffed out fire. Accelerants made fire grow as ice stuck together and continued to spread. There had to be something that could be done to finish this._

 _"I'm getting real sick of you," Killer Frost snarled, stomping her way back to Caitlin._

 _"Funny, I was about to say the same to you," Caitlin shot back. She and Killer Frost attacked at the same time, their icy blasts colliding with each other. The blasts shifted back and forth with the energy the two ice metahumans exerted._

 _Around them, Cadence and Burnout continued to fight, showcasing abilities Caitlin didn't even know they could do. She hadn't seen Cadence's fire aura get to be so big before, so destructive. Everything she came near seemed to melt under her presence. Adding in Burnout's power and there didn't seem to be anything that could stop them. The sheer strength either of them showed was much stronger than anything she'd seen before. If that was them not at full power then…who knew what it was that Killer Frost could do, too?_

 _Caitlin twisted her wrist, shooting her ice attack to the ground. Killer Frost growled, feeling her feet get frozen to the ground. She switched tactics, shooting icicles towards Caitlin with each punch. Caitlin ducked out of the way of each blow, continuing to enchase Killer Frost in ice up to her waist._

 _Killer Frost bared her teeth at Caitlin. "Who would've thought you'd have as cold of a heart as me. Must be having your husband murdered right before you. Now that you know how I feel…it sucks doesn't it? Not having anyone I could touch without hurting him. I feel so bad for you, soon, the way your powers will develop, you'll do it, too. And everyone will turn their back on you." Caitlin twisted her mouth to the side. She stopped sending ice towards Killer Frost and, instead, focused it on her hand. She walked closer to Killer Frost, who smiled smugly at her. "I guess I struck a nerve."_

 _"No," Caitlin replied. "I struck yours!" With that, she brought back her hand and smacked Killer Frost so hard across the face she immediately went limp._

Caitlin's eyebrows came together. Intuitively, it made sense as to how Killer Frost knew that. Killer Frost was a part of her. But there had to have been some things that changed from Flashpoint. A lot of things she hadn't wanted to know. But to be that in-depth with what Killer Frost knew…? A wave of suspicion nearly bowled her over.

Killer Frost's eyes flashed with glee. "Yes?" She asked. "Are you getting it yet?"

Caitlin's hands moved to her head. "No, she whispered. No…that doesn't…I don't….no…." She squeezed her eyes shut. Fell to her knees. Her mind whirled, pain shot through her entire body as the realization hit her. It didn't matter what she did as Caitlin, didn't matter how many dampeners they had, didn't matter what they put on her.

Her hands fell to her sides.

"Are you ready to give yourself to me, now? I must say, it's been so boring living in your head like this." Killer Frost walked closer to Caitlin with each word.

"No!" Caitlin flung her hands upwards, releasing two handfuls of snow. Killer Frost cried out and stumbled back. Caitlin launched herself upwards and tackled Killer Frost to the ground. Killer Frost cried out in pain and fury as she hit the ground, Caitlin punching her hard on the side of her face.

A hard slap nearly sent her reeling. Caitlin turned back and struck Killer Frost in the face once more. Another hard slap, a force so powerful that Caitlin fell to her side. Killer Frost rolled atop of Caitlin, pushing her face down into the snow.

Legs flailing, Caitlin reached up with her other hand, clawing through the air. Her nails dug into Killer Frost's cheek, scratching straight down. Blood dripped down Killer Frost's cheek, dripping onto and mixing with the blood that came from Caitlin's. Caitlin wrapped her arm around Killer Frost's wait and pushed hard, flipping Killer Frost off her and onto the ground.

Caitlin backed away, giving herself space from Killer Frost, who returned to her feet in a swirl of snow. The two looked at each other, breathing heavily. Killer Frost flipped her hair from her face, started taking confident steps toward Caitlin. Caitlin watched her come closer and close. When Killer Frost was close enough, she kicked up her foot, sending a wave of snow into the air. Killer Frost lifted her hand and with a flick of her wrist, waved the blinding snow aside.

Just in time for Caitlin to take a tree branch and swing it toward Killer Frost's face. Killer Frost grabbed the branch, flipped it around, and shoved it through Caitlin's stomach. Caitlin gasped, stumbling backwards in surprise. She stumbled and fell to the ground, gasping, stomach spasming.

Calmly, Killer Frost stepped over Caitlin and straddled her waist. She grabbed the branch and pulled it out, making Caitlin's hands drop to her stomach, fingers sliding over the blood that poured from the wound. She coughed, blood splattering around her chin. Killer Frost smiled devilishly, leaned over Caitlin, her shadow darkening her face. Killer Frost moved her hands to Caitlin's neck, gently stroked the skin, before pressing her thumbs into Caitlin's throat.

Caitlin's choking increased. She coughed and sputtered, weakly attempting to push Killer Frost off her, pressing her bloodied hands into Killer Frost's cheeks and forehead. Killer Frost's maniacal grin increased.

She leaned in, voice lowering to a whisper. "Face it, Caity," Killer Frost hissed. She tightened her grasp around Caitlin's neck. "You. Just. Lost."

She squeezed tighter.

Caitlin struggled for air.

Suddenly, she gasped.

Her eyes shot open and she found herself lying on her back on the floor of the Cortex. Her meta dampener lay in her left hand, tightly clutched between her fingers. Her entire hand shook among the force she held on the necklace, not letting it out of her grasp.

"Caitlin!" Cisco was calling her name repeatedly, kneeling by her side. "Caitlin!"

"You need to go," Caitlin breathed. She pressed a hand to her stomach. A cold chill ran down her spine. Hands wrapped around her neck. Caitlin struggled to lean up, Barry and Cisco assisting her on the rsides. Her vision, whatever it was, had only lasted a second for them, felt like an eternity to her. "It's a trap! Savitar is going to attack."

"What?" Cisco asked. "Caitlin, what do you mean?"

"You have to go!" Caitlin cried. From her vantage point on the floor, she could see to the Cortex, where the location of Team Flash was indicated. "He waited for all of us to get together. Wanted it to be easier to take us down." She turned to Barry, grasping his arm. "Barry, you have to get down here. Both of you!"

"What about you?" Cisco asked.

"Don't worry about me, I'll be fine," Caitlin insisted. "You have to go before something happens. They can't hold him off themselves." Cisco hesitated. Caitlin reached up, placed her hand on his. "You have to," she insisted.

Cisco nodded, turned, and punched toward the wall. A breach opened, Barry whisked the two through it in a matter of seconds. Carefully, Caitlin climbed off the floor and calmly walked into the swirling vortex. Once she finished going through, she dropped the dampener necklace to the ground where it made a light 'tink' sound.

She looked up in time to see Cadence, Wally, and Jesse turn to Barry and Cisco in confusion. "Where'd you go?" Cadence asked. "Training was your idea."

"Savitar's going to attack," Cisco reported. He gestured toward the vortex Caitlin stood in front of. "We have to get out of here, now."

"What?" Jesse's eyes widened behind her domino mask.

Wally shook his head. "But there's been no sign of Savitar. The city's speed cameras would've clocked in on him."

HR waved his tablet overhead. "And this nifty gadget here, as Cisco has been sure to loudly tell me, is connected back to STAR Labs. If this Savitar fellow were to come along, we would've gotten an alarm of some sort from our home base." He chuckled. "And, let me tell you, this can emit some pretty nasty sounds."

All eyes turned to Caitlin. She grinned and held out her hand, an icicle forming from the length of her arm to her palm. She flipped it once and caught it. "You caught me," she said mockingly. "You guys will believe anything Caitlin says won't you?"

"Killer Frost," Cisco breathed.

"But that's impossible, she was wearing the dampener," Wally protested.

Caitlin's smile widened. "You may want to make sure it actually works, first. Look into the word 'dampen'. While it's been keeping me back, I've been gaining more energy. Soon, poor, precious Caitlin couldn't handle me anymore." Barry started forward. Caitlin threw a sheen of ice to the ground, making Barry's feet slid out from beneath him and he crashed to the ground. "Sorry, but I'm saving you for Savitar. I have my own problems to deal with."

With that, she flung a slide of ice forward, and jumped onto it. Her momentum carried her forward at such blinding speed that she was able to grab Cadence around the waist, slamming her shoulder into the fire metahuman's chest, knocking her up into Caitlin's grasp.

"Let's see you heal from this!" Caitlin flipped the icicle in her hand and stabbed it into Cadence's thigh, making her scream in pain.

Caitlin tightened her grasp around Cadence and used her ice slide to take her away from the scene, just as Savitar appeared.

* * *

 **A/N:** This chapter directly continues after the last one, just so you know. That being said...it's all starting! Everything with the end is starting now. Don't worry, the story isn't ending any time soon; It's going to be a long journey to the end, but it does start here. Honestly, this portion was going to be all from Barry's POV, but with the change I made at the end, it sounded a lot better for Caitlin's. If you're confused with anything, I'm open to answer questions. Things may, sort of, seem that they were coming out of nowhere, and started abruptly, but it is cut off from the last chapter.

I just hope it was all enjoyable.

 **Cheers,**

 **-Riley**

 **Review Replies**

 **Ethan:** Yep, there's something I haven't mentioned about Ryder's leg breaking that is going to be explained soon. A lot is going to be explained soon. Glad you liked that twist. Did you get the twist I added into this one?

 **DarkHelm145:** Black Blade may or may not be dying. We'll see soon.


	44. The Truth

**44**

 _The Truth_

* * *

STAR Labs was quiet.

Computers beeped. Machines ran by themselves. Everything ran on autopilot, a program set up by Cisco as a fail-safe system. A fail-safe he'd hoped they'd never have to use. All because there was a traitor in their midst, a traitor they hadn't expected to ever see. Eobard disguising himself as Harrison was something none of them had seen coming. Barry had been more than betrayed when the man he'd seen as another father figure in his life had turned out to be the man that had single-handedly destroyed his life.

He'd put his worries aside when Jay Garrick had arrived on their Earth. There were more than a few worries he'd ignored all because Jay seemed that he was on the up and up…and then it turned out he was Zoom. The very man he was trying to defeat, who singlehandedly destroyed his life even further when murdering his father.

And now…Caitlin was Killer Frost. She'd completely managed to bypass the meta dampener that Cisco had created for her, not just to help her but as a thoughtful gift. They'd let her down and now they couldn't be in STAR Labs. Not when she had been too invested in everything they were coming up with to stop Savitar and Breathtaker. She knew so much of what they had done and what they planned to do, there wasn't much progress that could be made in STAR Labs.

It was why they crowded in the darker corner of Jitters, hunched quietly over their drinks and food as they tried to decide what to do.

"Unless Breathtaker gets a hold of Caitlin, we should be fine," Cadence remarked, tapping her fingers on the sides of her mug. "If he does, there's a really good chance he'd enhance her powers even further than they already are." She curled her fingers into her palms. "Just like he did to me."

"Do you think he needs her, though?" Jesse asked. She leaned back in her seat, rubbing her hand along her neck. "He's already got the rest of the Assassination Bureau."

"He doesn't need her, Savitar does," Wally reminded her. He bobbed his head. "Or, Savitar did if you want to be specific. There's only so much information he can get out of her."

"Don't remind us." Cisco took a long sip of his Frappuccino, licking the froth off the tip of his nose. "Do you think it's a bit early to ask these guys if they can make these drinks a little stronger? Or do you think I'd get some of the same judgmental looks I got at Starbucks?"

Iris smiled and shook her head. "Believe me, you wouldn't be the first person who's managed to sneak something into our drinks. And it wasn't the customer that did it. You should've seen what happened when we had a crowd of students from the university right before finals."

Barry, on the other hand, stayed quiet throughout the conversation. He leaned against the table, chin resting in his palm, mind moving a mile a minute. His stomach rolled, upset with the news he still couldn't get over. No matter what they did to try and change the future, Caitlin still turned into Killer Frost. Even though they tried to keep the future of her and Cadence killing each other happening, it was still going to happen.

What did that mean for everything else? That the STAR Labs Museum was going to flop when it opened? That the Music Meister was going to come back and make that six figure book deal? That he had to get used to his life being destroyed by everyone he allowed into it?

"Penny for your thoughts?" Iris asked. She reached out and grasped Barry's hand, shaking it firmly. "Or maybe a whole dollar, you haven't said anything since we got here."

"I don't know what to say," Barry said honestly. "I don't know what to do. It seems like, no matter what we do, everything comes back to haunt me. First Eobard then Jay now Caitlin and Julian."

"I mean, it's not like you were so excited to become friends with Julian," Cisco pointed out. "Not with that attitude he has anyway. I don't know anyone who manages to make even the sun look less happy than that guy."

That was the other problem Barry faced, with Julian not knowing he was Alchemy, it made things even more tense between them at work. They worked on separate cases and when they did have to interact it was only work related. If it were possible, Julian was even more frosty and short-spoken to Barry than he had been before. Not that Barry blamed him, he had accused him of being Alchemy without being able to tell him exactly why he knew it for sure. And he had played on Julian's suspicions of him being The Flash, making him seem like he was crazy when he appeared as both Barry and The Flash.

"Must be a talent," Cadence murmured. She reached up, rubbing her shoulder and back. "Too bad he couldn't have done it enough to Killer Frost to keep her _away_ from Savitar. Just to make things a little easier on us for once."

Barry leveled a worried glance her way. Not just because she, like the others, had lost one of their best friends and was now in even more danger to have the future come true, but because of the implication of it. It was telling, that she'd referred to Caitlin only as Killer Frost. It had to have been hard for her to make the distinction between the two before, even after vowing to kill Killer Frost if she ever came back.

Now, it wasn't just a vow.

Cadence had decreed it with so much seriousness that Barry knew nothing would change her mind. They were rivals now and nothing was going to stop either of them if they saw each other again. When Caitlin turned to Killer Frost, she immediately took hold of Cadence and whisked her away from the rest of Team Flash.

Cadence explained what had happened when Killer Frost left her alive once more. Caitlin slowed to a stop, her ice slide dissipating within seconds when the two were alone. She threw Cadence to the ground, watching with an air of disinterest as she rolled to a stop, wincing in pain at the icicle in her leg. Caitlin tilted her head, bringing her hand up to twirl her hair around her fingers.

Caitlin paused, looked at her finger. Her long brown hair had turned blonde. She pursed her lips, lowered her eyes, straining to see if they'd turned as blue as the polish on her fingers. She grinned. This was going to be more fun than she thought. Caitlin watched Cadence sit up and create a fire aura, the icicle in her leg immediately healing.

Blood dripped to the ground from the open wound. Didn't become enraptured with the flames, didn't bubble and boil, didn't emit any smoke that proved it burning. Caitlin looked back into Cadence's face. "Blood can't burn," she remarked. "So when you're touting off that little spiel, you're just burning your victims from the inside out." She tapped her lips with each word of her next sentence, "Just like you've been."

Cadence chuckled, rising to her feet. She looked Killer Frost in the eye. "I've got more than one trick up my sleeve."

"And you're as much of a liar now as you've always been," Caitlin replied.

She started to pace, her footsteps echoing among the empty area. Cadence watched her closely, her eyes shifting to the concrete that surrounded them. The dilapidated suburb of Central City. The parts that people pretended didn't still exist within a city filled with 14 million people. The area where cost of living became too great and people left in droves. Their remaining houses, office buildings, businesses, and apartments left behind to be taken over by vegetation and tags from the gangs within the city. Even tags that, amongst others, mentioned deaths to metas and all the other messages that continued to grow as the Metahuman Registration Act continued to grow, as more and more metahumans appeared in the city as the days went on.

"What can I say?" Cadence shrugged. "You've got to keep your cards close," she said. She mimicked Caitlin—no, not Caitlin. She had to remind herself of that. It was Killer Frost, blonde hair and all. If she allowed herself to think of her as anything _but_ Killer Frost…she wouldn't be able to finish what had been started. "Know when to hold them and know when to fold them."

"Friends close and enemies closer," Caitlin agreed. The two started to walk in a large circle, keeping a close eye on each other for any quick movements. She flicked her wrist, creating another icicle that she spun between her fingers. "But you were the one who said you wanted to kill me the next time you see me, right?" Her lips curled. "What if I said I wanted the same thing. To kill you?"

Cadence's eyebrow ticked upwards. She continued to pace, the limp in her step slowly receding with every step she took. "You'd have to take a number, I've already got the rest of the Assassination Bureau on my ass, it's only a matter of time until God himself wants to take me down." She shrugged. "If you believe in that, anyway."

"Ii haven't believed in much since my father died," Caitlin said matter-of-fact. "Believing in people and things, it gets to be so…so boring. It's all a show, people are only around to make your life miserable. Life is dark, people die, things end, we all just need to accept it and move on." She leveled her gaze to Cadence. "That's why you decided to kill, right?"

Cadence moved her eyes aside. Not that she was ashamed, she'd spoke enough about her past, laid things out to her friends that she didn't feel much shame for what she had to do anymore. Finally explained to Barry what it was about her past within the Assassination Bureau had followed her for years; how it wasn't them that had made her do her first murder, but they'd harvested it within her. Made it easier for her to kill as she worked with them. Not always for bad reasons; she remembered the ones that had begged her to do it. To give a sense of relief for them.

The others…that hadn't been her doing.

"And why you haven't," Cadence pointed out, the thought suddenly coming to her. "You tout yourself with the name Killer Frost, you throw your icicles around." Fire started to flicker at her fingertips. "There's more than enough people around for you to figure out who you want to kill. And yet you never do it. You didn't even come close to killing me and my friends."

Caitlin stopped pacing and smirked. "Maybe because it's not for me to kill you."

"But Savitar is." Cadence hid her smile, noticing Caitlin falter.

 _Gotcha._

It wasn't that Cadence thought Caitlin was someone who would immediately turn on them and their friends. It took a while for her to conclude she'd been working with Savitar. A strange thought that'd entered her head, really, the last time Caitlin remarked that she'd lost time. So she watched Caitlin carefully, making it seem like she wasn't—making it seem like she was much too preoccupied with what was going on in her own life to be convincing—to watch for any changes.

Caitlin was quieter about a lot of things, made it so that she continued to sit back and watch what was going on in the field. Didn't do as much to help the others as she had done before. Her insistence to not user her powers was another hint to her. Yes, at the beginning, Caitlin had been terrified of her powers. But with the work she'd been putting into it with Cadence's help and the time that she had willingly fought off Savitar with them, it was enough to make Cadence's radar go off when Caitlin once again started to refuse.

Those weren't the only thing she'd noticed. The averted gazes, wringing of her hands, quieted voice, lowered heads, all were small things that no one else had noticed. It was only a matter of time, Cadence realized, that something was going to happen. Her voice quivered whenever Killer Frost was mentioned, almost as if she were wondering what Killer Frost would do next, breaking into her head within the second she was summoned, so to speak.

Savitar had only been a guess, he had to have someone working for him to know where they were always going to be and to know when to attack them. There were more than enough pieces of evidence to prove it and the brief surprise that shot over Caitlin's face was all she needed.

"Savitar is the one who's supposed to kill us," Cadence continued. She slowly, very slowly walked towards Caitlin, who watched her from her glare. "He wants to kill Barry, to become the fastest speedster. To rule. And the only way he can do that is if we're gone, too. That's why you haven't killed us, haven't killed _me_ yet. Because you're saving us for Savitar."

Caitlin slowly grinned. She folded her arms, shook her head. "You've seen the future, you know what's going to happen. We're supposed to kill each other." She spread her arms. "Why not do it now? Get it over with? The future will be sealed, and the only thing left will be poor Iris West. That's what you want, right? For Barry and Iris to get together like they're supposed to be?" She started back toward Cadence, the two walking toward each other with increasing speed. "That's what the future was supposed to be. Before…certain events were thrown out of whack." She held her hands to the side, icicles forming in her hands. "Let's get this over with." She pointed one towards Cadence's chest. "It was your collarbone that was broken before, right? I wonder how much it'll hurt this time."

"Funny, I was going to ask you the same thing," Cadence replied. She ran forward and teleported behind Caitlin, striking her in the back with her shoulder. Caitlin fell forward, allowing Cadence to teleport once more and lifted her knee, catching her rival in the chest. A low grunt accompanied by a _woosh_ escaped Caitlin's mouth as the wind was knocked out of her. Cadence grabbed Caitlin's arms, forcing them around and behind her back. "Do you want to go into captivity first or answer my questions now."

Caitlin grinned, a wheezing emitting from her mouth as she sucked in short gasps, trying to catch her breath. "You can't do it, can you?" She taunted. "You can't kill me. You care too much about that nerd, Caitlin. You talk a big game but can't walk the walk—" A scream escaped Caitlin's mouth as a burst of flame ripped through her shoulder.

"I've learned a lot of things from Breathtaker that Savitar couldn't even begin to teach you," Cadence said. Caitlin's eyes widened, feeling Cadence continue to hold onto her, with a mirage standing in front of her, holding onto a flame sword. "Now, why don't you tell me what it is that Savitar is up to."

Caitlin grinned. She lifted her feet, lowered them to the ground and threw Cadence over her head. Cadence landed gracefully on her feet and turned back, reaching out her hand and grabbed the icicle that shot toward her face. Caitlin wind milled her arms, throwing icicle after icicle towards Cadence. Cadence projected herself into the air and threw a fire tornado back to her.

With a flick of her wrist, Caitlin threw out a blast of frosty air, knocking it aside. She didn't move fast enough to keep Cadence frocking kicking her across the face. Throwing her enhanced strength into the hit, Caitlin was knocked clear across the ground, knocked out as well. She had more than enough opportunity to do worse than knock her out but figured there was no point. If Caitlin were that weak, to be taken down by one punch, her powers weren't nearly developed enough to be too big a threat.

It was her being Killer Frost entirely that was the problem.

Savitar must've thought the same, the second she knocked her to the ground, a white flash of light whisked her up and raced away. Cadence frowned, watching the spot Caitlin had been only seconds before. Savitar had every mean to take her down, to take her captive if he needed to. But he'd left her alone. Was only interested in Caitlin.

And as far as Cadence was concerned, Caitlin didn't exist anymore. There was only Killer Frost and she wasn't going to let Killer Frost grow into her own potential. Even if that meant having to take her down before she was taken down herself.

"So, what are we going to do?" Iris asked. "We've already abandoned STAR Labs—"

"—Not abandoned," Jesse reminded her. She smiled sheepishly. "HR is still looking after the place."

"Oh right, like that makes me feel better. All my life's work is at his disposal and we all know he's going to mess _something_ up." Cisco scowled into his coffee. "I hope he hasn't gotten into my candy drawer. If I see one single South Patch Kid out of place, I'm going to kill him."

"At least it'll be quieter," Iris murmured.

Barry hardly cracked a smile. "I don't know, there has to be something we can do. Things should be clear at STAR Labs by now. We can check out the Encyclopedia that Caitlin had been working on and see if there's anything she's added that we haven't seen before."

"You think she may have written about herself?" Wally asked.

"It'd make sense," Iris agreed. She, finally, took her hand from Barry's and used it to brush her hair behind her ear. "Caitlin is very scientific. She likes to look at things from a cause and effect point of view. If things were happening to her, she would've written it down. We know she had her powers, but we didn't know that her powers were making her evil."

"If it _was_ her powers making her evil," Cisco interrupted. Barry flickered his gaze toward his best friend. Cisco took Caitlin's change the hardest. When Cadence came back and confirmed that they'd been tricked, that it was only a ploy for Killer Frost to get away, Cisco screamed and ranted and yelled, demanding her to tell him it was a joke. That Caitlin hadn't truly changed.

It wasn't until Cisco had seen her necklace, her broken dampener necklace, lying on the ground, that he knew it to be true. It was one thing to see it before your eyes, anyone could deny something they say, tried their hardest to dispel what their minds couldn't wrap around. What their hearts couldn't take in. But it was true. Caitlin had betrayed them. And while Cisco was slowly coming around to the truth, he still spoke about Caitlin in the present tense and with more fondness than Barry had ever heard in Cisco's voice. More friendly than he'd heard.

Barry's eyes narrowed. "What do you mean, Cisco?"

"The way Caitlin talks about her mom, you'd think that she was the spawn of Satan," Cisco explained. "'But they just don't get along. Dr. Tanhauser is good at what she does and she does have emotions, she just didn't know how to connect with Caitlin."

"I don't understand, what does this have to do with Caitlin?" Jesse asked.

Cisco thought for a moment. He turned a pained gaze to the ceiling, blinking rapidly, as if trying not to cry. "I mean, that's what we knew about her because that's what Caitlin told us about her. What we know about Killer Frost being evil is what we've seen from Earth-2's Killer Frost. Caitlin, _our Caitlin_ , has never killed anyone. And yet, Caitlin was still terrified of becoming her. We think it was Caitlin's powers making her evil…but what if it wasn't?"

Barry sucked in a deep breath. Worried about his next words, knowing it would either hurt Cisco beyond repair of make him indignant. Unable to see what was happening. _It's not true,_ he quickly scolded himself. _Caitlin isn't evil. She doesn't have an evil bone in her body._

"What if it's something else?" Cadence murmured, seeming to pick up on Cisco's thought. "We know Caitlin's not evil. And we know it's not your power set that makes you evil, or else Caitlin and I probably would've become a metahuman Thelma and Louise at this point."

"So, the question is, can being evil be learned?" Iris clocked on. "And if so, where did she learn it?"

The answer hit Barry like a ton of bricks. It'd been in front of them the whole time. "From the one person she'd terrified of. Terrified of becoming." Killer Frost. He looked to Team Flash. "We need to talk to Tess."

* * *

Central City University, along with Hudson University, was the cornerstone of higher education within Missouri. Not only did it boast a highly regarded reputation within academics, but it's sporting teams proved to be futile as well with numerous teams and clubs receiving the highest honors, trophies, awards, and titles within the years since it's inception.

And it was within that same university that Barry received his degress in Physics and Chemistry as he double majored, working toward his goal of becoming a CSI, so that he could solve his mother's murder. He had never aniticpated being back on campus, if he were being honest, since graudating. He made a vow not to go back unless he found his mother's murderer.

It was one thing to have everyone in Central City know what had happened to his mother and how his father had been falsely accused, but for those who were from all over the country to know? It was hard for him to bear. He'd find a sense of relief when he found someone who didn't look at him with pity when he introduced himself, but when the relief would be yanked from beneath him the next time they met up, no doubt hearing the whispers around he hallway.

He'd received a dorm room to himself freshmen year; a room he was to share with a roommate who pulled out to room with someone else after a month. "We just thought you'd be more comfortable," his RA had said. A nice senior guy who enjoyed Dungeons and Dragons as much as Barry, but who rarely invited him to play wit him and his friends. He was one of the guys who look at Barry with pity.

After freshman yeah, things got easier, but Barry still found himself alone. Even going to university in his own city, he tried his hardest not to call Joe and Iris, did his best not to go visit them on the weekend. Wanted TO stick it out. Sophomore, Junior, and Senior year was much, much easier in terms of making friends. He put himself out there a little bit more, joined clubs and organizations. His papers and projects brought so many accolades to the school that when his name was reported in the paper, mentions of his parents were either kept to the very end or slowly but surely phased out.

Walking across the familiar campus, following Cadence as she led the way to Tess's office was a trip down memory lane. Wally pointed out the different places that he and his friends hung out while he was going to classes, stopping to chat with a few of his friends as he went. Iris would listen eagerly to each of his stories before starting a conversation with Barry, each sentence starting with, "Remember when?"

"Remember when dad and I dropped you off and he started crying the second you turned away?"

"Remember when we came and visited for the first time?"

"Remember when I stayed here for a weekend?"

"Remember when you got threatened to be kicked out?"

"Kicked out?" Cisco repeated, his eyes widening. He turned to Barry, who blushed indignantly. "You?"

Barry shrugged modestly. "I may have set off a few red flags with some of the materials I was requesting for my experiments."

"He nearly had the FBI looking after him," Iris jumped in. She grinned at Barry, who blushed harder. "There's now a list of materials that CCU can't have in their possession without having it cleared by the proper authorities first."

"That was you?" Cadence asked. She looked to her fiancé with a grin. "That explains why I wasn't able to go with my original idea for my finals project."

Barry looked at her in surprise. He'd forgotten she'd mentioned she'd gone to CCU when she graduated. Sometimes he forgot she'd been in Central City almost as long as he had been. It wasn't a surprise they never bumped into each other, Central City was a big place if you weren't trying to be found and at seventeen with a baby, she had been trying to lie low. "I forgot you went here," he admitted.

Cadence shrugged modestly. "I don't talk about it a lot," She said. Not nearly as much as she talked about her time in high school. Worse memories, probably. "How could you remember?"

"I wonder if we ended up having any classes together," Barry mused.

Finally, Cadence smiled over her shoulder at him. "I doubt it. You were a sophomore when I started, and I didn't take any science classes other than my freshmen requirements. Biology, Chemistry…I stacked my freshman year with what was required then stopped after that."

Barry's eyebrows slammed together. "But you were Pre-Med," he pointed out, knowing the track that many students studying to become a doctor followed. His father had explained it numerous times when Barry asked, curious about why his father had wanted to become a doctor. He'd even looked into it himself as a possible career choice when he was still deciding, though knew in his heart of hearts forensics was his go to.

"I was. Like I said, I finished those requirements then majored in Sports Management and minored in Psychology," Cadence explained. She looked at him out the corner of her eye. "Didn't I ever mention that before?"

He couldn't remember if she had. And if she did say it before, only once, he had a good idea why. When she started university was when she first got into the hands of the Assassination Bureau. Knowing what she studied probably made it easier for them to keep their clutches in her. Made it easier for her to weed out and determine their next targets when the time came.

Psychology.

How ironic.

"And your mom is a professor in psychology now?" Jesse asked.

"She is," Cadence agreed. She tilted her head, looking at Jesse closely. "What about your mom?"

Jesse shrugged, shoving her hands into the pockets of her jean jacket. "I don't know," she said, honestly. "I never got to know her and my dad didn't talk about her much at all since she died." An awkward silence stretched between them.

Or else, it felt awkward to Barry. The curse of the doppelgangers struck again; on one Earth, Jesse was alive but had lost her mother. On another, Jesse was dead, but her mother was alive. A chance that neither of them got to know their daughter or mother and still couldn't due to the traveling between Earths and—what Barry really thought Jesse held back—was that Jesse didn't want to get to know Tess if that Tess wasn't _her_ Tess.

Just as the parents on Earth-2 that were still alive weren't _his_ parents, and neither were the ones from Flashpoint, one of the catalysts that made him go back to his real time.

Lifting his chin, Barry continued to look around CCU's sprawling campus, noticing how, technically, it was the epicenter of a lot of things that had gone on in his life. He went to school there, Cadence had gone to school there, Tess was a current professor, Laurel's mother, Dinah, was a professor of Greek and Medieval History there, Simon Stagg graduated from CCU…how many more things could connect them there?

Cadence led the group into the largest building on campus, the Arts and Letters department, she explained, and got them into the elevator that took them up to the top floor. She took them down a few winding hallways before knocking on the doorframe of the last room at the end of the hall, tucked in a corner.

 _Professor Mina Chaytan._

 _Professor Marlize DeVoe_

 _Professor Clifford DeVoe._

Finally, _Dr._ _Tess Morgan,_ read the nameplate.

Tess sat at her desk when they arrived, Barry was slightly surprised to see Harrison there as well. Only slightly. Since Tess had come back into Harrison's life, the two had been inseparable. Though they didn't spend too much time around STAR Labs, it wasn't something that Barry missed. It was something he longed for, a time long gone, when his parents were still alive.

"I was wondering how long it would take for you to get here," Tess remarked, a smile coming to her lips.

"With a couple of speedsters, a teleporter, and a breacher, we thought it'd be much sooner," Harrison agreed, his own smile stretching his face. Barry glanced at him then looked away. How similar the smiles were, and yet one was filled with complete malice while this one was completely innocent.

"We didn't want to bring too much attention to ourselves," Wally suggested, smiling sheepishly.

Tess's smile widened, her eyes flickering over the group. "A group fo young adults who look like the cast of some CW show walking around campus? Right, I don't think you'd bring too much attention to yourselves." She waved her arm, getting up from her seat. "I have a conference room booked out for us, we don't be bothered. I don't have my next class for another few hours."

Even Cadence looked surpised at that, her eyebrows rising. "You got room on such short notice."

"Sweetie, when you mentioned that you might've had a breakthrough on what's been going on with Caitlin, I practically cleared my schedule," Tess explained. She placed her hand on her daughter's shoulder, steering her out of the room and to the coference room a few doors down. Barry had to keep from gasping aloud, along with Jesse and Iris, when they saw the view from the top floor of the building, seeing the sprawling campus.

"I haven't seen this in forever," Barry breathed. He stepped closer to the windows, watched as the students on campus walked back and forth, each living their own lives. Some walked through the grass on the quad, others threw a football back and forth, some people ran, jogging to keep in shape through the warm winter months. For a moment, Barry longed for his collegiate years, where he ws blissfully aware of what his future held, the excitement of it.

Compared to everything they'd been going through as of late, he wished things would slow down. Wished he could stop time and just sit back and watch the flowers bloom. _That reminds me,_ Barry thought. _I need to call a florist for the wedding._

"It's a spectacular view, isn't it?" Harrison remarked. He leaned against the closed conference room door, legs crossed and hands shoved into the pockets of his jeans.

"'One of the best," Barry agreed.

"Huh." Cisco grunted. "Not bad, but you should see the view from STAR Labs. You know…" he turned a pointed look to Barry. "If we'd ever get the roof fixed to get up there." Barry glared at him. "Just saying, bro, I like to look at the stars every now and then but I don't like to get rained on."

"Tess, is it alright if I record this conversation?" Iris broke in. She sat at the long, oblong table, taking out a notebook and a tape recorder. "Not only for our own information at STAR Labs but for an article?"

"Go ahead," Tess encouraged. "What with the climate around metahumans continuously fluctuating as the days go on, having a neutral party's opinion will be very helpful."

Barry smiled gratefully at Iris, who nodded back. The more information they got on metahumans, the better off they'd be. Not just because it would help Caitlin if anyone were able to recognize her from her mug shot, but also for metahumans in general. He couldn't miss the _Death To Metas_ flyer as they passed the student center.

"Now, can you explain everything that's happened with Caitlin?" Harrison prompted.

And so Barry, Cadence, Jesse, Wally, and Cisco all took turns explaining everything they'd known about what had happened with Caitlin and her powers since Barry returned from Flashpoint. Even Iris took a few minutes from her note taking to give her two cents. Barry finished the explanation, remarking how he'd come to feel that Caitlin only used her powers for evil because she was afraid _she'd_ turn evil.

"But that'd be crazy, wouldn't it?" Wally asked. "Why would she use her powers to scare someone if she were sacred?"

"No, no, it makes sense," Harrison said. He pushed himself off the door and walked to the whiteboard that sat on wheels across the room. He turned, catching the marker Tess tossed to him before following her husband. The two strode to the whiteboard and started to write.

First _Caitlin_ then _Killer Frost_ with an arrow drawn between them. Then, as the seconds passed, they added little portions form Caitlin's life on Earth-1 on the left side and Killer Frost's of Earth-2 on the right. Two things linked them together, _Mind-Meld_ and _Flashpoint._

"From what we already know, the mind-meld makes it so that when you touch your doppelganger from another Earth, you will fall into a state where you experience each other's lives up to that very point of existence. A meeting of the minds as it were, thus why we called it a mind-meld," Harrison explained.

"And during that time, it renders those who are mind-melding in a point of stasis where they are vulnerable to attack," Tess took on the explanation. She motioned to Cadence. "Just like what happened to her when Burnout first received her memories. "Within that moment and to the information that is passed back and forth. Thus making it almost impossible to stop your doppelganger if they were to be evil and try to kill you."

"So…what does that have to do with Caitlin?" Iris asked.

Harrison nodded, tapping her finger to his temple. Beside him, Tess nodded encouragingly. "But what if it goes further on than that? What if there was a point in the mind-meld that makes it so that the meeting of the minds makes it so that the doppelgangers are also _taking_ in each other."

"Literally," Harrison added.

Barry's eyebrows came together. He exchanged a concerned look with Cadence. They'd both spent a lot of time with their doppelgangers while on Earth-2 the year before. That hadn't been changed with Flashpoint, Barry knew all too well. Even within Flashpoint, he'd had moments where what he was experiencing in that moment was like what Earth-2 Barry had experienced with his parents. Sometimes, he wasn't quite sure what was his own memory, if it weren't for Earth-2 Barry's glasses being a major giveaway.

Did that mean he was taking in Earth-2 Barry completely? And what did it mean the other way around? Was that Barry suddenly receiving powers that he thought were simply impossible if not having seen Barry himself exhibit them?

 _And what does that mean for Cade?_ Barry added. _Does it meant she's only destined to work with the Assassination Bureau?_

"There is a case that we study within psychology that questions why there are some people who may be chameleons," Tess remarked. She wrote the word on the board, underneath Flashpoint. "As in, their personalities change around the people they're with. They're more into sports when hanging around jocks but when are with their family they prefer the arts. Not in an obvious way, not as one would do when a teenager and trying to fit in or reject their embarrassing families,"—at that, Cisco grunted and Barry cringed. He definitely remembered telling Joe "it's not a phase" when he became obsessed with Dragon Ball Z at one point, Iris's sudden amused smile proved she felt the same way—"but a subconscious decision. Mirroring." Tess tapped her marker against her cheek. "What if, when Caitlin mind-melded with Killer Frost they took on parts of each other. Caitlin took on Killer Frost's killer ideals, thus making her evil when she uses her powers. To that extent, it'd mean that Killer Frost took on Caitlin's humanity."

Wally raised his hand into the air.

Jesse giggled, shaking her head toward her boyfriend. "This isn't a class, Wally," She reminded him. "You don't have to raise your hand."

"Yeah, right." Wally smiled, embarrassed. Then he addressed Harrison and Tess. "Okay, well, if what you're saying is true, then what about Cadence and Burnout then?" Cadence looked at her mother curiously. "Does that mean that Burnout's becoming nicer while Cadence is destined to become a homicidal maniac?"

"I don't know." Tess smiled at her daughter. "Have you had an murderous urges lately?"

Cadence smiled and shrugged. "Only in rush hour traffic."

"And does that mean that Barry is going to become even more of a dork than he already is?" Wally continued. Barry gave him a look that read "For real?" while Wally smiled and shrugged.

"In theory," Harrison agreed.

Cisco frowned, taking their words in. "That also means…the time she's been losing to Killer Frost…she'd be able to see it, right? We'd know where she was."

"Well." Tess paused. That's only if these Killer Frosts are one and the same but, technically speaking, yes." She looked around the room. "Keep in mind that we're not saying this will happen with every mind-meld; it might not happen to both partners. It might not happen at all. It appears that if one doppelgangers is longing for something the other has, that's when they'll take on a part of the other."

Iris spoke tentatively, "So Caitlin _wanted_ to turn into a killer?"

"No," Cadence realized. "She wanted to control her powers. She wanted control. That's what she's always said. She was afraid to go out into the field because she was afraid she'd lose control of her powers" Her gaze moved to the table top. She looked at it so hard Barry was afraid it'd burst into flames. "And it happened anyway."

"What about Killer Frost then?" Cisco demanded. "From Earth-2, I mean. What did she want from our Caitlin? Not her wardrobe, that's for sure! She put it down every chance she got."

It came to Barry just as quickly as the realization of needing to speak to Tess and Harrison in the firce place. Came so quickly it made his stomach ache with guilt and sadness because he knew, that without it, he would've fallen so far in life. Would've, maybe, ended up as badly as Zoom. They were a lot similar than he'd ever wanted to admit and now…now he knew what Jay, _that_ Jay meant.

"A family," he remarked. "She wanted a family."

The thought swirled through his head when they left Harrison and Tess an hour later, with all the information they'd needed. Team Flash walked quietly, all thinkinga about what they'd been told, what the truth was about their mind-meld. Wondering what it meant for Caitlin as she went rogue. Barry strolled along the sidewalk, kicking dead leaves and twigs out of his way, tightly grasping Cadence's hand in his as they walked in what should've been a peaceful lovers stroll.

Barry looked to Cadence, studied her face. She kept her blue-green eyes angled in front of her, a neutral expression of innocence, but could see in her eyes, the storm brewing within it for what things meant for Caitlin and for themselves as well. If things went badly…if they didn't have a choice…she'd made a promise to Caitlin, one he thought she'd been crazy to do. Now he knew how hard it had to have been to make it.

He needed her to make a promise to him. Something much more meaningful than the one represented by the gleaming ring on her left hand, that Barry gently nudged with his fingertips.

Cadence looked at him carefully, her eyes searching his, studying every plane of his face and understanding the sorrow and confusion that swirled with each blink of his eyes.

"If you have to do it," Barry murmured, words coming out in almost a whisper. Quiet enough for their intimate moment, too powerful to say with stronger conviction. He looked Cadence in the eye. "If you have to kill her…don't do it in front me."

Cadence nodded. "I promise," she whispered back.

Barry nodded. He kissed the side of her head, pulled her closer to him as she wrapped an arm around his waist.

They could pretend, for the time being, that things were normal.

That there was nothing to be scared of.

Except the future.

And it was coming at them head on.

* * *

 **A/N:** I hope that the reason why Caitlin turns into Killer Frost made sense, if you're still confused let me know and I'll try to explain it better. We're not up to the big fight between Cadence and Caitlin/Killer Frost yet, but now you can see that Cadence, finally, has moved away from seeing her as Caitlin and is just Killer Frost.

Also, did anyone expect to see DeVoe so soon? ;)

I just hope it was all enjoyable.

 **Cheers,**

 **-Riley**

 **Review Replies**

 ** **Ethan:**** You were exactly right with it being Caitlin's fear, but also slightly wrong with the explanation I've given. Great job, you're on a roll!

 **DarkHelm145:** Sorry, it's not time for them to fight yet. But they've at least honestly declared they're each other's rival now. I remember I got your advice for that portion a while ago and it was that as well as something else I'd thought of combined that came up with the mind-meld reason as to why she's evil. So, thank you!


	45. One Last Happy Moment

**45**

 _One Last Happy Moment_

* * *

Savitar hummed to himself, watching closely as he twisted a wrench along the nuts and bolts of his suit. He stood, knees cracking, and backed away from his suit. He tilted his head, eyes scanning the bits and pieces that were to go back looking closely at it. It seemed to be in working order, was internally much different than the schematics he'd come up with when it came to his suit.

However, there were still things that needed to be done. He had to be smarter, faster. Always faster. The faster Barry got, the faster he had to become. Or, as it were, the faster Barry got, the faster Savitar would always become. It was stupid to him, really, how Barry hadn't figured things out yet. Caitlin had been told, Breathtaker knew it as soon as he'd come across him, the others…he knew them to be smart. For the most part.

Cisco allowed himself to become dulled by the mindless pop culture drivel he allowed himself to consume day after day. Brady was too young to think of anything more than the changes his body, mind, and life were going through until the danger was right in his face. He couldn't blame him. It was good to be young. Growing up and maturing too fast…having an old soul, while a nice trait to have, wasn't a luxury and never would be. Jesse wasn't on Earth-1 long enough to be around Savitar, like Wally, she simply cared more about the status of her relationship with the reckless speedster than the potential ends of their own lives.

Iris was a non-entity for him. As far as he was concerned, Iris was already dead. Just another body he'd be tossing aside once he was done with things. His feelings for her had burned away a long time ago. She's stopped being his 'best friend' the moment he fell into a coma and the sooner he realized it, the better. Same with Joe. Those fatherly feelings were gone. They were nothing but lumps of flesh that needed to be exercised.

Cadence…honestly, Savitar was surprised it'd taken her so long to figure out that Caitlin had been working with him. Ii was only a matter of time, really. A sort of pride went through him when he found that she figured it out. Still, it wouldn't take much longer for her to know his identity if she were able to set aside her own worries and really, truly look. What happened to the woman who could streamline her thoughts and leave emotions out of some of the harder decisions to make?

Of course, when she wasn't being mind-controlled, she was as emotional as the rest. Those moments did come back when she was presented with the right circumstances.

He expected, if Barry didn't kill him, Cadence certainly would be the next one in line to do so.

Whether or not she could…that was an entirely different thing.

As many said, having strong emotions was a power in and of itself. Savitar didn't believe that, but to each his own.

Spinning the wrench around his fingers, Savitar turned from his suit. He lifted his free hand, running it through his hair. He continued to spin the wrench in his hand, twisting it around his fingers with such speed that anyone coming too close would be in danger. He chewed his lower lip then abruptly turned his head to the left, resisting the initial urge to first turn to the right. His sightless eye made his depth perception and peripheral vision that much weaker, but he was still able to tell when someone was working to come up behind him.

"I'm almost finished," Savitar said to Breathtaker. He released his lips from his teeth and curled his upper lip. "Soon you can continue with what you want to do." _And I can get out of your hair._ A smirk pulled at Savitar's lips at his own mental joke.

"And then you'll be able to do what you want to do," Breathtaker agreed. Savitar grunted. Well, it seemed that Breathtaker was more than things he wanted for himself. He floated toward Savitar, hood down, light reflecting off his bald head.

Savitar's eyes shot over Breathtaker's form. A foe who was so formidable that years of trying destruction was nothing short of a tiny albino man who had something to prove. His powers proved that enough, the power went to Breathtaker's head. Savitar wasn't sure when Breathtaker was originally from; the future or the past? All he knew was that with a simple exhibition of his powers, Breathtaker could destroy the planet if he had the means and want to do so.

Could take Savitar's powers away as easily as he could increase them. And the only thing stopping him was himself. Savitar couldn't get stronger without making Barry stronger, and vice-versa. Such was the life of being a time remnant. His suit was the best way to get around it and Savitar always knew how to think ahead.

Savitar, instead, nodded toward his suit. "Once I'm done here, I'll be finished with the housing you wanted me to create," he said. His eyebrow ticked upward. "It's a bit more intricate than what I've been doing with my suit but…" he tapped the wrench against his leg. "Build your own particle accelerator can do that."

Breathtaker sucked in a sharp breath through his teeth. "I wouldn't expect a speedster would take so long to build one. Especially one of your caliber."

"It still takes time for things to be built. I needed to ensure that this one will work the way it's intended to. Not to mention," Savitar paused, a long, low growl escaping through the area around them. "I'm getting hungry." He backed away from his suit and left the darkened room he stood in and made his way down the even darker hallway with Breathtaker following him. "Besides, isn't the rest of your team supposed to be helping you to capture them?"

"Oh yes, White Hot, Stratos, and Mindboggler are already in their positions," Breathtaker agreed.

"Then what do you need me for?"

"Collateral."

Savitar paused and turned back to Breathtaker with a blank stare. Slowly, so slowly, his eyes filled with malice. He gritted his teeth. "You said we were going be in on this fifty-fifty," he spat. With a burst of speed, he grasped Breathtaker around the neck and slammed his back against the wall behind him. He lifted his other hand, vibrating it beside Breathtaker's face. "I could kill you in seconds and you'd never know it. I could take over this world myself."

"'Or," Breathtaker said slowly, calmly. "If something were to happen to you, something is to happen to Barry Allen as well. And I understand there's nothing more than you need than for him to be alive."

"I've managed to survive just fine without him so far."

"Yes, due to what you've been able to know from his experiences, from his mind."

Savitar let out a wheezing laugh. He let go of Breathtaker's neck and took a step back. "Please." His smile and laughter faded. "You can't compare something as trivial as a mind-meld to actually _being_ the person." He placed his hands on his hips. "I know everything he does, everything he's felt, have experienced everything he has and I know how his brain works. I've just been letting him do everything he's wanted to make sure it got to the point where I had him where I needed him."

"And?"

"And it's coming soon." Savitar looked Breathtaker up and down. "What does that say about you? You've been alive for millennia and know exactly how Cadence and Brady can take you down and you've done nothing for it. You've sat back and watched them continue to defeat all your henchmen. Incognito is dead."

It was then Breathtaker's turn to laugh a hollow laugh. And yet, his laugh was as dry as dead leaves blowing across the ground on a fall day. "Incognito gave up his life for what will _keep_ Brigade and Blight from destroying me. No matter what, I'm going to have the metahumans rise and take back what is rightfully theirs. Then I will rule them."

"Like a God," Savitar said.

"Like a God," Breathtaker agreed. "Just like you want with the SpeedForce, with all speedsters. To rule over the men and women that have made you into what you are."

"No one's made me anything," Savitar denied. He clenched his hand around the wrench, making his knuckles crack and pop from the simple movement. "If anything, Barry Allen has _aided_ me. And I'll be sure to thank him when I get the chance. Right before he dies." Savitar lifted his hand and ran it through his hair, shaking his fringe from his face. His tone turned jovial and he spread his arm saying, "Would you like to see where we're going to hold them."

"Yes." Breahtaker nodded once. "I would like to see the rooms you've built for me."

"Believe me, keeping them there is much better than leaving their bodies to rot." Savitar's upper lip curled. He started down the hallway once more. Breathtaker silent followed him.

Until the ancient entity couldn't keep his questions to himself. "Tell me, what has restrained you from killing Barry Allen outright?" He asked. "It's not like the mind-meld, it won't—"

"—I want to ensure that Barry sees me take everything from him," Savitar interrupted. "To know what it's like to be hated on sight. To know what it's like to lose literally _every single thing_ and to die knowing it was his fault." He shook his head. "I can't kill him yet. He's got to deal with Abra Kadabra first. I need him to get to that point. And with his Killer Frost here…" he slowly grinned. "It won't be much longer. I say give them one more day to be happy, before we tear everything down. They deserve at least that."

Breathtaker reached up, pulling his hood back over his head. "I don't think I've ever seen you in such a good mood. Imagine what you can do, if you'd let me increase your power."

"Believe me." Savitar reached into his pocket. He pulled out a brightly glowing Philosopher's Stone and flipped it in his hand. "I've got everything I need right here." He stopped flipping it, holding it against his chest. He lifted his free hand and pointed to Breathtaker. "I'll make sure to get her where you need her, so you can get both of them. Leave Barry to…." He shrugged. "Well, leave Barry to me."

Breathtaker nodded.

* * *

"You look like you've had better days, my friend."

Barry rolled his eyes toward Oliver, who stood, grinning in line for CC Jitters. His blue eyes shifted over the menu in front of him, lips silently reading off all the items that were listed on the menu. Barry slowly shook his head. He wasn't sure how Oliver was able to smile at a moment like that. Not especially when there was so much going on in his city.

Barry had tried to ask Oliver about it when he texted him early that morning, announcing his presence in Central City and asking if the speedster wanted to meet him for breakfast? Barry was immediately out of bed, in some sweats, and was across the city to meet Oliver in less than five seconds. Oliver didn't even look surprised when Barry arrived.

No, he stood there in all his splendor, casually resting his hands in the pockets of his jacket, looking at his watch. Oliver looked at Barry with an amused smile as his friend came to a stop, right foot extended to keep himself from falling over. "Five seconds, not bad," Oliver joked. "I thought you were faster than that."

Barry knew Oliver was up to something then. Knew there was a reason more than a house call, wanting to see his friend that drew Oliver to Central City. What worried Barry the most was that Oliver hadn't asked Cadence to go along with them. At the beginning of their working partnership, it was the three of them together. They'd worked to save their individual hometowns, Star City, Central City, and Metropolis with each person taking the helm and the others allowing their lives to be put on the line to help. And, if Barry were honest, he was a little confused Oliver hadn't asked to speak to Cadence simply because of how similar their superherorics and vigilantism were.

Barry was the beacon of hope, the one who did his best ot do everything 'by the rules' so to speak. Something that Oliver had admitted he looked up to. If there was anything that Oliver needed his help with, Barry expected Oliver to ask for the two of them. Besides, Brady was old enough to stay at the apartment by himself for a little while. He'd taken on Bronze Tiger by himself when he was eight, and that was when he didn't have any powers.

"Yeah, I've definitely had better days," Barry agreed, continuing to eye Oliver. He wasn't quite sure how the leader of their rag tag group of superheroes managed to stay so calm even though things were going to hell for them. Like clockwork. "What about you? What's been going on?"

"Ah, a lot of the same," Oliver said quickly.

Shut down.

"Uh-huh." Barry continued to watch Oliver as they moved forward in line. Used his speed to enhance his vision, much like speed reading Oliver's face, looked to see if there was any twitch of a muscle that would give away something that was going on. "Oliver, are you okay?"

"I'm fine," Oliver replied. He licked his lips. "If anything, I should be asking you that question."

"Wha…?" Barry's eyebrows furrowed.

Oliver stepped up to the counter and gave his order. "Two Flashes, please," he said to the Barista.

"Would you like to add some Flare?" the Barista asked.

Oliver's pulled back into a smile. "Absolutely. On both, please." He watched as the lightning bolt then became covered in sprinkles of cinnamon before taking the cups and leading the way to an empty table in the back corner of Jitters. Funny how Barry had never shown it to him yet he knew exactly where to go to have a private conversation.

Barry watched him go, eyes shifting around the coffee shop. The same coffee shop that he and his friends used to hang out with when they were having their good days. He could practically imagine him, Cisco, Caitlin, and Cadence all sitting around one table talking and laughing about nothing and everything. Where they would immediately jump up and race off to STAR Labs when something came through the metahuman app. Where they'd spend their entire mornings and even some lunch breaks catching up on what they'd seen during the day.

Now that Caitlin was gone…those times had dwindled. Cisco didn't want to leave STAR Labs save for going home an didn't want to leave his home save for going to STAR Labs. Cadence, he found, continuously had moments of staring off into space, gently twirling a strand of hair around her finger. Then, when even more worked up, her eyebrows would furrow together, nose wrinkling slightly as she chewed her lower lip, a combination of hers and Caitlin's worried habits.

Brady would ask every now and then, "When's Aunt Caitlin coming back?" as if he couldn't quite wrap his mind around the fact she was gone. Or, even more innocently, Barry wondered, did Brady question when Caitlin would fight off Killer Frost and "come back" like she'd done before.

"Barry?"

Barry sucked in a sharp breath, startled, and hurried to Oliver's table. Oliver had just finished taking a long sip of his Flash, flicking the foam from his mustache when Barry sat down and took his own. "You know, they really need to think about getting her her own drink," Oliver said.

"I know," Barry agreed, sitting down. "I keep telling them." He rubbed the back of his neck, stretching out the muscles. He'd slept badly. "You know, if you keep working at it, you're going to get your own drink, too. I'm sure Star City Jitters would come up with it."

Oliver laughed. "I don't think it'd be anything you can serve with breakfast," he pointed out. "A Scotch maybe. Some sort of a hard liquor, but not a coffee." He shrugged. "Not that it'd matter, if you wanted one—"

"—I'd be carded, I know." Barry smiled, thinking back to when they first met. When he didn't have powers. When Oliver saw him as nothing more than an annoying CSI who flirted too much with the girl that would eventually become Oliver's whole world. Man, Oliver had been so jealous, even if he hadn't wanted to admit it at the time. And, at first, hardly appreciative of Barry's finding out his secret and helping save him. If he remembered correctly, Oliver hadn't thanked him for it yet. "I just stopped getting carded when I got R-Rated movies."

Oliver laughed.

"Not that it matters much, Cade gets carded every time." Barry's laughter turned nervous. "I've even been stopped by a few officers from other precincts when we're out asking if I'm holding her against her will." Oliver laughed even harder, making Barry smile and join in on his laughter as well. "Well, I can only ask for small favors. I'm sure the guys get a good laugh out of it every time. When they're not calling me Baby Face or Hot Lips anyway."

"And to think there's more than just speed that goes along with The Flash," Oliver teased. He leaned back in his seat and briefly closed his eyes. "There's more to a lot of things we do. And, sometimes, it's hard to remember where our vigilante lives start and end."

Barry pursed his lips. His shoulders tightened, muscles tensed. The only person he knew who spoke in riddles like that was Harrison—and any other faction of the Wells'. Even HR, in his own way, managed to be as mysterious as the rest. When he wasn't being annoyingly helpful.

"Okay, Oliver, what's going on?" Barry asked. Oliver raised his eyebrows. "is it Felicity? Has she…has her implant worn off? Is it Diggle? Thea?" Oliver shook his head with each question, shifting his eyes just to the left of Barry's head. "Is it Connor? The team?"

"I haven't seen Connor since I sent him away," Oliver said quickly. "And I don't have a team anymore." Barry's eyes widened. He reacted in surprise, stuttering over his words. "But that's not what's important right now, Barry. There's something I need to tell you and I wish I could've told you sooner, but I'd had some things that I'd needed to handle in my city first."

"Of course," Barry agreed. He tightened his grasp around his Flash, feeling his fingertips press tight into the Styrofoam. Relented. The last thing he needed was a soaked table and pants because he felt like Oliver was talking down to him as if he were starting over again. Not at all.

"But this is more important." Oliver leaned toward Barry, lowering his voice. "This is something you can stop before it happens."

"Stop what? Oliver, you're not making any sense."

Oliver lowered his chin. Expelled a hard breath through his nose. "There's been talk about the explosion when the gorillas attacked."

Barry closed his eyes, lowering his chin. He tried hard not to think about what'd happened with Grodd, Solovar, and the missiles that they were and weren't able to stop. Tried not to think about the lives they'd lost. It weighed on him, a weight that nearly drowned him if he thought about it for too long. If he allowed himself to dwell…he would never be able to move on.

But he'd never forget, looking at the faces that passed over the TV and computer screens over the weeks that'd passed, questions from the public, wondering how Flash and Flare could've let it happen. The constant meetings and press conferences…

"What about them?" Barry asked.

"Well, there were secret meetings that had been going on. Not just within Central City, but within Star City and Metropolis as well, mostly dealing with the fallout of superheros and vigilantes over the past couple of years," Oliver explained. Barry listened. Oliver had his full attention. "As the Mayor of Star City, I've been invited to sit on as well as state my side of things at those meetings. It appears the explosions due to the missiles are pushing things forward within those that want to repeal Meta-Humans, especially with Lex Luthor's presidential campaign.

"I recently met up with Chief Paulson of the CCPD as well as a reporter, Clark Kent," Oliver explained. His eyes searched Barry's face for any recognition. Barry hesitated. He knew Clark was Superman, Oliver didn't know. And while it wasn't a coincidence, the people that came into their lives, Barry wasn't sure if it was his secret to tell of Clarks, or even Bruce's identities. "He's doing a story on Lex Luthor's presence in Central City as he works on his presidential campaign and got a few words from both about the heroes in the city. It's not good, Barry."

Barry jumped on the words. He brushed his Flash aside and leaned toward Oliver. "What does that mean?" Oliver hesitated. Barry clenched his hands into fists. "Oliver, I need to know. I can't keep going through all of this, with Savitar and Breathtaker, and not know what's going to happen and what to do. .I can't. I need you to be honest with me." Oliver nodded. "Why did you meet with these guys? Why'd they want you there?"

"Because—"

"Because why?"

"Because, Barry, they want to press charges against Flash and Flare," Oliver said.

Barry leaned back in his seat. He stared at Oliver, suddenly unable to breathe. They wanted to…wanted to press charges. Wanted them in custody? For…for what? For saving the city?

"For the missile that blew. For the lives that were lost. The collateral damage and those that were innocent…" Oliver sucked in a deep breath, chest swelling. "Chief Paulson is seeing if it's possible to press charges and I wanted to warn you as soon as possible."

"But they can't do that can they?" Barry asked, once finding his voice. "We weren't to blame for it. We were trying to stop Solovar and Grodd, the missiles—" he swallowed hard. Curled his fingers into his palms. "What can we do?"

"I talked him down the best I could but it's only a matter of time until he gets riled up again and if this guy is anything like the others, Chief Paulson is going to need a lot of talking to to get him to see reason."

"I'm sure that can be said of all politicians," Barry weakly joked. He ran his hands over his face. Thought of what to do. If Clark had been there, he'd probably had told Bruce, which gave them another advantage. Bruce had given them the grant money to help research metahumans, if there was a way they could prove rehabilitation, just as they initially wanted to do with STAR Labs. "Thanks for letting me know, Oliver."

"I'm sorry it's had to come at such a bad time, my friend," Oliver apologized, his voice turning soft. Barry nodded. "But, in my experience, it's always better to face these things head on."

"Right." Barry smiled. "With an arrow straight to the chest?"

"Well, I think you prefer speed punching. But whatever works."

Barry sighed heavily, dropping his face to his hands. He rubbed at his eyes and sat back. Opening his fingers, he gazed at Oliver, who was the image of nonchalance, sitting in front of him, despite having had dropped a bomb on the speedster. His eyebrows furrowed.

There was still one thing that bothered him.

"Oliver?" Barry said slowly. Oliver nodded for him to continue. "When Grodd was attacking, how did you know to come."

Oliver's eyes shifted. He gave Barry a 'duh' look and said, "You told me to."

"No, I didn't." He hadn't seen Oliver in weeks by that point. Not unless the pictures they sent back and forth of a good day of saving the city counted. It made Barry's day to find Oliver hold a thumbs up and crack a smile at his cell phone camera, complete with Green Arrow costume with a couple of criminals tied up in the background behind him. "I didn't have the time. I thought, maybe, you'd seen on the news—"

"Word can travel fast, Barry, but even I can't get to Central City _that_ fast," Oliver pointed out. He pointed to Barry. "And that's not an invitation to brag."

Barry continued to shake his head. "Oliver, I never told you to help me. I never asked you for your help."

Oliver chuckled. "I know I've taken a lot of blows to my head over the years, but I'm not stupid, Barry. I don't go running into things without thinking first. That's your specialty, remember?"

"For real?"

"Totally, for real." The two laughed. And for the next half hour they talked about everything but the elephant in the room. Everything but the states of their cities and their teams. Then Barry raced Oliver back to Star City, flashed back through Jitters to grab a hot chocolate, a chocolate muffin, a blueberry muffin, and five cronuts before racing back into the apartment.

He dropped the food onto the kitchen counter then went to the bathroom to splash some water on his face. After a few pats, Barry looked at his reflection in the mirror. The same he always did; youthful face that had him mistaken for being much younger than he was, and green eyes that held a sort of darkness, proving he'd seen too much. That he'd been through a lot of trauma.

And a five o'clock shadow that'd grown within the last ten minutes. Such as the life of a speedster, everything moved fast. It was no wonder most of his paycheck went to food and disposable razors. Barry went to work, filling up the sink and lathering before he started to shave, carefully making as few passes over his skin so not to create any unsightly blemishes.

He didn't need to make himself look any younger.

He'd gone through most of his mustache and beard when he heard a low murmuring from Brady's room. Barry frowned and opened the door to the bathroom, listening harder.

"No, that sounds stupid," he could hear Brady said. "Um…" a few seconds of silence before a tentative question of, "What's up?" Then another heavy sigh. Seconds later, Brady walked by the bathroom door, head bent over a gray contraption in his hands. It lit up, casting a glow in his face as he released a hand to wave and say, "Hi, how's it going?"

"Brady?"

Brady jumped and turned to Barry, moving the contraption behind his back. His eyes shifted for a few seconds before looking Barry in the eye. "Barry! Hi!" His voice cracked and his nose wrinkled. "What are you doing up?"

"I was having breakfast with Oliver," Barry asked.

Brady tilted his head, wrinkling his nose as his eyes shifted over Barry's face. "Aren't you usually supposed to shave _before_ you go out?"

"Curse of being a speedster, I guess."

Brady reached up and rubbed the sides of his mouth and his chin. He leaned in toward the mirror, examining his face. "Do you think I need to start shaving?"

A smile came to Barry's face. He chuckled, ruffling Brady's hair, which the young boy quickly moved back into place. "I think maybe a few more months and you could start."

"Oh. Okay." Brady backed out of the bathroom, the cube still behind his back. "I'm going to go."

"Wait. What is that?" Barry leaned around to see. "Is that a Locator Cube?"

"No." Defeated, Brady moved the cube in front of him. "It's, uh, a, uh," he lowered his voice. "It's a Messaging Cube. Aunt Jesse said I could use it. I was, just…um…just going to see how it works."

"Oh. Who were you going to send a message to."

"Deity," Brady said. Then quickly correct himself. "I mean Debby. And Kara. To, uh, Debby, and Kara. To see how they were doing." He continued to back away with each step Barry took forward, moving toward the living room. "And to say 'hi'."

"Oh, cool." Barry grinned. "Let me see it when you're done, I have a message I want to send."

"Um—"

Barry took it from his hands and twisted it back and forth. "How does it work, anyway?"

"Give it back!" Brady leaned over Barry to grab it, his fingers scrabbling at the air.

Cadence took the opportunity to walk down the steps that led to the living room, looking at her son and fiancé curiously. "What's going on?" She asked, eyes shifting back and forth between them.

"Brady's sending a Messaging Cube to Debby and Kara," Barry explained.

"Oh!" Cadence's eyebrows rose. She looked to her son, who immediately turned his gaze to his feet, allowing Barry the opportunity to take full reign of the cube and walk it to the couch. He sat down, setting it on the coffee table in front of him. "Hey, why don't we let Brady finish using it?" She sat next to him. "We can record our messages later."

"It's a good time as any," Barry insisted. Then he noticed the pointed look on Cadence's face. "What? Why are you looking at me like that?"

"Really?" She asked, then lowered her voice to a harsh whisper, almost glaring at him. "You don't see it?"

"See what?" Barry asked, still at full volume.

"Ok!" Brady jumped onto the couch at Barry's other side and started to push the buttons and twist the knobs on the side of the Messaging Cube. "Let's just say 'bye' okay?"

"Wait, wait, Kara, do you have Game of Thrones there?" Barry asked. "What episode are you on?"

"Oh, and see if you can find my mom on that Earth and tell me if she's as crazy there as she is here," Cadence added.

"Mom," Brady protested.

"What?" She shrugged innocently. It was Barry's turn to give her a pointed look. Cadence widened her eyes innocently, lips twitching as she tried not to laugh. "She asked."

"Not like that," Barry said.

"No. But I know you were thinking it, too."

Brady laughed, his laughter mixing with Cadence's and Brady's. "So, what'd you get for breakfast?"

"The usual," Barry replied. "I was just meeting up with Oliver."

"And you're _still_ hungry?" Brady asked. He shook his head. "I don't know why I asked. There's never any food around here. I'm practically starving."

"You're not even close to starving, bud, don't be dramatic," Cadence chided, making Brady roll his eyes and smile. She then addressed Barry. "I hope you got enough cronuts, I invited Cisco to have breakfast with us, too. I don't think he should be alone much longer. He's started to talk to inanimate objects."

"How's that any different?" Barry and Brady asked in unison.

Cadence grabbed the pillow behind her and whacked both Barry and Brady with it. Barry speed-ripped it from her hand and smacked her back, making her shriek and bring up her hands, trying to defend herself. Brady grabbed another one and took the opportunity to smack Barry on the other side.

The three continued to whack each other with pillows, laughing hysterically as they did so. Brady caught his mother's eye then the two swung at the same time, directly smacking Barry in the face. He ducked a flying pillow and grabbed the Messaging Cube. He brought the Messaging Cube to his face. "Bye," he said with a wave before turning off the Messaging Cube.

Immediately, a breach opened, and the cube shot through, almost not giving Brady enough time to bring his hands back to safety before he was grabbed by Cadence, who made him laugh, tickling his sides. He laughed harder, tears streaming down his face when Barry speed tickled him as well.

Finally, they calmed down, laughter slowly subsiding. The three lay on the couch, Barry's arms wrapped around his family, basking in their warmth. Their presence. Knowing how quickly it would all be taken away.

At that moment, it was all he needed.

* * *

 **A/N:** Awww, such a nice moment between them, right. And, finally, you got the explanation as to how Oliver knew to help Barry. Sort of. Sorry that took so long, as I continued to write, some more things continued to get pushed around compared to what my somewhat outline had originally decided.

I sooo can't wait for you all to see the rest of the story. I'm so excited, just as I was with the ends of _Flash Fire, Crossfire,_ and _Fuel to the Fire._

 **Cheers,**

 **-Riley**

 **Review Replies**

 **Ethan:** Cade's comment of rush hour traffic was the joke to follow it. Oh, just wait, Cadence's and Caitlin's fight is going to be epic.

 **Guest:** Wow, thanks. I'm so glad you enjoyed my explanation. I'm glad it worked out the way I hoped it would.


	46. The Wrath of Savitar

**46**

 _The Wrath of Savitar_

* * *

"Yes, dad, I'm sure Cecile really likes you if she wants you to meet her daughter," Iris said, tilting her head so her phone stayed nestled between her ear and shoulder. She sat at her computer desk, tablet in hand. She moved sections of an article back and forth, working out the right order for the piece she'd been working on. "You've been dating for months behind our backs—"

"—It wasn't behind your backs," Joe interrupted.

Iris smiled a smug smile, her eyebrows shifting upwards. "What do you call it when the only way your children find out is when you walk in on you making out?"

"A grown ass man spending time with someone he cares about in his own home," Joe replied. Iris laughed. "And don't get me started on those boys I'd find in my house when I'd come home early form work."

Iris grimaced and made a low humming sound. "Okay, you got me there. And there weren't that many, don't make it seem like all I did was throw house parties when you weren't around."

Joe laughed his rumbling laugh. "Oh, you have no idea the sort of things I know. I'm a cop, remember. It's my job to find these things out." He let out a long breath. "I don't know, I guess, for me, it was easier to pretend things weren't serious when it was just me and Cecile. I was going to tell you guys when things started to get serious but it just…it felt so nice and I wasn't sure what to say and now she wants me to meet Joanie and—"

"—And it's real," Iris agreed. She smiled sadly. "Yeah, I know, dad. I felt the same way with Eddie."

Her gaze shifted to the picture frames that lined her desk. One of her and Barry sitting on a bench in the park, smiling away. One of her and her father, both hugging tightly while also holding onto ice cream cones, One of her and Wally that had been taken recently. One of her and Linda at the last staff party. And…one of her and Eddie when they were dating. In the picture she was perched on his lap, arms around him as he held her, taken on the back of the ferry ride that he'd surprised her on for their anniversary.

She didn't realize how long that picture had been on her desk. How long it'd bene since she last thought about Especially when you found out about us."

There was a brief pause on Joe's end of the line. "I don't think you want to start that conversation, baby girl."

"I guess not," Iris agreed. She looked up as the doors to the CCPN opened and Ryder walked inside, holding a folder to his side. He smiled to a few of her co-workers before catching her eye, waving discreetly and gesturing toward the folder. "Hey, dad, I've got to go. Whenever you get the time to meet up with Cecile and Joanie, count me in. I'm sure Wally and Barry feel the same way."

"Alright, I'll see you later. Let me know if anything comes up."

Iris nodded and hung up. She motioned for Ryder to come closer, dropping back into her chair. Reaching up, Iris draped a hand over her face. Too many painful thoughts that she'd pushed aside all because of Savitar and Breathtaker. She had managed to keep from thinking about Eddie for as long as she could stand it and now…why did he have to come back to her _now?_ When things were starting to become so complicated with…well, she couldn't quite out what she was feeling as of late.

Out of sorts. Discombobulated. Off-kilter. All of it worked, and if she were being honest, it's been something she struggled with for a long time. Ever since…

"Are you alright, Iris?" Ryder asked, stopping by her desk. He slowly lowered himself into the chair across from her, eyeing her closely. "Rough day?"

"I'd say 'yes' but it's only the morning," Iris agreed. She removed her hand from her face and braved a smile, nodding toward the folder he'd pressed to the table. "is that everything we talked about?"

Ryder nodded and slid it across from her. "That's everything I could get about the doctor's office as I could," he explained. "It's amazing the sort of things you can learn when you're a contractor."

"And?"

"And, the building is up to code. Everything within it was replaced in the last four years." He shifted uncomfortably. Iris watched him closely. Years of listening to her father's stories of the CCPD and interrogating suspects to know when people were being less than truthful. It wasn't something she could figure out all the time, it took time to decipher people's tells. She still struggled to work out her father's tells when he was being less than truthful.

But Joe West was a tough nut to crack. There were only a few times where she came close. Ryder, funnily enough, was like her father. He didn't have to hide too much because he showed it. The way his mouth tightened, and his knee bounced showed just how angry he was. "We're going to figure everything out, Ryder, okay? Don't worry."

"These people are forcing shots on kids that aren't quite on the up and up and y'all are going to sit there and tell me we're going to figure everything out?" He demanded.

"Yes," Iris said firmly. "Because we are. Just because I can't crack some sort of story about the doctor's office not being up to code doesn't mean I can't find a story. And there's a story here." She took the folder and pulled it closer to her. She flipped through the pages, humming every few moments as she read over the information.

"I already told you what the story was."

"I can't really go off a feeling, Ryder. I need to go off facts.

And the facts that he had given her weren't lying.

He wasn't kidding, anything that had to have been fixed was fixed. Past complaints had been addressed. And, it was all because of the damage continuously sustained during meta fights. Iris briefly closed her eyes, wondering how she would break the news to Barry. Or if he'd even be able to take the news. That he was trying to do to help the city seemed to make things worse everywhere else. Not that she would ever tell him that, he seemed to dwell on it enough.

Being a hero did have its drawbacks. Even in his personal life, Barry had to worry about how that would affect his metahuman life. Could hardly go one day without having to worry about it. But now something as simple as getting a shot?

She had to admit when Ryder called her about his worries of the shot Brady received, she didn't think too much of it. When he explained how forceful the receptionist had been, was when something in the back of her head started to warn her. A little alarm going off. She wanted to bring it up to Barry but couldn't until she got as much information as possible.

"I already told you, something about the receptionist was weird," Ryder insisted. He leaned forward, clasping his hands between his knees. "I can't believe you don't think there's anything weird about a doctor's office wanting his fingerprints."

Iris shrugged. "There are fingerprint scanners on phones now—"

"But in a _doctor's_ office?" Ryder insisted. "And a _children's_ doctor no less? If they're gonna need any fingerprints lemme give them mine."

"Ryder, I understand why you'd be upset in that case, there's definitely cause for concern on that one."

"I don't think you get it." Ryder lowered his voice. "It's not just the needing his fingerprints thing that concerns me, some of the others at the office said they had to do it as well. I'm worried about the whole metahuman thing."

Iris's eyebrows furrowed. "What does this have to do with being a meta?"

"You don't think it's weird everything's that's been going on around Brady since he got his powers?" Ryder asked. Iris tapped her tablet pen against her desk, listening patiently. "The inclusion of anti-meta materials and procedures in his school? That black car that followed him around to and from school? The sudden shots that no one else knew was going to be implemented?"

"The receptionist explained that those are a new measure for authorization," Iris said.

Ryder looked straight at her. "Where did that procedure come from? If this is something that was going to be put in place, how come the world or even the city didn't know it was going to be put into place? And most importantly, who allowed it to? I'm not just saying this as Brady's dad, I'm worried about a lot of meta things going on. With Chief Paulson's being so outwardly anti-meta, it's riling up everyone in the city and I'm concerned about the safety of my friends."

Iris slowly started to smile. "I thought you didn't want to have anything to do with this meta stuff," she pointed out. "Or Brady, for that matter."

"When it's your own child you want to do whatever you can to protect them. Sometimes, that means giving in to what you think is dangerous for them," Ryder explained. "Especially when they have powers to combat the danger they're going up against."

Iris nodded. She thought of everything Ryder said then stopped, something coming to her attention. "Wait. Wait a minute! What else happened at the Doctor's office?" Ryder lifted his eyebrow in confusion. "When you registered, did anything else happen?"

"They asked for my address, couldn't find it in the system, then asked for Cadence's as well," Ryder pointed out.

The gears started to spin in Iris's head. "But you've taken him to appointments before, haven't you?"

"I'm usually the one to do it. My job's a little more flexible in terms of taking the time off than Cade's is."

"So why would your name suddenly stop coming up in their database?" Iris asked. "If both of you have taken him to that same doctor before then the information should still be stored." She grasped her tablet and moved away from the article she was working on, flipping the back over so that she could type on the screen. "Especially if you share custody. There are divorced parents out there and others who continued to share custody, that shouldn't be something that happened." She started to type down her notes, fingers flying over the screen of her tablet. "That could be grounds for discrimination—"

"—Iris—"

She lifted a hand. "Relax, that's just my way in. But you've got a point; things don't sound so great if Brady's a meta and they're suddenly bringing in new measures." Ryder made a sound and Iris looked at him curiously. "What?"

"There was a nurse there that said she knew Cade," Ryder said slowly. He ran a hand through his hair. "I know it sounds like nothing if they've gone to the same doctor, but she knew Cade personally. Said her name was Corinne Bloom?"

Iris froze. Ice ran down her spine. "Corinne Bloom?" she repeated.

"Does that name mean something to you?"

"There was a Michael Bloom that Cade once worked with," Iris said slowly. She studied Ryder's face as she explained. "When she was still part of the Assassination Bureau, there was a man named Michael Bloom who worked for them as well. He was the one who kidnapped Brady to use as leverage to keep Cadence working with them."

Ryder's face paled. "Did Corinne work with them, too?"

"No, I think she's just a nurse or else Cade would've said something. But, what we know of our lives is that there's too many things like this that can be a coincidence. And I _don't_ think it's a coincidence that they were asking for fingerprints. Did everyone else there do it?"

Again, Ryder nodded. "As far as I can tell, yes. No one said anything when I asked if anyone else found it weird. They just looked away, like I was crazy."

"I don't think anyone would've wanted to say anything publicly like that," Iris explained. "It's called the bystander effect and can be very effective in time and places of intense pressure. Just like a doctor's office if others thought you were making a scene." She stood up, pulling her purse over her shoulder. "Come on, there's definitely a story here and I'm going to figure out what it is." She freed her hair from behind her back and added, "It might not be anything I can put in the paper, but I can certainly warn people with my blog."

"I'm right behind you," Ryder agreed. He reached out, placing his hand on Iris's shoulder. "Thanks for listening to me. I was I sounded crazy."

"Crazy is what happens when my boss has only two hours of sleep, a million cups of coffee, and a deadline in a few hours with no leading story. What you are is concerned. And if you're going to be part of this meta world, you'll soon realize that, to us, crazy is normal."

Ryder chuckled.

Determined, Iris left CCPN with Ryder hot on her heels.

* * *

Barry rolled his shoulders. Stretched his arms in front of him, behind him, and over his head. His suit stretched with each move he made. Muscles pulled taut then released them, feeling them become limber. Ready for a marathon of running.

Taking in a deep breath, Barry placed his hands on his hips, looking out over Infantino Street. Looking over the area where everyone he knew and loved was going to die. Fear drilled at his gut, his did his best to quell it, waited for the starting words to come through his communication systems. And yet, he couldn't keep the image from his head.

 _"Don't!"_

 _Barry heard a voice scream. It echoed around the alleyway he stood in. Lifting his eyes, Barry took notice of the street sign he stood under; the sign reading in bold letters INFANTINO STREET. He heard the voice scream again and recognized it immediately. It was his voice. Eyebrows furrowing, Barry followed the scream, moving at a fast-paced jog, running towards the front of the plaza. He stopped short, seeing the sight in front of him, seeing himself in front of him._

 _He, dressed in his Flash suit, slowly inched towards Savitar, who had a tight grasp on Iris's shoulder. Beside him, Killer Frost stood with an icicle pointed directly towards Cadence's—who was in her suit—heart, Flare holding onto a flaming sword pointed at Killer Frost as well._

 _"It's time to choose," Savitar growled. He tilted his head back and forth between Cadence and Iris. "Who will be saved?"_

 _"No, no!" Flash cried, hand outstretched. He continued to inch towards Savitar. Barry watched, mouth dropping open as he inched closer as well. His eyes darted around the arena, seeing only Savitar, Iris, Killer Frost, and Cadence. He looked closer at Killer Frost, noticing the blank look to her face. "Please, I'm begging you."_

 _"Make your choice," Savitar declared._

 _"Don't do it, Barry," Iris bravely warned. Tears slid down her cheeks, but she fought to keep her voice calm. Steady. "Don't worry about me."_

 _"Please," Barry continued._

 _"Choose!"_

 _"I can't!"_

 _Savitar pulled his arm back. "You already have." And he thrust his arm forward, driving the spike directly through Iris's heart. Blood gathered on the tip of the blade and dripped to the ground as Iris's head lolled forward, her body falling limp. Savitar lifted his spike and flung his arm to the side, Iris's body slid off and dumped to the ground._

 _"No!" Barry yelled, squeezing his eyes shut. He turned, finding Killer Frost and Flare coming to their demise at that exact moment. He watched as the ice metahuman and fire metahuman shot forward at the same time. Both finding just the right opening. He watched as the spear of ice and the tip of the flame sword slid through each other like butter. Blood sprayed the air, in a wide sprinkler arc as the two made low groans and slumped over._

 _" **NO**!" The Flash raced over, kneeling over Killer Frost—Caitlin—pressing his violently shaking fingers to her neck. Dead. No pulse. Not even a chance. Then he moved to Cadence, hearing her gurgle and cough, blood spraying over her lips and chin. The Flash grabbed her and cradled her in his arms, tears sliding down his cheeks._

 _"No, no, no," he whispered, wheezed, gasping for air. "Cay. Cay! Stay with me." Barry shook her, Cadence's head lolling back and forth. Her eyelids fluttered, before her eyes focused on him. Barely focused. She didn't seem to recognize him for a second. Nevertheless, Barry managed a small smile despite noticing her healing not kicking in. "It's going to be okay," he whispered to her, voice hoarse. "You're going to be okay. We'll get you back to STAR Labs and…and…" his words died on his lips as he glanced at Killer Frost. Then he looked back at Cadence, whose breathing started to slow._

 _"Cay!" The Flash brought up his hand and ripped off his glove with his teeth. He ripped it off and gently stroked her cheek with his fingertips. "I love you, c'mon." He sucked in a deep breath, tears gathering on his chin, dripping onto her face. Washing away the blood. "Don't do this." He felt her body growing colder. "Don't do this, Cay. Please." He grabbed her hand and held it tightly in his before moving it to press against his cheek. Hoping it'd start their joint power. Maybe he could heal her. Maybe…_

 _Her hand slid from his cheek and dropped heavily to the ground._

 _" Cay…don't…"_

 _The Flash bent forward, howling in only the way a man could when he lost everything, his body violently racking with sobs._

No matter what he did to try and stop it, the memory of the future continued to haunt him. Played it over and over to see if there was anything he missed. Anything that'd help him save them. Trained for it, just as they were about to do. Worked with Jesse and Wally to make sure they were fast enough to stop him. Came up with as many plans and formations that they'd hoped would work.

Plans that were now trash since Caitlin left the team and…betrayed them.

One shall betray you.

One will fall.

One will suffer a fate worse than death.

He never believed Caitlin would've been the one to betray them. _It's not Caitlin,_ he immediately reminded himself. _Caitlin would never do this. It's Killer Frost. Killer Frost is working with Savitar. Not Caitlin._ And they had to find some way to get Caitlin back. So far, the STAR Labs satellite couldn't pinpoint her cold signatures. She probably wasn't using her powers to make sure she wouldn't be tracked by them. If they were smarter, they would've put some sort of a tracking device on her the second she left.

"So, this is it, huh?" Wally asked, his voice breaking into Barry's thoughts.

Barry faced Wally, watching as a grin stretched across his face. Barry's lips twitched into a smile, no matter how hard he tried to keep it down. On one hand, it was a momentous occasion that could only be seen to be believed. Flash vs. Kid Flash in the battle of who was the top speedster in the city. But on the other hand, things were much too serious to be smiling. They were coming closer to when Savitar was going to kill Iris and they still weren't coming closer to getting to the speed they needed.

And yet…the challenge in Wally's eyes couldn't be ignored.

Barry was never considered athletic by any means but when it came to a race with enhanced speed, he felt the need to show off sometimes.

"Yeah, this is the starting line to our race," Barry explained. He gestured toward the deserted area round them. One of the few safe places in Central City where no one would accidentally stumble upon them or find out their identities. "Cisco set up sensors along the course and HR will be tracking our speed all the way to the other side of town. And Brady will be following on the Shadow Bike to ensure we pass each check point." He gestured toward Brady, who sat atop his ATV nearby, hood down around his shoulders.

"No." Wally shook his head, folding his arms. "I meant, this is 'it'. The day of the greatest upset in speedster history goes down."

Barry sucked in a deep breath, did his best to keep himself from allowing his competitive nature to take over. It was starting to get hard. "Wally. This isn't about winning or losing, okay?" He clenched his hands into fists. "This is about training. So, you'll get faster and beat Savitar and save Iris, remember?" He stuck his neck out, pointedly looking toward Barry. "Your sister."

Wally nodded. He took in a deep breath, face growing serious. It lasted a second before his smile was back and he said, "Which is what I'm going to do, okay? But first I'm going to make you eat my dust, I'm sorry."

Barry grinned. Unable to keep himself from falling into the competition Wally was throwing his way. What could he say, when it came to running he got a lot more out of it than just clearing his head. "You know there's a reason they call me the fastest man alive," he pointed out.

"So why do all of the other speedsters keep beating you?" Brady asked, his voice wafting over from his ATV where he sat, arms crossed and leaning against the handlebars. He smiled innocently and ducked his head when Barry turned a glare his way

Wally smiled and pointed to Brady, "Kid's got a point."

"And kid's going to be grounded if he keeps it up," Barry said.

"You can't ground me," Brady pointed out, voice cracking in offense. "Only mom and dad can."

Barry ignored him. And the injustice of everyone suddenly ganging up on him. Instead, he brought up his hand and pressed it to the lightning bolt on his hood. He waited for the beep that proved the communication link to STAR Labs was open before he spoke. "HR, are you ready to go?" Barry asked.

"Yes, sir, ready to go," HR agreed. "Ready to watch his historical moment go down." Barry started to removed his finger from his comm. link then stopped when HR continued to speak. "And, you know what would be fun? Financial wagering. On my earth it was banned after an unfortunate incident with President Al Capone. We've already have 20 dollars on Barry from Iris, Joe wouldn't do it, but my help with Wallace shoes his recent speed test ensures he's a lock so I'm down for an Abe Lincoln."

Wally blinked. He and Barry exchanged a glance. "A what?" Wally asked.

"Whatever 100 on this earth is, I'm on that."

"Wait," Barry started. He gaped into the cityscape before him. "Did you really bet against me?"

"And did Iris really bet against _me?"_ Wally added.

"On your mark," Brady started, breaking into the conversation. He reached up and pulled on his hood. Barry and Wally looked at each other then immediately crouched down, placing themselves in starting positions. "Get set!" Brady pulled on the throttle of the Shadow Bike, revving the engine."

Barry lowered himself even further, bringing his arms back into a runner's position. He wiggled his fingers, slowly curled them into his palm. He could feel lightning thrashing through his eyes, could feel the power of the Speed Force tap through his body, a tingling sensation that started from the tips of his toes and coursed to the tips of his fingers. He looked at Wally, saw the lightning flashing through his eyes as well.

"Go!"

Barry and Wally took off at the same time. With one step forward, everything in Central City moved in slow motion around them, giving them the best chance to see the better ways to maneuver as they ran. Barry pumped his arms, the wind racing by, practically making him feel as if it were pushing him along. Taking the first corner, Barry looked over his shoulder; Wally was keeping pace with him, nipping on his heels with a grin of determination that almost looked demonic at the speed they were going.

They shot through Central City, twisting and turning, weaving through the streets. As they went, they jumped over any obstacles that came their way, streamlining when on straightaways and coming around the corners as close as possible to break off the wind resistance and friction.

As they raced along, they continued to stay neck and neck. At a few points, Wally managed to come ahead of Barry, smirking over his shoulder as he went. Barry simply shook his head and smirked back. They raced out of the city, passing by the _Welcome to Central City: Home of The Flash_ sign arched around, and went back through, towards the end of the course they'd created.

Back and forth, Barry and Wall were neck and neck, slightly pulling ahead and behind each other. Barry waited for the perfect moment to strike. For most of the run, when he slid behind Wally, he moved himself directly behind the speedster. Without wind resistance, it made it so Barry didn't have to work so hard. He could see Wally slowly starting to tire out.

Wally wasn't as used to the effects on his body as the Speed Force continued to run speed through, no pun intended. His powers were new, and he wanted nothing more than to use it freely. The added point of being able to eat whatever he wanted and not gain any weight, having some of the best work outs, being able to do whatever he wanted in a few seconds or minutes was more than enough to become addictive. But very, very tiring if it wasn't worked right.

So when it came to the end of the race, where Barry knew the best move to get him to the finish line faster, Barry watched and waited until he saw Wally slowing even further. He stepped around Wally, continued toward the wall of the building before him, and phased right through it. Barry expected Wally to follow right behind him, to phase through the wall and give him a run for his money at the end but found it to be untrue.

Barry came to a stop behind their finish line and waited for a full minute before Wally arrived, sliding out his foot to come to a stop. Breathing heavily, Wally pressed his hands to his knees. He wretched a few times, spitting hard on the ground.

Barry, hardly out of weight, shook his head. He folded his arms, watching Wally with abject disgust. Not for the slowness that came over him, but because he, once again, hesitated on phasing through the building.

"Come on man, that didn't count," Wally said as soon as he managed to catch his breath. He pressed hand to his stomach, stood up straight. He sucked in a deep breath, eyes slamming shut. "You know I can't phase yet."

"Man, you just saw me do it," Barry snapped. He brought up a hand, pinching the bridge of his nose. "You keep hesitating to phase and you can't hesitate, all right? You have to be able to face any obstacle that's put in your path. Or else you're not going to be fast enough to beat Savitar."

Wally waved his hand. "Well, don't worry, Barry. I'm going to get faster." Finally, he caught his breath and pressed his hands to his hips. "Pretty soon I'm going to be faster than you."

"Oh yeah?"

"Yeah."

Barry rolled his neck. He felt all the muscles in his neck, back, and shoulders stretch. Once more, lightning flashed through his eyes. "Then let's see how you recover."

Wally tilted his head back and sighed. "Don't we need to wait for Brady?" he asked.

"Don't worry about me," Brady replied, his voice coming through their communication links. "I'm just making sure the checkpoints went through. To make sure you didn't cheat."

"Just because we can move fast doesn't mean that we use our speed to cheat," Wally protested.

"Oh yeah? Why don't you ask Barry how he kept beating me when he was teaching me how to play poker."

Wally turned to Barry with raised eyebrows, while Barry grimaced, suddenly very glad the girls weren't there to hear Brady's comment. Especially considering he knew how bad it looked either way, 1) that he had even taught Brady how to play poker and 2) that he cheated while doing it. He hadn't thought Brady would've even noticed, considering how quickly he super speeded to read the cards.

Then again, he couldn't keep the smug smile from his face every time he won and how frustrated Brady would be each round they went on. Not that they played with any actual money, Monopoly money was the substitute. (Another game they weren't allowed to play considering, from what Cadence said, how easily he started to ramble about the mechanics of Monopoly and economics).

Shaking his head, Barry locked eyes with Wally. The two looked at each other then took off again. Racing neck and neck, they shot back through Central City just before their world exploded in a burst of white light. Barry watched as Wally's head suddenly jerked backward, struck beneath the chin. He fell back against a brick wall, causing Barry to skid to a stop and turn around.

"Wally?" He asked. "What happened?"

Wally sucked in a deep breath, staring in space in front of him. He started to respond, mouth repeatedly opening and closing. He struggled to get the words out before he was grabbed by the front and thrown to the other side of the alley. He crashed so hard that an indent of his form was left in the brick wall.

"Wally!" Barry cried. His heart rammed against his ribcage, eyes darting around the alleyway. If Wally was being thrown around like that, if there was nothing there, that only meant…

"Savitar," Wally cried out. Barry's heart sank. Wally struggled to get up from the ground, arms quaking. "He's here."

"He's not here," Barry insisted. No. Not yet. He wasn't supposed to be attacking yet. It wasn't the right time. They weren't ready. Barry gasped, feeling a hand enclose around his neck and lift him off the ground. Barry blinked, finding Savitar standing in front of him, blue eyes glowing straight into Baryr's own.

"Think again, Flash," Savitar growled.

* * *

Cadence lifted her hand, grabbed Jesse's arm, and twisted it around. Jesse cried out in pain as she was forced around, her back against her other sister's chest, before she was thrown across the room. Jesse threw her hands out to catch herself, rolling across the matted floor of her gym. She pushed herself to her side maneuvered back to her feet. Cadence waited for Jesse's next move.

Jesse gritted her teeth and started towards Cadence once more. She swung a fist, making Cadence's head jerk backwards. Catching air, Jesse swung again with her left hand. Once again, Cadence moved her head out of the way. Over and over, they continued across the mats, Jesse working hard to connect a punch with Cadence, who continued to move out of the way. With one last punch, Cadence grasped Jesse's arm, bent underneath it, punched Jesse in the side, then flipped her over onto her back on the mats.

Jesse grunted, the wind knocked out of her. She stared at the ceiling while Cadence backed away, picking up the tablet that sat next to her. She sighed, looking over a computer-generated image of their fight on screen. "You keep leaving yourself open for attacks on your sides," she explained. "It's your weakest point. If you don't figure out a new way to fight, it'll just make it easier for Savitar to take you down. Especially considering how fast he can move."

Breathing heavily, Jesse turned back around and drew her arm across her forehead, working hard to catch her breath. She dropped her arms back to the mat. "I think that's the least of my problems at this point," she muttered.

"Good news is that you, at least, move faster than Barry when you're not using your powers," Cadence said. She closed the tablet and set it on the computer desk, sighing at the reminder that, once again, Caitlin wasn't there. Had she been, they would've moved through their training plan faster. She would've watched their fights with the tablet and let them know their strengths and weaknesses in real time. Working both jobs was starting to become tiring. Taking in a deep breath, Cadence placed her hands on her hips and said, "Let's run it again."

Jesse laughed in surprise. "You've just beaten me twenty times in a row," She complained. "I don't think I can take you kicking my ass for the twenty-first time in ten minutes."

A grin spread across Cadence's face. She lifted her chin, her smile widening as she crowed, "You make it sound like it's not fun."

"You've been spending way too much time with Barry," Cisco piped up from the corner of her gym, sitting with crossed legs, laptop on his lap. He rested his chin in his hand and pointed a pen back and forth between the fire meta and the speedster. "Don't get me wrong, I love me some bro time, but that smug confidence thing is soooo not attractive."

"You're just saying that because you lost faster than Jesse did," Leah piped up, sitting beside Cisco. Cisco slowly turned and glared at her, making her smile sweetly in response. Cisco sighed heavily, bringing up a hand to rub at the bruise forming along the side of his face. "You know you can have that healed, right?"

Cisco thrust his hand into the air. "Did we have to have her here?" He demanded.

"And miss you having some sort of a midlife crisis? She absolutely needs to be here." Cadence grinned at Cisco's noise of offense and Leah's and Jesse's quiet laughter. "We have to train as much as possible and not just with our powers, we rely on them too much."

"Yeah, well, believe me when I say that that the idea of trying to fight a supped-up speedster without using my powers isn't something that I find to be a very good idea," Cisco pointed out. He brought his hair back into a ponytail. "We've got against him with three speedsters, a fire meta, a ice meta, a breacher, a gravity meta, and a shadow meta. Nothing has been working. If we can't beat him now…how can we beat him in the future."

Cadence sucked in a deep breath, pressing her lips together. She didn't want to admit it was the same thing that kept her up at night. Wondering what was going to happen in a few months' time if they couldn't get to the point of stopping Savitar. The speedsters weren't fast enough and without Caitlin, they weren't able to slow him down. They needed to come up with something different and so far nothing was working.

"We'll have to keep trying," she said. "That's the point of our training sessions. Barry is working with you guys on your powers and I'm working with you on the fundamentals."

Leah smiled quietly. "That sounded like something Caitlin would say," she pointed out.

Silence shot through the room as Cadence and Cisco exchanged a glance. No matter how much they tried to avoid it, everything went back to how painful it was for Caitlin to be gone. _Not just that,_ Cadence thought. _But knowing how much closer we are to the future coming true._ They did their best to keep Caitlin from turning into Killer Frost, tried to keep the headline from coming true, but it had happened. That part of the prophecy had come true, that part of the future.

Flames flickered at Cadence's fingertips, spurned on the truth. Caitlin was gone, and Killer Frost was their enemy. Someone who had to be taken down, not just for Caitlin's sake, but for their own. The more Killer Frost knew about their plans, the less of an advantage they had to stop Savitar. And If what they learned about the mind-meld meant anything, then Savitar would learn everything about them sooner than they'd wanted.

"Again," she repeated. "Leah, you're up."

Leah nodded and got up from beside Cisco. She moved to the far side of the practice mats, waiting for Cadence's input of what to do. Cadence looked back at her, eyebrows furrowing together. She was Brady's same age, eleven years old, and looked every bit of it. Unlike Brady, who had grown an air of seriousness around him over the last few years, Leah's brown eyes were wide with wonder, her blonde hair pulled back into a ponytail made her look even more youthful, simply reminding Cadence of how easily her life was going to change. How much it had changed so far.

She'd been out in the field with Brady a few times, but certainly hadn't had enough time to hold any meats on her own. The question remained, however, was it a good idea to throw her into things with Savitar. Were they doing the right thing? Any advantage they'd have against Savitar was a good one, having him completely immobile was an ace in their hole. But Savitar could move faster than any speedster they'd gone up against, she couldn't imagine what he'd do to her if he had the chance.

 _You thought the same about Eobard, but he never hurt you,_ the thought suddenly came to Cadence's mind. It was long before she knew that Eobard and Harrison, at the time, were one and the same. With Eobard taking over Harrison, a full form of a mind-meld, he'd been able to take on the attributes that Harrison had, including the love for his daughter, which translated to the evil speedster who couldn't bring himself to lay a hand on her.

 _But Savitar isn't Eobard_. Savitar was a Speed God from the Speed Force who wanted nothing more than to rule every Earth he could reach. And he clearly had some sort of a plan if it meant taking Killer Frost to his side.

"Cade?" Jesse's voice sounded behind Cadence, breaking her from her thoughts. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah…" Cadence replied slowly. "I'm fine." It just felt that she was onto something, but she wasn't quite sure. She nodded toward Leah and shook out her hands, extinguishing the flames. "Now that we've got your strengths and weaknesses down, I'm going to work with you on more defensive work."

Leah nodded.

A sudden peal shot through Cadence's gym, an alert coming straight from the Cortex. Cisco turned his attention straight to the laptop in his lap. His eyes widened as he sucked in a deep breath. "It's Savitar," He breathed. He lifted his eyes over the laptop towards Ccadnece. "He's here."

"He's here?" Jesse repeated.

"Not 'here-here', but he's putting a beating on our friends," Cisco said. He stood up and threw open a breach. "We have to go."

Cadence nodded and turned to move, suddenly feeling herself rooted in place. She saw Cisco and Leah moving toward the breach at the same time, but noticed Jesse held stock-still as well. Anger flashed through Cadence, already knowing who was behind the attack on them. She took a step forward, seeing the ground warp and weave beneath her, throwing off her balance.

Jesse struggled to move forward. Then with a burst of speed, spun around and punched Cadence hard in the chest. Cadence crashed into the wall behind her and fell to the ground, before getting to her feet and sending a fireball back to the speedster, knocking her away. "Get out of here," Cadence called to Cisco and Leah. "Before Mindboggler gets you, too."

"What about you?" Leah asked.

"Right now, you need to help Barry." Cadence flipped forward and kicked towards Jesse again. Jesse superspeeded out of the way, resulting in Cadence turning around to throw another fireball.

Cisco grabbed Leah and the two jumped through the breach, the fireball following along behind them before it disappeared from sight, leaving the speedster and fire metahuman to continue their battle.

* * *

"Poor Team Flash," Savitar gloated, continuing to tighten his grasp around Barry's throat. "No matter what you do, you can't come close to stopping me."

Barry brought up his hands, frantically trying to remove Savitar's hand from around his neck. "I _will_ stop you, Savitar," he declared. He closed his eyes, trying to focus on phasing. Thought of becoming and moving through the solid matter that was Savitar's suit.

Savitar merely laughed in response. He pulled Barry closer, pressing his face against the speedster's. "How many times do I have to tell you, Barry Allen, I'm the Future Flash. No matter what you do, I'm going to come out on top. No matter what you try, you're not going to beat me. I will know what you do before you do it."

Barry sucked in a breath between his teeth. Felt a throbbing pain start in his head. "I promise you, we're going to get Caitlin back."

If Savitar was able to smile, Barry was sure that the silence that then stretched between them was Savitar's moment to smile. An evil, gloating smile. "Caitlin is merely a stepping stone of my rise to power. You've put the plans in motion, Barry. You brought everyone here to this exact moment, today. You're frantic means of training has worn everyone out. And while I've got Cadence and Jesse busy in STAR Labs, you've made Wally tired and weak. You've made Brady a sitting duck for me to slaughter."

No.

Barry forced his eyes open. His words came out shaky, working hard against the pressure that continued to press around him on all sides. "Don't you touch him," he hissed. Savitar turned his head toward the sound of an engine coming closer and closer to them. "Savitar!" He could hardly get the next words out. "I'm begging you."

"You don't need to beg me." Savitar threw Barry aside, knocking him hard to the ground. "It's not his time."

Barry pushed himself up in tie to find Savitar turn on his heel and start to run in rapid circles. As he continued to run, bright flashes of light started to form a vortex in the middle of his path. Wally got to his feet and started to run after him. "Wally, no!"

But Wally continued to run after Savitar, becoming knocked back each time he moved to attack. Savitar continued to run until the vortex grew bigger and bigger. He then came to a stop and whipped around, elbowing Wally hard in the face. "Nice try, Wallace," Savitar groused. "But you're not going to stop me. You're not fast enough to stop me, by yourself. I'm going to come for you and Barry and your sister and I'll kill everyone you love. I know the limits of your speed." He pointed to Wally. "After all, I'm the one who gave it to you."

"And giving me speed…was your biggest mistake," Wally decalred.

Savitar ran.

Wally ran after him.

The vortex continued to grow brighter and bigger as they ran.

"No!" Barry yelled. He ran forward and struck Wally, pushing his shoulder hard into Wally's side. The two fell to the ground just as another beam of light formed. A breach opened, and Cisco and Leah jumped out just as a plume of fire came out after them.

Savitar stopped running, positioning himself directly into the fire blast. Instead of it knocking him aside, the lightning that surrounded his suit glowed a brighter blue-white. It crackled around his fingers, up his arms and down his legs. Savitar knelt down and continued to run, faster than ever.

"He got a boost," HR murmured, the first time Barry'd heard him since they started their training. "Savitar's even faster now."

Savitar shot forward and grabbed onto Wally's collar. With a cry, he threw Wally towards the vortex, where beams of light stretched out and wrapped around his arms and legs. Wally cried out as he was lifted off the ground and sucked closer toward the vortex.

"Oh my God," Cisco murmured.

"What's happening?" Leah asked.

"No!" Wally scrambled for the air, screaming in fear as he was pulled toward the vortex. He windmilled his arms, moving as fast as he could. Red lightning surrounded him but continued to be zapped down by the white lightning that Savitar created. "No! No! Barry!"

No.

Barry stared.

No.

He had to run.

His feet wouldn't move. He could only stare.

Wally continued trying to reach out for his friend. "Help me, Barry!" Wally cried.

Leah threw her hands forward. They shook with effort as Wally slowly stopped moving backwards. She brought her arms back to her sides, Wally slowly pulling forward. A tug of war of power. Every few seconds Wally would move closer to the vortex before being pulled away again, the power of the vortex working hard against her gravity powers.

As the power continued to pull, Wally's suit slowly pulled away from his body, giving Barry the view of abject fear that swelled within Wally's eyes. And Barry stood, frozen in fear as Wally continued to reach for him, continued to cry out for help.

Leah continued to cry out, pulling as hard against Wally as she could. But he continued to sink further and further. First his legs disappeared, then his waist. His upper body.

"Barry!"

Wally's fingers disappeared into the vortex.

Leah dropped to the ground, fighting to catch her breath against her fight with the breach.

The vortex blinked out, taking Wally with it while Savitar stood in his place.

* * *

 **A/N:** Well, this took me much longer to get out. I worked and re-worked the last scene multiple times until it feels like I got it right. So I hope you guys enjoyed it. There are multiple storylines from the show that are going to run together until their last meeting with Savitar but there is going to be a reveal coming soon.

I hope you enjoyed it.

 **Cheers,**

 **-Riley**

 **Review Replies**

 **DarkHelm145:** Yes, yes they are. I plan on having at least one fight scene per chapter as the story ends but we'll see how things go. Thank you for the review.

 **Guest:** The ends of my stories are always my favorite part due to the pay off and how intense things get. I'm glad you're enjoying it as well.

 **Ethan:** Not a big reveal or anything; Brigade (as mentioned a few times before) is the name Cadence went by when she was part of the AB and Blight is Breathtaker's planned name for Brady. There will be more backstory on this as the story comes to a close. Yes, Oliver was the one Alicia saw with Clark. Thank you for reviewing.


	47. Into The Speed Force

**47**

 _Into the Speed Force_

* * *

Why wasn't he fast enough?

Why didn't he stop him?

Why did he just stand there?

Everywhere Barry looked, the questions came to mind. When he was at work, staring into space, he could only think of Wally being sucked into the speed force. Could only think of Savitar's roar of laughter as Barry stared in wide-eyed horror at the space that'd just held Wally's form. Could only think of the way the only remaining piece of his suit, the lightning bolt emblem, felt in his hands as he picked it up from the ground.

Could still feel the crushing blows of Savitar's fists against his body when Barry let out a scream of rage and threw himself at the speedster. The speed God. Savitar wasn't a God, Barry would never determine him to be one, but he was fast. And as quickly as Savitar whipped around and grabbed him around the neck, was enough for Barry to realize how deeply he hated Savitar. How much he wanted him dead.

And yet, Savitar continued to throw him around. At top speed, to the rest of Team Flash, it simply looked like Barry had taken a step forward and was on the ground seconds later. In his point of view, he and Savitar duked it out over what felt like ten minutes. Punch after punch, throw after throw until Savitar slammed his fist into Barry's face so hard he heard his nose breaking, the bones crunching beneath Savitar's suit.

"Flash!" He heard Cisco and Leah cry from where he lay on the ground. Barry looked over to Cisco standing in front of Leah and Brady, who'd arrived on scene during the fight, holding his arms in front of them lest they did something stupid. Like try to fight Savitar.

Barry held up his hand. Shook his head when he saw Brady moving closer. _Don't,_ he silently pleaded. _Don't move. He'll kill you._ Brady nodded, swallowing hard. Barry saw Cisco turn his hands backwards, so that he was touching each kid. So they didn't move from his grasp. He was their last line of defense, wouldn't let them get any closer.

Sucking in a shallow breath, Barry lifted his gaze to Savitar, who merely stared at him, chest plate of his suit slowly moving up and down. Barry licked his lips, wincing when he tasted the blood that ran from his nose. It was already healing, he could feel his nose shifting on his face. His power was slowly returning. He just needed to wait a little bit longer.

"What did you do with Wally?" Barry asked. "Where is he?"

Savitar lifted a finger and wiggled it back and forth. Ah. Ah. Ah. "Now, Barry, I thought you were smarter than that. Can't you figure out what's happened all on your own? And you call yourself a CSI."

"Where is he?" Barry demanded. His voice grew hoarse with the effort of his growl. Throat burned. He was tired of Savitar's taunting. Tired of him always being one step ahead of him. If he had to kill him right then and there, he'd do it. Just to get the air of arrogance away from the self-proclaimed speed God.

Savitar lowered his hand. He paced in a wide circle around Barry, each of his footsteps making mechanical _clumps_ as they connected with the ground. His suit sounding like grinding gears when his elbows and knees bent. "When you created Flashpoint, you unwittingly gave me the means for this very moment to happen. _You_ gave me the idea to make Wally into Kid Flash, to make him fast enough to stabilize the collapsing Speed Force."

The news hit him like a ton of bricks. His reaction so visceral he was sure Savitar had raced toward him and smacked him in the face all before Barry could blink. His voice was small when he asked, "The Speed Force is collapsing?"

How had he not known? How had he continued to use it without noticing anything different when he used his powers. Is that why Savitar threw Wally into the Speed Force? To siphon their powers and keep himself going?

Savitar continued to ignore him. "With his ego and arrogance, it was easy to get him where I needed him to be. He liked his fame and speed so much he never saw he was running right into my trap!" Savitar shook his head, a single flick as if he were moving his hair from his face. "And he can't even phase."

"How do I get him out?" Barry slowly moved himself to his knees. His body screamed with pain, his back more so. He'd probably bruised some ribs if not broke them. Savitar had gotten stronger since the last time they'd fought. Even s they moved at the same speed, he couldn't see Savitar's attack coming; he'd hit the ground much harder and faster than he'd anticipated.

"Wally's gone—" Savitar taunted.

"—HOW DO I GET HIM OUT?!" Barry roared, getting back to his feet.

Savitar lifted a finger, as if signaling a petulant child not to be rude as his mother was on the phone—"Suffering in an endless void for all eternity."

"How. Do. I—"

"Another victim Barry Allen failed to save-"

"—Get. Him. Out?"

Savitar was then in Barry's face. A loud screech emanated from his suit, the mouth seeming to open, showcasing a dark gaping maw in its place. Barry winced as the electronic shriek filled his ears, shorting out his communication link with the Cortex. His ears rang, HR's frantic voice became muffled and filled with static.

On one hand, not having to hear HR was a bit of a good thing. On the other, it had to be hard to sit back in the Cortex and not know what was going on. And, Barry had to admit that HR's way of looking at things from a different point of view had its moments of being helpful. He wondered what HR would say to help him then.

"—You already know the answer, Barry," Savitar growled. Barry glared at Savitar, eyes filled with pure hatred. "I know what you're thinking. You want to kill me, don't you? If you had the strength to end my life, you would've done it already. But Barry Allen doesn't kill, he's the good guy." Savitar reached out and grabbed Barry's face, darkness closing around him as Savitar's palm covered his face. "The boy Joe raised. The man Cadence loves." Barry felt pinpricks along the sides and top of his head, Savitar's claws digging into his head. Blood rolled down the sides of his face. Savitar's hand shook. "You have everything and deserve none of it. I'm going to destroy this city like I did in the future, so you'll see the truth, Barry. And then, you'll treat me like the God I am. I want so badly to kill you, and I will. But you have to live a little longer."

He spun Barry around and grabbed him by the back of his head. Held Barry off the ground, shook him back and forth in front of his friends. Put him out on display. "Long enough to see them all die!"

"Not if I don't kill you first," Barry gasped. He phased through Savitar's grasp, through Savitar's body, and landed on the ground behind him. Then he ran in rapid circles, throwing a lightning bolt at Savitar. As soon as his arm lowered, Barry turned and ran as far away from the scene of the fight.

When he was far enough away, he turned back and streaked toward Savitar. He churned his arms and legs, feeling the Speed Force coursing through him, felt the lightning shake through his eyes. He pushed himself, harder and faster. Everything around him blurred, he only focused on Savitar in front of him, slowly turning around to face him. Barry pulled back his arm and threw a punch forward, a supersonic punch aimed for Savitar's face.

Too late.

Savitar, Barry didn't see, was quick to respond to Barry's move. Maybe there was truth to what he constantly boasted, how he was faster than Barry. How he knew every move Barry was going to make. How he, somehow, knew to turn at just the same time and extended his left hand. Barry's punch struck Savitar's left hand. Savitar clenched his hand around Barry's fist, holding him still. His other hand swung around-

 _Siiink._

Barry gasped, his eyes shifting to the spear that pierced his shoulder, sticking out his back. Barry looked up into Savitar's face in time to see Savitar retract the spear. A scream, a roar, everything went black.

He didn't wake up until an hour passed. Barry sucked in a sharp breath, hand immediately flying to his shoulder where he'd been wounded. His fingers spidered over his skin, looking for Savitar's spear continuously sticking out his skin. His eyes shifted to the faces around him, landing on Iris and Joe, who stood over him, tears in their eyes.

Joe held Wally's destroyed suit in his hands, clenched so tightly that not even the hands of ate would rip it from him. Guilt was a fickle thing; coming at the worst of times that could be debilitating due to overthinking a simple faux pas that was made. Guilt for what may have been the end of someone's natural life…that was something Barry would never get over.

Not when it's happened so many times before.

Not when he was the cause of the destruction of everyone's lives.

"Joe," Barry whispered. Struggled to get the words out. "'I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."

Joe shook his head. "It's not your fault." Barry had to look away when he saw the tremble that shot through Joe's chin. Saw the tears that gathered in his pseudo-father's eyes. Looked to Iris and saw she was doing her best to stay strong for her father. But barely managed to do so herself. Joe's chin continued to quiver, he twisted Wally's suit in his hands. "It's…it's not your fault."

Iris leaned closer to Barry, gently pressing her hand to his forehead to brush his hair back from his face. She leaned closer to him. "Where is he, Barry?" Iris asked. "Is he in pain? Is…is he…?" Cisco's words made her stop her question, removing her hands from him to cover her mouth, quieting her sobs.

"One will suffer a fate worse than death," Cisco murmured.

At that, Joe lost his composure. "What are we going to do? We have to bring him back, we have to save him. I can't lose Wally, Barry."

Barry closed his eyes. He could feel himself starting to break down, needed to stay strong. For them. For himself. He opened his eyes and looked Iris in the eye. "I'm sorry." Iris reached out and grabbed his hand, gently shaking her head. She wiped the tears away from her face, gave a small smile. Didn't have to say anything. Barry knew her well enough to know she was letting him off the hook as well.

But he didn't deserve it.

Not when he knew the truth.

Not when everything was his fault.

Not when he was the only one who could fix it.

It didn't take long for him to notice that Brady, Leah, and Cadence weren't around when he woke up. Upon asking where they were, he found the two kids sitting quietly around the bed Cadence was lying silently in with Jesse holding onto her other Earth sister's hand, torn between sobbing over news of Wally and what had happened between her and Cadence when they were both controlled by Mindboggler.

Barry made his decision then. He knew what he was going to do. Had made up his mind once Savitar told him about the Speed Force. Knew what he was going to do once he saw Wally get sucked into the vortex that led to the powers that aided and saved them daily.

So he made the decision and explained it to his friends saying, "Fear makes us do a lot of things we shouldn't. My fear's the reason for all of this. Savitar was right, this is all because of me. Because of my weakness. Fear. Flashpoint. Because of it, everyone's lives have changed. Everyone I love is suffering. This has to stop. I can't let anyone hurt me anymore because of me. No one else should have to pay for my sins. And they won't. Never again."

"What does that mean?" Jesse had asked.

"I'm going to save Wally. I'm going back into the Speed Force."

It all ran through Barry's head as he stood in the lightning vortex that was the Speed Force. The familiar blues and grays that swirled around as lightning struck in moderate flashes. Barry waited for the lightning storm to dissipate, resisting the urge to turn back, to call back to Cisco and call to be reeled back into the Cortex, wondering if he was making the right decision.

Barry closed his eyes, allowing the winds to whip around him as the Speed Force allowed him inside. He could still feel Cisco's hand on his shoulder, reminding him that once he let go he was on his own. But that wasn't quite true was it? Even if he were physically alone he had his team behind him every step of the way. They were counting on him just as much as he was counting on himself to save Wally.

To save them all.

He couldn't stop Savitar without his team behind him, all of them and wouldn't have him take their lives just to get to him. It was the point that confused him the most, what Savitar really wanted. Why was he constantly dangling Barry's future and impending defeat in his face when he could just do it? What did he truly want with Wally and what did Flashpoint have anything to do with it?

Flashpoint created other metas, Savitar and Alchemy used Flashpoint to create those metas; Frankie and the others. What did it have to do with Savitar specifically?

Barry looked up, breaking from his thoughts as he felt an energy change. The Speed Force was opening for him. The lightning storm faded revealing his lab at the CCPD. For a moment, Barry wondered if he was dreaming. The Speed Force could do magical things. It gave him abilities that were otherwise impossible.

It gave him the strength to finally come to terms with his mother's death the year before. But being in his lab…watching lightning flash and hearing thunder roll through the window that overlooked the city, goosebumps appeared on his arms. Barry twisted around, bringing his hands to the emblem on his suit, wondered if he'd see himself race into the lab, only moments before being struck by lightning.

But everything was in its place. As Barry walked along the perimeter, he looked over everything. The pictures lining his desk were the same. The books and textbooks he'd carefully organized on his shelf were untouched. Even Julian's desk in the office was the same.

Barry gritted his teeth.

Julian.

He'd never disliked someone as much as he disliked Julian. And yet, he felt nothing but pity for him. For the entity that took him over and poisoned him with the alter ego all the while Julian was unaware of it. _Maybe not knowing was better,_ Barry reasoned. _If what happened to Caitlin is any indication…_ Barry stopped at the edge of Julian's desk and looked towards the open door of his lab.

He stopped.

Listened hard.

There it was again.

The faint sound of a chair being moved. Scratching against the floor on its feet. Barry's eyebrows furrowed. Was there someone else in there with him? Had Jesse ignored his warning not to come along with him as he went inside? Or, his mind tried to rationalize, was it a ghost of some sort?

The ghost of his guilt? Of the lives he lost along the way? Of the ones he had a hand in losing when the gorillas attacked? He took in a deep breath and followed the sound, moving at a slow walk. The slowest he'd moved within the last couple of months. Barry walked down the stairs to the bullpen. All the desks were empty, untouched. Almost like a museum.

Barry turned in a slow circle, heard another scraping sound from Captain Singh's office, and followed the sound. He stopped at the threshold, staring in disbelief at what must've been a ghost in front of him. Stopping when he found someone standing before him.

Stopped when he saw Eddie Thawne in front of him.

Not Eddie, Barry realized from the calm way the deceased detective turned to him. He remembered it from his last visit in the Speed Force. It wasn't Eddie. Eddie was dead. It was the Speed Force manifesting through Eddie. And yet, Eddie's low gravelly voice came out in a tone so familiar to Barry that it made tears come to his eyes.

Guilty tears.

"Why are you here?" Eddie asked. He stepped toward Barry, placing his hands on his hips, the same way he always did when thinking of a case that had no end in sight. "Why are you back in this place.?"

Barry swallowed hard. He'd figured it would've been obvious. The Speed Force should've known of its new occupant. Yet, Barry felt that he had to answer. Had to say _something_ or else anger it even further. His throat was dry, still burning from his earlier screams. "To save Wally."

Eddie slowly smiled. He chuckled, lowering his head. Like he'd just been told the funniest joke he'd ever been told. "Ever the hero, huh Bare?"

"It's my fault he's trapped here," Barry said. He took a pleading step towards Eddie, hopping to appeal to him, to the Speed Force.

"Is it?" Eddie blinked once, leveling his gaze at Barry.

"Where is Wally?"

"He's not exactly here, per se." Eddie shrugged, noticing Barry's frustrated glance. He bobbed his head, smiled again. In on the secret that Barry wasn't being told. "He's in the prison you created. Your future self, that is."

"How do I get him out?"

"We're not going to be as accommodating as you were the last time you visited us."

Barry took a deep breath. Eddie hadn't shouted his words, had spoken in a low, neutral tone. But with the eerie silence around them, he may as well have screamed the words. Barry's heart started to race. Something was wrong. He didn't know what it was, but something was wrong. Something was coming. "What the hell does that mean?" Barry whispered.

He frowned. Hated how small his voice sounded. Like a child who'd just bene reprimanded for talking back to his parents. The Speed Force had the control. He didn't.

"It means things have changed," Eddie explained. He folded his arms, wincing as he did so. As if he had pain in his shoulders. "We gave you your speed back because you said you'd come to terms with your mother's death."

"I did," Barry murmured.

Eddie shook his head. He stepped forward. "You lied to us. You went back in time and saved her. And in doing so, you created Flashpoint."

"Zoom killed my father!" Barry protested.

Eddie nodded. Sympathy flashed over his face. "We know, and we understand, which is why we allowed you do it. But choices have consequences and we can't let you do it again."

Barry lowered his head. _No._ The Speed Force was supposed to help him. The Speed Force was supposed to…to make him a hero. It was supposed to be a beacon of hope. And yet, it took Barry until that moment to truly understand that the Speed Force wasn't a person. It wasn't a thing. It was an entity with its own rules and regulations.

Wally wasn't going home.

"Wally's a kid," Barry whispered.

"He's a Flash!" Eddie insisted, voice turning hard. Harsh. "And he's made his choice." He lifted a hand and pointed at Barry, directly at the heart. "Just like you did."

Barry clenched his hands. Swelled his chest. "I'm not going anywhere until he's free."

"Then prepare to spend and eternity in here."

Eddie turned on his heel, turned his back to Barry. Barry gaped at Eddie, struggling to find the right words to say, to make the Speed Force let them go. He watched as Eddie took a few steps away from him, towards the memorial on the wall that held past fallen officers.

 _Crack!_

Barry jumped. The loud sound made him yelp involuntarily. His heart thudded painfully against his chest, fear increasing its size two-fold. He brought a hand up to press against the emblem of his suit. Tried to force his heart down. It raced even faster when the familiar smell of gun powder reached his nose. Someone was shooting somewhere.

He bent at the knees, readying himself to start running. Muscles tensed.

Then Eddie turned, revealing a growing blood stain across the shoulder of his white dress shirt. Straining further and further as the seconds passed. He motioned to the photos. One of the real Eddie Thawne.

"Eddie Thawne's life was almost so different," Eddie explained, looking Barry in the eye. Something about the Speed Force kept Barry from looking away. "Iris was about to be his wife, Joe was about to be his father in law. But things didn't turn out that way, did they? Instead of that life being his legacy…" he gestured to himself, tapped his finger against the bloodstain on his shoulder. "This is." He eyed Barry carefully. "The only reason you came back was to save Wally?"

"Yes," Barry breathed.

Eddie slightly turned his head away. "There's no other reason?"

"No," Barry whispered once more.

Eddie watched him for a long moment. He nodded and shrugged. "Alright then, Bare, if you want Wally, all you have to do,"—he pointed to the elevator just behind the bull pen— "Is go through those doors."

Barry started toward it.

"But you have to outrun that thing first."

The doors dinged open. Time slowed down around Barry, sensing danger coming closer and faster than he could anticipate. Everything slowing down gave him the chance to run through a gauntlet of emotions. Awe, fear, trepidation, determination, and confusion as a screaming banshee raced his way.

Barry took a quick look at it before he turned on his heel and raced away. He circled the CCPD bullpen repeatedly, the screaming banshee clawing and scraping at his back as he ran. Once. Twice. Three times. Four. Five. Finally, Barry shot himself into the elevator, crashing against the back of it. He reached out his foot and kicked at the buttons that's prompt the elevator to go to a new floor.

It slid shut, just as the banshee arrived and Barry slumped to the floor, letting out a long breath.

Safe.

Safe for now.

The elevator took a long journey to what was only supposed to be the second floor. When it finally arrived, Barry caught his breath and was back on his feet, ready for the banshee to take off after him as soon as the doors opened. But when it did so, Barry got a second shock. Instead of still being in the CCPD, he was back in STAR Labs.

Barry slowly stepped out of the elevator, traversing the same hallway he walked every day to reach the Cortex. As he moved closer and closer, he heard soft singing. A lullaby. Hush little baby.

 _Hush little baby, don't say a word. Momma's gonna buy you a mocking bird._

Barry moved into the Cortex and saw Caitlin gently bouncing a baby back and forth in her arms. Her head was angled down, eyes focused on nothing but the baby, a small smile splayed on her lips. Barry had only seen the same smile a few times, from his mother to him, from Cadence to Brady, and from Maya and Tess to Cadence. A smile that seemed that only mothers could give.

Barry's eyes shifted back to the baby Caitlin gently swaddled. A girl from the look of the pink blanket she was swaddled in. Then he heard another cry and whipped around, to see Cadence—a younger Cadence—standing on the other side of the Cortex. A baby boy in her arms. Like Caitlin, she gently bounced the baby, tears running down her cheeks.

She wasn't singing.

She was murmuring to her baby. "It's okay. Everything's going to be okay. I won't let anything happen to you. I promise."

"Caitlin?" Barry looked between the two. "Cade?" Barry moved closer to Caitlin, looking down into the baby girl's face, taking in her pursed lips as she was soothed. Saw the familiar flutter of the eyelashes, saw the nose and overlying features that looked so familiar. "This baby…"

"Is beautiful." Ronnie's voice made Barry turn.

This time with resignation.

Speed Force Ronnie walked closer to Barry. Then he stepped aside and allowed a manifestation of Kent Nash to follow him. The first time Barry had seen him since his funeral, where he sat further back in the pews, not feeling it was his place to sit closer even to support Cadence. It gave him a good view of Kent's picture placed on an easel, a picture taken for his advertising business. Of a man who looked like every man's best friend.

And now, the same man was standing in front of Barry, looking at him curiously. Barry turned back to Cadence, who continued to gently bob a baby in her arms. This time, Barry realized, the 'baby' was in fact a toddler sized Brady, who was wrapped in a blue blanket, clutching it tightly to his neck.

"Hello, Barry," Ronnie greeted him with a nod.

"We need to talk," Kent added.

Barry swallowed hard and looked back at Caitlin. Watched as she reached out her finger and gently stroked the baby's cheek. "They should've had that," he murmured. "A family…future…" He thought for a moment, looking at Caitlin's state of dress, the way her hair was styled. Familiar. Dread washed over him. "This would've happened…if the Particle Accelerator hadn't exploded, wouldn't it?"

Kent shrugged. "The future doesn't always turn out as we want it to."

"I see what you're doing," Barry murmured.

"Do you?" Ronnie raised an eyebrow.

Barry nodded. He set his jaw and looked at the two manifestations of the Speed Force. "First Eddie, now Ronnie. Showing me the people who sacrificed for the greater good."

"No, Barry, these people sacrificed for _you_. Just like Wally did when he was trying to stop Savitar." Barry looked toward Kent. Ronnie followed his gaze. Kent scoffed and shook his head. "You don't understand, do you?"

"He had a brain tumor," Barry murmured, remembering what was explained to him at the hospital after Cadence's frantic phone call to him. He'd made it there in record time, finding the Nash family sitting quietly in their own forms of grief. Barry had been surprised to see how they'd handled things compared to her phone call; calm and straightforward. "He didn't know."

"Ah, but he did," Kent denied. He reached up and tapped his forehead. Right between his temple and his forehead. "It's hard to ignore a tumor the size of a walnut pressing between the parts of your brain that holds your motor functions, personalities, and behaviors. Kent knew it was inoperable and knew he was dying when he went to visit you for Thanksgiving that year."

"He wouldn't let Cadence heal him," Barry remembered.

"And he wouldn't allow himself to pull her away from the new family and happiness she was creating with you and Brady in Central City. With her new friends. He'd made his mistakes. Made peace with them. Made up with her but knew their family, as he knew it, was over. Kent wasn't a man that dwelled on things he couldn't change. Kent Nash knew, in a manner of speaking, he was part of the reason she found you. In that aspect, he'd made a sacrifice for you. Just like Wally."

"I don't…" Barry shook his head. "Savitar tricked Wally. And now he's trapped. You have to let me take his place. That's why I'm here!"

"Or the other reason, Barry," Ronnie insisted.

Barry shook his head. Tried again. He had to make them understand. They _weren't_ understanding him. "I want to sacrifice myself for Wally."

"We can't allow that," Ronnie said sympathetically.

"Because where Wally is, it's a hell on its own," Kent added. "It's not a place for you." He waved his hand, shooed Barry away. "Leave while you still can."

"No," Barry said firmly. He took a step towards Kent and Ronnie, staring them down. "Whatever hell he's in, I'm going to set him free. And I'm not going to leave until I do."

"Very well." Ronnie's eyes shifted behind Barry. Kent stepped back. "But you were warned." The banshee—the Black Flash—raced forward and shoved Barry hard on the back.

Barry stumbled, used his powers to right himself, and started running once more. The Black Flash followed along behind him. He turned and ran up the wall of the Cortex, zipping around as fast as he could. The manifestations of Kent, Ronnie, Cadence, and Caitlin all watched him, passive expressions on their faces.

They ran through the hallway of the Cortex, throwing each other around once they got close enough to grab each other. Barry threw the Black Flash through their glass dry-erase board, but the Black Flash phased through it and came back, punching Barry hard in the face. Barry fell aside and started to run again, heading towards the elevator once more. He made it only for the Black Flash to throw a lightning bolt at it; the bolt crashed into the elevator doors and rocketed into Barry's chest, knocking him flat on his back.

"No." The Black Flash grabbed Barry around the neck, starting to squeeze. He gasped and thrashed against the entity's hold around his neck. "Please."

"We warned you," Ronnie sing-songed.

Barry turned his gaze to Ronnie and Kent, who'd followed the fight to the elevator bay. "Why are you doing this?" He pleased.

"You speak of sacrifice and yet you still let others bear the burdens that should be on your shoulders," Kent accused.

Barry continued to fight against the Black Flash. But, this time, he heard the Speed Force's words. Listened to them. Heard them. They kept saying the same thing. It had to be true in some ways. "Okay, you're right," he conceded. He still struggled to knock the Black Flash off. The Black Flash merely screamed in Barry's face, giving Barry the up-close and personal view of Hunter Zoloman's rotting skin. "You're right. I never should've trained Wally to save Iris. It should've been me. Please, let me save him."

"There's only one way to free him from his eternal torment," Kent pointed out. "You must free yourself, first."

Barry gasped as the Black Flash slowly, very slowly, started to suck out his life force. He struggled harder. Hunter's skeleton smiled back at him. "Give up, Barry," he hissed. "Give in. You're just like me."

"I'm nothing like you," Barry rasped venomously.

"You feel it, the darkness inside you," Hunter continued. "Don't fight it, Barry. It'll just continue to grow within you. You can't lock up the darkness."

"I can try!" Barry grabbed his emblem and ripped it from his suit. He smacked it into the Black Flash's face, sending energy from the Speed Force into a white lightning bolt that coursed through the Black Flash's body. He screamed and was blasted away so fast that Kent and Ronnie had to jump out of the way.

The lightning that coursed through him was so bright that Barry was momentarily blinded. Getting to his feet, he groped along the walls to get to the door. He blinked, shook his head. Moved all the light from his eyes. Finally, he lifted his head and spotted Wally through the window. He shouted and yelled, hoping to reach Wally's form that stood silently over an empty hospital bed. He reached for the doorframe, stopping when an icy blast kept him from doing so.

"I wouldn't do that," Snart gloated.

This time, Barry wasn't surprised at the appearance of the newcomer. He knew the plan by that stroke. Could only guess who would be the next to show up. And even then, Snart wasn't one of the first ones he would've chosen. "What's happening to him?" Barry demanded. "Why can't I get him out?"

"Wally West is caught in an endless temporal loop," Snart explained. "Just like Savitar after you imprisoned him here in the future." Snart leaned against the wall, raising an eyebrow. He looked Barry up and down, being obvious about it. Then he parted his lips and let out a low whistle. "No wonder he hates you."

Barry pressed his forehead against the glass. He watched Wally. _I'm going to get you out, Wally. Somehow, someway, I'll get you out,_ Barry thought. Wally turned his head towards Barry, as if hearing him. But instead of reacting to the speedster, he turned back to the bed and did it all over again. Watched silently, a tear would slide down his cheek, then he'd turn to the side.

Over and over.

Watching something.

"What's he seeing?" Barry murmured.

Snart's smile widened. "He's reliving the most painful moment of his life." He leaned closer to Barry and whispered in his ear, "His mother's death." Barry's blood ran cold. Snart chuckled. "I'm sure you can understand the sentiment."

Oh, he understood. Understood what it was like to watch both of his parents' deaths play out before him. Understood the pain and confusion he felt when he heard something happening downstairs and raced from his bed to see his mother screaming in the idle of a swirling yellow vortex.

"Mom!" He shouted over his mother's screams. "Mom!"

"Nora!" Henry shouted. Then he turned and grabbed his son, kneeling so he could look in his eyes. "Run, Barry, run!"

The next thing Barry knew, he was blocks away from home, standing only in his PJs and slippers. He ran all the way back, huffing and puffing, lungs burning as he streaked through the cold fall night. Ran all the way home where he pushed past officers to his mother's dead body lying quietly on the ground, eyes wide as they stared up at him.

"Mom!" Barry cried. Then whispered. "Mom…?"

It was over twenty years later where he'd feel that pain once more. Where he thought a good time in his life was going to continuously be good. Things were getting better for him. He was enjoying a meal out with his friends and his family. His father.

Then Zoom had his father, held him dangling in front of Barry like a pathetic toy. Barry had to watch, had to beg, had to plead for Zoom not to harm his father. Then had to watch as he was murdered in front of him just as his mom was years before. It was all that pent-up pain that made Barry scream so loud and so hard that only someone who saw their life ripped away from them could do.

He was tired of that pain.

Tired of running from it.

"He doesn't deserve this," Barry whispered.

"And let me guess, you do."

Barry nodded. "I know what my hell is," he murmured. He lifted his chin and looked at Snart. There was a knowing gleam in Snart's eyes. There wasn't anything more painful than losing the last important part in his life. "I've already seen it, in the future."

"You don't like it?" Snart taunted. "Then change it."

"I can't!" Barry spat venomously. He got into Snart's face, glaring at him, gritting his teeth. Snart merely looked back at him, almost disinterested. "Don't you get it? He's _faster_ than me. He knows what I'm going to do before I do it! I can't do _anything_ to get ahead of him! That's why you have to let me take his place. Wally can save Iris."

Snart huffed a furious huff through his nose. "You're not learning your lesson, Barry. You keep telling us one thing and then doing another." He reached out, poking Barry in the chest with his cold gun, forcing Barry to walk backwards. "You want to know what inspired Leonard Snart to sacrifice himself?" He jabbed him again. "It was you, Barry Allen. You inspired him to be better, to be selfless, to sacrifice himself for others. To be a hero, just like you."

Barry shook his head. Lowered his gaze. "I'm not a hero."

"Then why does Brady follow you so easily?" Snart demanded. Barry sucked in a sharp breath. "Why do people put their faith in your hands? Why do people look for you to help them?"

"I'm not a hero," Barry repeated. "Not lately."

"So, what? You've had enough Scarlet Speedster? Time to hang up the cowl and give it all up? Well, if you're out." Snart shrugged. "You're out."

"I'm done fighting," Barry clarified.

Fatigue washed over him. Of everything. He was tired of everything. Tired of not knowing a life outside of being a hero. He couldn't come close to remembering what it was like. Was it a life he even enjoyed? Where his parents were dead, where he was ostracized and demonized in private but looked at with sympathy in public, where he was in love with someone who would never love him back, where he was seeing as 'The White Shadow' and a nerd and of no use except for impromptu and last-minute study sessions?

He was tired of not remembering that life because of the stress and pain he'd felt. Blocked out some memories of his mother, fell back into sullen and quiet ways when he was especially hurting, reacted with intense anger when anyone in his life was even remotely threatened. Tired of being so emotional.

Tired of being tired.

Snart's voice turned sarcastic. "We know and that's exactly the problem." He lifted his chin. "We gave you every chance you could get to take your job seriously, Barry, and you continue to spit upon it. The Speed Force is collapsing, Wally is the Flash, he made the choices he made. Just as you have." Snart lifted his cold gun and pointed it directly at Barry's chest. "You think seeing their death is hell. You ain't seen nothing yet. Say goodbye to your powers, Flash."

Barry stared back at him. His eyes widened in horror. He tried to stop it. Not fast enough.

A small smile came to Snart's lips. "Oh, did we not make it clear? You're giving up. The Speed Force isn't there for you to use willy-nilly. It is force responsible for pushing space and time forward. An endless void of time and energy. We control you and your powers as much as you control the power of the speed force when we allow it to you. Just like in Flashpoint. You were losing your connection."

It replayed in Barry's head. How he ran towards Wally—Kid Flash—in Flashpoint, trying to keep him from falling into a dumpster. Spinning his arms in circles as quickly as he could, to create air vortexes that would catch Wally, Barry found himself slowly starting to lose his powers. His air vortexes didn't work, his speed kept him tripping and falling, his memories had slowly failed.

It was one thing to not have it in Flashpoint, an entirely other thing to affect his actual life.

Snart's cold gun started to emit a high-pitched squeal, powering up. "It was nice knowing you, Barry. You did the best you could, but it wasn't good enough." An ice blast shot toward Barry. Barry started to move but found himself shifted eight inches to the side. In the same second, a punch connected with the side of Snart's face, dropping him to the ground.

Jay turned back to Barry, placing his hands on his hips. "Okay, kid. Let's get you out of here." Barry gaped at him. Jay chuckled and shook his head, lightning bolts on his helmet gleaming. He read Barry's mind. "It's really me, kid. Don't look so freaked out."

"Wha…?" Barry shook his head. "How?"

"Cisco came to my Earth and told me what was happening," Jay explained. "How you came in here to take on the Speed Force. I came here to help. Let's go get Wally."

The cold gun whirled again. This time, when Snart got back to his feet, his face was twisted into an expression of intense disgust. An almost horrific mask of disappointment from the Speed Force to a speedster. He heaved, snorting like a bull, shoulders rapidly rising and lowering. "We can't let you do that, Barry," he warned.

"You keep telling me that you want me to tell you why I'm here," Barry snapped. "And that you can't let me leave. What is it that you really want?"

"We know the Speed Force is collapsing," Jay added, drawing Snart's eyes his way. "There's nothing that will make you happy will it? What is it that will keep the Speed Force from dying out?"

"Once Barry confronts the truth…" Snart trailed off, shrugging. "'I can't say what's going to happen."

Jay took in a deep breath and turned to Barry. "Sounds like you've got your answer, kid," he said gently.

Barry shook his head. "I don't…I don't know what they want. I don't know what the truth is."

"Yes, you do, Barry!" Snart insisted. He took a step forward. "Why are you in here?"

"To save Wally!" Barry shouted back, voice cracking. "I told you."

"That's not good enough! _Why_ are you in here?"

"I don't know!"

Barry let out a yell of frustrated fury. He brought his closed fists up to his eyes, pressed against his forehead. He tapped his fists against his forehead. Punched repeatedly. Shouted, screamed, ranted and raved. Released all the pent-up anger that had been within him since Flashpoint…for what felt like years.

Then he stopped. And lifted his chin. He looked Snart in the eye. Snart smiled and nodded. He lowered his cold gun and waved his hand to the door behind him. It unlocked by itself and opened.

"Well, that's a neat trick," Jay murmured. He glanced at Barry, who ignored the look and walked slowly into the room. Wally continued to look at the empty hospital bed then to the side and back repeatedly. "Wally?" Barry inched toward him. "Wally? Hey, Wally." He rubbed Wally's shoulder in a soothing circle.

Wally gasped and turned, breaking out of his trance. "Barry?" His eyes shifted towards the older speedster, who took off his helmet and nodded. Wally quickly wiped away his tears. "Jay?" Wally sniffled, looked towards the bed again. "I don't know, I…I saw my mom." His voice weakened at the end.

"I know," Barry replied. He swallowed hard, gripped Wally's shoulder tighter. Held onto him. Wouldn't know he was okay until he was out of the Speed Force. "I know. But you're free now. You don't have to watch it again. We're going home, alright? It's okay. We're going home."

Jay reached out and grasped Barry's shoulder the same way Barry had awakened Wally from his Speed Force slumber. "Sorry, kid," he said. "This is where I stay for a while."

"What?" Barry's eyebrows furrowed. "What are you talking about?"

"We both know that a speedster needs to take Wally's place. That's why I'm here." He looked Barry deep in the eye. "You know," he insisted.

And Barry did know. Still, he had to try and keep Jay as safe as the rest of them. "You already lived your hell when you were Zoom's prisoner."

"And you set me free and I owe you for that."

"-Jay—"

Jay set his helmet on the ground. He turned and grasped Barry's face, holding him the same way Henry used to hold him. The same look was as intense as Henry could ever give him. Filled with understanding and harsh parental concern. Jay's mind was never going to be changed. He gave Barry a tight-lipped smile. "I've run a hell of a race, but every marathon has a finish line. Time has come for me to cross it. But you, Barry, need to put an end to this once and for all and stop Savitar."

"How?"

"Be the Flash." He held Barry a moment longer, raising his eyebrows pointedly. Barry nodded back. He reached up his hands, placed it on top of Jay's and held still. And for that moment, just for that moment, it wasn't Jay and Barry, The Flash and The Flash, but Henry and Barry Allen.

A final farewell.

Barry took a step back. Jay picked up his helmet and handed it to Barry, pointing out the device attached to the underside of a lightning bolt. "Cisco told me that this would bring you back to them, a sort of tether," Jay explained, making Barry nod once again. Barry took the helmet and spun it in his hands, he glanced at Wally, who watched the exchange with a tinge of fear. "I'm going to get this back to you again. When I break you out of here."

Jay smiled. "See you soon, Flash."

Barry backed away, holding Jay's helmet tightly in his hands, before he and Wally raced off. Their last image of Jay staring down at the empty hospital bed. They ran through the Cortex, over and over until a breach opened. Seconds before Barry ran through with Wally seconds ahead of him, he saw Eddie, Ronnie, Kent, Cadence, Caitlin, and Snart all watching him go.

Barry faced forward once more, plunging himself through the vortex.

Heading back to his Earth…with the knowledge of who Savitar really was.

* * *

Across Central City, nestled between a Big Belly Burger and a Sprint Store, a fire broke out. Starting as a small flame that flickered along the ground—small enough that anyone would think a piece of Big Belly Burger garbage became trapped in the summer sun—it grew larger and larger as the seconds passed. Flames shot into the air and within it a darkened figure slowly stepped out.

Glancing at the flames that barely marred her clothes, Burnout stretched and rolled her neck. She looked to her side, noticing her companion wasn't with her, then turned back to the flames. She tilted her head aside then reached in. Once her fingers curled around something hard, she pulled hard, dragging Earth-2 Barry came flying out of the flames.

He stumbled, quickly caught his balance. He yelped, thrashing around to swat at the flames that covered the shoulders and hem of his cardigan. Burnout simply lifted her hand and snapped. The flames immediately dissipated, and Earth-2 Barry stopped jerking around, whipping his head back and forth to examine his clothing further. When he found himself to be safe, he let out a sigh of relief, shoulders slumping.

For the first time in years, Burnout smiled.

"That's the last time I let you teleport me between Earths. I think using a breach is much safer." Earth-2 Barry looked at her, noticed her smile and folded his arms. "I've been on enough cases to know the consequences of being burned alive and it is something I don't intend on doing. And I highly doubt the integrity of the clothes they have on this Earth can stand up to the quality of ours."

"You didn't have to wear any of the stuff from here," Burnout pointed out. She picked a stray piece of ash off her shoulder and crushed it between her fingers. "You could've continued wearing your own clothes."

"If we need to blend in, we need to dress the part," Earth-2 Barry insisted. Burnout lifted an eyebrow and turned on her heel, starting toward the street. Earth-2 Barry pulled his bag up his shoulder and hurried after her, the bag bobbing against her side. "You saw how they looked when they came to our Earth."

Burnout shrugged. "I didn't notice. I was a little busy."

Earth-2 Barry glanced at her and nodded. Silence stretched between them as they stepped onto the street and blended in with everyone that walked by. If anyone found her way to dress to be different or eye catching, they didn't show it. Everyone who passed by gave a friendly 'hello' and 'wave' making her look at them with suspicion.

Earth-2 Barry noticed and said under his breath, "It's not weird for people to be happy to see you here," he pointed out.

"Because here I'm not a criminal?" Burnout guessed. She shot him an amused smile then shook her head. "I wasn't thinking about that, I was just thinking…" she shrugged. "You know I can't go back there," she pointed out. "Even after all of this is over I can't go back."

"Would you even want to go back? What do you have waiting for you?"

Burnout paused, her eyebrows furrowing together. She sniffed and looked away. Earth-2 Barry lowered his chin. "Oh," he said quietly. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to bring him up. I forgot. I, uh, we can talk about something else."

"He hates me, you know."

"I'm sure he doesn't hate you."

"Wouldn't you hate your parents if they decided to leave you with no explanation and never saw you after that?" Burnout clenched her hands, flames flickering from between her fingers. "Believe me, he hates me." She lowered her head. "Last time we were here, I saw him…I saw the version of him here."

Earth-2 Barry looked at her in wonder. Watched as Burnout's face became etched with…if he had to guess—he didn't need to guess, he knew—it was of guilt. The one emotion he hadn't seen on her face in years, since her downward spiral into murder, assault, and extortion within the Assassination Bureau. She'd become a mask of what they'd made her and hadn't broken free from that mask in years. There were little glimpses of her real self here and there, of which he made sure to enjoy and savor in the few times they came.

It was gone in seconds, Burnout's face turning as hard as granite with an extremely subtle tension in her facial muscles. "He loves her, here."

"I know," Earth-2 Barry agreed. "I can see it. Barry…" he trailed off, not wanting to make things any harder for her. Instead, he reached out his hand to take hers. She noticeably moved it away, folding her arms over her chest. Kept herself a good distance away from him. "I know you feel it, too, that you've seen it."

"How do we know it's real?" Burnout shot back, eyes flashed. She stared him down, continuing forward as if no one else was around them. Completely ignoring the Central City Citizens that nearly had to throw themselves out of the way to not be run down by her. "How do we know any of what we feel or see now is real?"

"Because you knew how you felt before we mind-melded with them," Earth-2 Barry pointed out. "And if it weren't for that, you wouldn't have agreed to come with me."

"Yeah, well." Burnout hummed, conceding his point. "Once this is done, you don't have to worry about it anymore."

Earth-2 Barry sucked in a weary breath through his nose. He lowered his voice to a murmur. "There's a lot of things we need right now, but your 'go for broke' attitude is not it. Though, from what I've seen, it isn't exactly different from the version of you that's here, so…"

Burnout rolled her eyes. She averted the gaze of anyone who looked toward her and smiled, some stopping to say 'hi' and asking her how she was doing.

"You know, you don't have to hide your identity," Earth-2 Barry pointed out. "The doppelganger here isn't a criminal."

"Eh…" That wasn't quite true. It was just that she hadn't been convicted. Or even suspected of things she'd done. It was one thing that Burnout could say about the Assassination Bureau on her Earth, Breathtaker was just as good there as he was on Earth-2.

Flushing at his faux pas, Earth-2 Barry waved his hands frantically. "Well, I mean, other than...uh, I guess, that's not what I meant. Uh, I know some things may have happened here but—"

"—It's not that, Barry." He looked curious. "If she gets mixed up with Lana Lang here nearly as much as I do back home, it's better if I don't bring too much attention to myself. As if to prove her point, she reached up and quickly pulled her hair back into a ponytail, sliding a hat atop her hair.

"Okay, so…what name should I call you?"

"What? Burnout doesn't turn you on?" Burnout chuckled when Earth-2 Barry gave her a look. "Fine. You can call me Catherine Chandler."

Earth-2 Barry snorted. "Catherine?"

Burnout smiled for the second time in years.

* * *

 **A/N:** Before you all freak out, you WILL see the entirety of the Cadence/Jesse fight. But it won't be until the next chapter. This one is all about Barry, the next one is all about Cadence. And this is the point where my plans for the end of the season changes a lot of what happened on the show. I feel it's more dynamic and makes more sense the way I have it move, but if there's anything you're confused about please let me know and I'll try to make it clearer.

I miss writing Kent now that I (sort of) wrote him here. The one thing I would 100% change if I were to go back would be that I'd keep Kent alive. Because I think having him and Maya bounce off each other with Cadence's relationships with both would've been interesting as the show went on. Anyway, what'd you think?

I hope you enjoyed it.

 **Cheers,**

 **-Riley**

 **Review Replies**

 **DarkHelm145:** Writing Savitar is fun for me, but I can't wait for everyone to know because I have more fun writing him then and I hope you all would enjoy it as well. So, something to look forward to. But at least Barry knows now. (Sorry if this spoiled for anyone who may have jumped towards the bottom of the chapter).

 **Guest:** There's going to be a _lot_ of scenes with Savitar and Cadence coming, one is in the next chapter! So please stick around! :)

 **Ethan:** Yep, Savitar got a boost from Cade. But how long it lasts and whether the rest of the team other than HR will realize it themselves is an entirely other thing.


	48. Say It

**48**

 _Say It_

* * *

 _Get out of my head! Get out of my head!_

Cadence desperately repeated the mantra that previously lended her the ability to break free from the control Mindboggler and, by extension, Breathtaker had over her. It was a long shot, she knew by that point that Breathtaker would've increased her powers ten-fold, to make sure no one else broke free. He wasn't someone who gave up too easily and Mindboggler and Stratos had been his right-hand men from day one.

The ones that had dragged her into a world where she thought she was simply making money for a life for herself and her young son. How naïve to think she was simply getting addresses and working as a courier at the time. Truth be told, Cadence did have the slight thought that there was something nefarious about the whole situation.

Desperation made people do crazy things. Hence the mental pleading while Cadence's body moved on its own accord. She watched as Jesse threw every trick in the book, trying to take her down. Jesse threw lightning bolt after lightning bolt, working hard to strike Cadence with it each time.

Cadence simply held up her hand, conjuring fire to absorb the electricity, throwing it back at her. Jesse streaked away, moving as far back from the electrical blast as she could. Then she turned and ran around the practice room. Over and over, working up more speed to throw more electricity. Cadence watched her as she went, saw the look of horror in her eyes. Knew Jesse was working as hard to regain control of her body despite Mindboggler's power.

Mindboggler didn't need to be close to reach whomever she wanted to. An enhancement of the power, the one who was closest to Breathtaker. She received a recharge from him habitually, something Cadence had seen numerous times before. She knew if they were able to separate that link, it'd make it easier to take down Breathtaker. However, Mindboggler was always the defensive one, staying nearby Breathtaker to take on whomever came too close.

The other three were the ones who were the offensive, taking down and capturing everyone who got in their way. And, as far as Mindboggler could see, Jesse was in Cadence's way. Cadence resisted, pulling at her muscles when she felt them all sense at once, a sure sign she was about to launch herself forward. Cadence teleported across the room, using the wall as a spring board to project herself towards Jesse.

Jesse stopped on a dime and turned, swinging out her arm to throw another lightning bolt. Cadence teleported again, appearing behind Jesse, wrapping her arms around her neck. She teleported once more, flipping Jesse to the ground. Jesse grunted, falling against the practice mats, rolling across the ground. She got back to her feet and threw another punch, allowing Cadence to twist out of the way, flipping on her hands.

Upside down, Cadence continued to rotate on her hands, using her feet as projectiles towards Jesse. She kicked Jesse on the side of the face then flipped back to her feet, kicking her hard in the chest. Jesse crashed back into the wall behind her. Cadence grinned. "I thought you were supposed to be faster than that," she said. Mindboggler's voice. Not Cadence's. "How disappointing it must be to be a speedster and not be fast enough."

Jesse gritted her teeth. "We'll see who's fast enough," She declared, bringing up her fists to shield her face. She stared to run, but instead of conjuring lighting this time, she used it to rapid-fire punch Cadence across the face and chest, sending her back. Jesse would speed after her, using her enhanced speed to slow down Cadence's trajectory. Jesse stopped Cadence from teleporting when she saw smoke gathering, using it to determine where to hit Cadence next.

Cadence flew back and forth in slow motion as Jesse continued her onslaught against her. Finally, Jesse made a mistake. She got close enough to punch Cadence again, giving the fire metahuman the chance to wrap her arms around the speedster. Using her enhanced strength, she wrapped Jesse in a bear hug, holding her close to her chest.

Tighter.

Tighter.

 _Cr-ack._

Jesse groaned, everything sped up. The two twisted and crashed into the wall behind them. Cadence held a grasp on Jesse so tight that when they hit and crashed to the ground, she continued to hold onto her. Cadence then lifted Jesse overhead and threw her to the opposite wall of the gym. Cadence teleported after her, used fire to project herself forward and rammed her shoulder into Jesse's chest, driving her further into the wall she crashed into.

"Gah!" Jesse cried. She gasped for air before she was grabbed by the neck and heaved back to the ground. Cadence stood over her and kicked Jesse hard in the side.

 _Cr-ack!_

This time, the sound of ribs breaking was unmistakable. Jesse screamed in pain, falling limp in Cadence's arms. Cadence lowered her to the ground, watching for Jesse to make another feeble attempt to attack. It happened sooner than she'd thought. Cadence took the punch that came her way and grabbed Jesse's wrist.

 _Tssss._

It took a second for the light that shone in Cadence's eyes to reflect on Jesse's face. Cadence watched Jesse's face first twist in confusion then abject pain. Jesse's screams filled the air as Cadence watched her. While her body moved casually, her mind screamed in fear. _Stop. Let her go! Stop it!_

Mindboggler never responded, but Cadence could tell she was gleefully taking part in the horror playing in front of them. Gleefully watching as Cadence burned Jesse's wrist; burned through a suit that was to resist the friction of running at top speed and withstand the temperatures of fires that firefighters ran through on a daily basis. Burned through the skin that the suit melted to.

Cadence stared into Jesse's eyes, watching as she screamed in pain. As the skin and muscles on her arm melted away to bone. The nearby skin blistering and crisping from the sheer vicinity of the heat. Cadence then conjured a fire whip with her free hand and wrapped it around Jesse's neck. Instead of burning her neck, the flames tempered to a gentle warmth. Releasing her wrist, Cadence used both hands to grab the whip, placed one foot against Jesse's chest, and leaned back, using her body weight and straightened arms to choke her.

She pulled and pulled, watching Jesse's eyes bulge behind her dominoes mask, watched her face turned a bright pink then dark red as the seconds passed. A low, guttural swallowing sound escaped Jesse as she struggled to breathe, whimpering and writhing from the pain of her wrist. Cadence continued to hold onto her until she felt her entire body relax.

Felt Mindboggler's hold on her release at the same time security alarms along STAR Labs started to blare. Cadence gasped and released her hands, the fire whip immediately falling away. "Jesse? Oh my God." She gathered Jesse in her arms, holding her close to her body. Tears came to her eyes. "I'm sorry, Jesse. I'm so sorry."

Jesse gasped, shaking her head. "It's not your fault," she whispered. "I know you wouldn't do it." She hissed when Cadence wrapped her hand around Jesse's burnt wrist, healing it. The alarms continued to blare. "Someone's in here," she said. "We have to see."

Cadence nodded and ducked her head under Jesse's arm, hauling her to her feet. Despite their powers working together to accelerate Jesse's healing, the internal and mental pain wasn't going to go away anytime soon. There were many times Cadence felt the 'phantom pain' of her fingers and hand being knocked clean off at multiple points in battle. The only difference being that she still had her limb, compared to others whose had been amputated.

Once she was sure Jesse was steady against her side, Cadence teleported to the Cortex. She raced to the computers and looked through the security system, all the while cursing Cisco under her breath. "You'd think with all the time he spends here he'd put up a working system."

"What about the others?" Jesse asked anxiously. "And Savitar?"

"You're not in any condition to go after Savitar right now," Cadence replied, looking at her sister over her shoulder. "Besides, it's not a coincidence Savitar attacked at the same time Mindboggler was taking control of us."

She continued to look through the security systems, watching with intense irritation when she saw White Hot teleport into the Cortex and lean over the very same computer the exact way Cadence was in that moment. Cadence felt her temper flare, watching her navigate to something and then stick a memory stick into the computer. Then the computer sparked the second the memory stick was removed. White Hot waved toward the security camera before teleporting.

Cadence cursed under her breath, navigating through the files on the computer, Jesse leaning close to her side. "Why go through all the trouble of that fight if they weren't going to at least have us kill each other?" Jesse asked, rubbing her wrist. The skin had healed back fast, it was still a bright pink, flakes of skin falling off as she rubbed at it.

Almost as if she'd simply gotten a mild unburn.

"Cause they didn't need us," Cadence pointed out. "If they did, they would've had us kill each other within seconds. Mindboggler was just having some fun, showing us what she could do. They needed something else."

"What?"

"The only thing Breathtaker would find useable," Cadence explained. She pulled up the metahuman encyclopedia Caitlin had been working on. Tried to. The computer put up an error code the second she tried. Cadence backed out of it and tried a different way to go inside, receiving the same error code once more. She ran a hand through her hair, letting out a low breath. "Breathtaker wants to take on as many metas as he can into his fold and the only way he can do that is if he can see what their abilities are."

"He wants to make an army?" Jesse asked.

"Not in the way you're thinking. Too many people he can't handle. He doesn't need to handle those that are just going to be fighting to the death. Most of these are the same ones that we knew Alchemy had turned into metas in Flashpoint."

"What happens if he gets them?"

"They'll just be obstacles for us to go through," Cadence said. "If he doesn't sell them to Amunet, anyway. Though I can't believe what she'd pay him with. For those he decides to keep…he can take their abilities and do whatever he wants with them."

"And that's why he had you?" Jesse asked. Cadence looked at her sister out the corner of her eye. "Did he take your powers?"

"No," Cadence admitted. She lowered her head. "He enhanced them. Just as he did with Breathtaker's and Stratos's." A wry smile came to her lips. "There was only so much I could do to learn my powers on my own. Especially when I was eight years old who had to squeeze it in between school, cheerleading, soccer, piano, horseback riding and whatever other events my parents dragged me to. It's a wonder I didn't cause more damage."

"So that fire back in Smallville? The one that took out all those crops, burned those farms?"

"That was me," Cadence admitted. Finally spoke the truth about a part of her past she'd kept hidden. Amongst other things, that she'd managed to throw even Oliver and Felicity off her trail once they'd confronted her about it years before. "It was easy to get there; teleportation was one of the first parts of my power I learned. It made it easier to get to my practices and activities on time. As for the fire…well…there was already so much going on in Smallville with the 'meteor rocks' that I didn't have to worry too much when it came to being caught. There's one thing I can say about my parents, though, they were smart enough to put it all together. Faster than any of the police were able to do."

"What'd they do?"

"The same thing they always did; worked hard to hide it, acted like it didn't exist. Let's just say that when they kicked me out because of Brady, it wasn't the first time I'd been sent away." Cadence frowned and rubbed her forehead, pinched at the bridge of her nose. "They do a really good job of making things go away when they needed to."

"So, he amplified your powers," Jesse said slowly. Working to figure things out.

"He does the same with anyone that comes to work under him. We're the four that would protect him; me, Stratos, Mindboggler, and Incognito. Once I left, he replaced me with White Hot. Incognito Sacrificed himself and now wants Brady."

"Because of a similar power set," Jesse realized.

Cadence nodded. She couldn't believe it had taken her so long to realize that was the danger Brady was in the moment he'd received his powers. Didn't think that Breathtaker would make sure to know that someone who was invincible to everything started to come into their own. Should've known considering how hard he worked to keep her around, from how much he promised that once she finished her duties he'd leave them alone.

"So what did he want with the encyclopedia?"

"He wanted information on all of the metas we've found and know about," Cadence said. She closed her eyes, slowly figuring it out. "So, he can recruit more people on his side once things go sour. He wants as many people between him and us stopping him as he can."

Silence stretched between them for a few moments. Jesse watched Cadence who watched the computer screen, working to keep back her guilt. Too many memories came to mind. Too many lives affected.

Too many lives lost.

" _Can_ we stop him? He has just about every power known to man, has four people protecting him all the time. If I couldn't even stop you—"

"—You had no chance of stopping me," Cadence interrupted, unable to keep a smug smile from her face.

"—Then how are all of us going to stop him?"

"We've done it before," Cadence reminded her. Then paused. Jesse hadn't been there then. Hadn't known about her then. Didn't know about Breathtaker and everything that had gone on with him when she first came into Barry's, Caitlin's, and Cisco's lives.

 _"I don't want to talk to you," he said under his breath. He truly didn't. Despite having come up with a plan to try to break out of their captivity, he couldn't let her off the hook that easily. He couldn't forgive her that easily. There were too many unforgiveable things she had done. Too many things he couldn't think about without shaking with rage. Stay calm, Barry. Don't lose control._

 _"You don't have to," she said. "I just need you to listen."_

 _"I don't want to listen either." Barry continued to hold his hands over his mouth, tapping his feet up and down. He didn't allow his heels to fall onto the ground, allowing his feet to move faster and faster as the seconds passed. He felt like breaking out and running as fast as his feet could carry him. To allow himself to run away from the anger and frustration that continued to pulse through his body. To allow himself to finally get away from the things haunting him._

 _If only I hadn't been taken over by Bivolo,_ _he thought. If he hadn't allowed himself to think he could handle thing so his own, to think that he hadn't been whammied by Bivolo at all, things would be different. He would be in a better headspace to come to terms with everything that had come his way within the last couple of hours. He had been followed. Stalked. Watched by someone he thought was growing to be a great friend all so in the end he and Dr. Wells would be captured and killed. None of this would be happening right now. I would have seen this coming._

 _"I know that you feel that I've done the worst thing," Cadence said. Barry snorted but the fire metahuman continued undeterred. "But right now I don't want you to think about that. I want to be able to make things right." She paused, waiting for a reaction. "I know how you feel; with what I've learned recently…I feel like everything I've ever known is a lie. And I know I've made you feel like that too. A lot of my decisions were very selfish and I'm sorry but it wasn't all my fault. I didn't have a choice most of the time."_

 _"You tried to kill me!" Barry broke out, cutting her off. "That's so much worse than hearing your parentage is different. I had to sit there and listen to them tell me how you were trying to set me up to be killed. How you were waiting for the right moment to do that! And to Dr. Wells! When we've done nothing but try to help you this entire time!" He laughed an incredulous, cruel laugh before shaking his head, turning his gaze to the ground. One thing he had to say positively, she was dedicated to give her point of view, to prove to him that she was indeed sorry._

 _Still, Barry was stubborn._

 _It was going to take more than that._

 _"Barry." Cadence grabbed onto Barry's arm and turned him around. Her eyes shone meaningfully as they searched his when she forced him to face her. "You don't have to trust me; I honestly don't blame you that you don't. But I need your help."_

 _"Why?"_

 _"Because it's the only way that Central City will be saved."_

 _Barry looked back into her eyes and found nothing but sincerity and loyalty. She truly did want to make things right. "How am I supposed to know you're not going to turn around and stab me in the back again?" He breathed._

 _"Because when this is all over, I'll tell you everything," Cadence said. "I'll tell you when I got to Central City, why I came here, why I lied about it. Everything. You may not trust me, you may not even forgive me, but you have to believe everything I'm saying. I want to be able to make this right. None of this would've happened if it weren't for me. But none of this can be over without me, I know how the Assassination Bureau works and I have an idea to take them down. But I need your help."_

 _She held out her hand, her eyes boring into Barry's._

 _Barry looked back at her, took a deep breath and grasped her hand in his, shaking it firmly._

 _She was right. He didn't have to trust her, but he had to believe that they were going to save the city._

"That's not what I'm asking," Jesse pointed out. She grasped her sister's arm and turned her to face her. Jesse's green eyes shifted, taking in Cadence's blue-green ones. Gentle eyes, very much unlike her _real_ sister's—Burnout's. "Can we stop them now?"

Cadence took in a deep breath through her nose. Hesitated. Deep in her heart, she hoped they could. But, didn't know for sure. After a while, hope didn't keep you going. Hope became obsolete. Hope was a cruel trick that was successful at the worst of times and a failure at the best. She hadn't had much hope for a long time.

It was what she leaned on Barry for. He was one of the most hopeful people she knew. The one who had continued to hold out that his father was going to be released from jail, that it was all just a misunderstanding. He held onto that thought for over ten years and was eventually proven right. What could be proven right when, for all intents and purposes, she should be the one who was living out the rest of her life in jail?

When she knew the only way Breathtaker would finally go away, would finally leave her alone would be when either of them was dead. And it appeared he was going to keep going no matter what they came up with to stop him. He was much too powerful. The last time they'd stopped him, he'd been testing them.

She knew that now.

Has been waiting to see the strength of power they all had. Used that information to get to the point they were currently at. Specifically, to use Savitar against them later. It was funny how clear things were in hindsight, compared to being in the moment.

"And with Caitlin being on his side, too? And Savitar…?"

 _"Silence!" Breathtaker cried._

 _With an invisible hand he pulled down a balcony that hung off the side of the building above and sent it crashing upon her. He then turned his attention back towards Barry, who stared at Breathtaker in surprise. He wasn't surprised to see him turn on her like that; he had turned on so many of his workers already._

 _But in such a brutal manner?_

 _"Let's see how you deal with me, Flash. I can assure you I won't be so easy to defeat."_

 _With Breathtaker, Oliver, Roy, and the Burning Man faced off against Breathtaker with Barry standing back a little bit, being used when up close attacks would be helpful. No matter the amount of arrows the archers managed to put into the metahuman, he managed to keep going, using his invisible hands to blast them out of his body, turn around in midair, and shoot back towards Oliver and Roy. The Burning Man zoomed around with his fire projection, shooting waves of fire over at Breathtaker when he got the chance, which managed to get him every now and then while other times Breathtaker shot it back towards him, knocking him backwards though he managed to stay in the air. The Flash then moved forward and shot a barrage of punches at Breathtaker, but found that he wasn't making a lot of progress, feeling nothing under the cloak. And yet, he could still see Breathtaker's hands coming out from underneath the cloak as well as his white eyes that glowed towards them as well._

 _Suddenly, Barry felt himself lifted up and thrown once more. He crashed into the ground then felt a barrage of punches blast over his face and chest, causing him to cough and spit out blood onto the ground._

 _"Now you know how it feels," Breathtaker remarked. "Though you feel more pain than I'll ever be able to feel." He then turned back the other way and Roy, Oliver, and the Burning Man felt an invisible arm strike them in the stomach, knocking them off their feet._

 _Cadence then came into the fray; sending wave after wave of fire towards Breathtaker, her eyes alight with the power that she worked to control. Every now and then her fire continuously changed colors form an orange-red to a blood red and back again with the power hat she continued to put out. Nevertheless, her ruthless fighting spirit continued to drive her forward as she bounced back from every attack that came her way. Round and round the heroes went, doing the best they could to take down Breathtaker._

 _But his power proved to be too formidable for them as he continued to use his powers to brutally beat each of them. No matter the amount of arrows Oliver and Roy sent their way, he would find a way to break them in midair or not seem to have any affect whenever they struck him. Even tag-teaming him as they moved in close with their martial arts training didn't do anything as no matter the solid punches they managed to get, it didn't appear to do any damage._

 _The Burning Man continued to swirl around Breathtaker, shooting fire towards the metahuman whenever he got the chance. At some points he would team up with Flash Fire to use their combined efforts of power to take him down. However, that continued to be fruitless. At one point she managed to get a solid strike towards Breathtaker. As he turned his back towards her, her fire attack seemed to bounce off an invisible barrier and shot back towards her._

 _Barry zipped over towards her and lifted her up into his arms in a bridal style carry and took her over to his friends as they gathered on the other side of the clearing. "Good timing," Cadence remarked as Barry set her down._

 _"What are we going to do now?" Roy asked, breathing heavily, hand held on his stomach that had started to bleed once more. He leaned heavily on Oliver's side. "None of this seems to be working."_

 _"Neither of us have dealt with something like this in Starling City," Oliver remarked. He looked over at Roy. "The only way we're going to take him down is if we can overload his power in some way."_

 _"Overload his power?" Barry repeated. He couldn't see how that was going to help. The only time that worked before was when he had been going against Blackout and even then, there were some drawbacks. He had gotten his powers stripped away for an undetermined amount of time, and he had felt nothing more than useless. No matter the amount of training that he received from Dr. Wells, it didn't appear that he would be able to beat this guy._

 _No obvious reason, anyway._

 _He…he just had to go faster somehow. To stop Breathtaker before he found a way to use his mojo on them. Even then the villain was waiting for them to get their bearings together, like it was some sort of a game they were playing. His arrogance was palpable and that infuriated Barry even more._

 _"I just…" he brought his hands up to his head. "I just need to go faster, somehow."_

 _"Pyro-Electrokinesis!" Cadence suddenly cried. Barry turned to her in confusion. "Pryo-Electrokinesis. Remember that one metahuman that could control electricity that attacked the school? When we found out that I could control fire-electric manipulation. You need more speed right?"_

 _A figurative light bulb appeared over Barry's head and he nodded as he turned back to Breathtaker, who continued to fight Oliver, Roy, and the Burning Man. He seemed to have the upper hand and if they were going to defeat this guy, they had to try everything._

 _"Let's do it, Flash Fire," he agreed._

 _"You go it, Flash," Cadence replied._

 _The veins on her arms started to glow once more as she rubbed her gloved hands together as fast and as hard as she could. Little bolts of electricity flickered from her palms as she continued to do so. Barry crouched low, placing his hands on the ground in a runner's start, steadying his breathing. Cadence continued to rub her hands together as the crackles of electricity continued to increase. Then, she brought her hands back and threw the electric filled fire towards Barry. He closed his eyes as the heat wrapped around him, suddenly glad to remember that Cisco had originally designed it as a suit to aid the fire fighters. He felt the heat and electricity get absorbed by his body._

 _When he opened his eyes, he felt the intense power that came from the electricity. Lightning flashed through his eyes and he shot forward, running in a tight circle around Breathtaker, taking Cadence's fire along with it. Oliver, Roy, and the Burning Man stepped back, watching as Barry continued to circle around the metahuman. Around and around he went, taking in the fire and electricity as he swirled around until he was a yellow blur. All of a sudden, the electricity that shot around the makeshift tornado combined into one giant bolt of lightning that struck Breathtaker, launching him across the clearing and onto the ground. It took Barry a few moments to come to a stop, falling to his knees._

 _Breathing heavily, he brought his hand up and pulled down his hood before falling back onto the ground. He looked up as Cadence hurried over, falling to her knees beside him. She reached up and pulled her goggles down around her neck. A smile slid onto her face as she gazed down at his soot covered face._

 _"You did it, Barry!" She cried, grabbing onto his shoulders and shaking him. "You did it!"_

 _Barry smiled and nodded, unable to find the words that would accurately show his happiness to know that they had finally managed to save the city. He reached up and wrapped his arms around Cadence and she hugged him back just as tightly._

 _It was finally over._

How naïve to think that they had taken him down then. How utterly sick. So sick, Cadence could feel it, starting in her stomach and rumbling through her body. Felt her arms and legs become weighted down. Closed her eyes. Knew what was coming. When Breathtaker got a hold of someone, there was no means of backing away from it.

Jesse's voice trailed off. Started to become faint as the seconds passed. Until it was like she wasn't speaking at all. Her mouth moved but no words came out.

The room started to darken around her.

Cadence could only close her eyes and bring a hand to her chest. Her heart raced. Faster and faster. As if she'd been hit by lightning.

"Cade…? Are you okay?"

Again, she was back in the darkness. Where there was nothing around her but blackness. No matter where she looked, the darkness continued to darken. Encompassing her like a wrap, freezing her in place. She wasn't alone. She could feel Breathtaker's presence along with her.

"Last chance, my child," Breathtaker said, causing Cadence to turn toward him. "All of this could be avoided if you were to join me, as you're destined to.

"No," Cadence replied.

Breathtaker sighed and reached up, lowering his hood. Showing off his true self to her. Cadence's eyebrows rose, taking in the pale white skin that glowed like a beacon within the darkness around them. Didn't look imposing in anyway, and yet she had to quell the intense sensation of horror that befell her. Horror in seeing the man who had taken over numerous years of her life. Because it hit her then that he had no intention of letting her go without killing her.

"Who are you?" She asked. "That's the least you can tell me," she remarked. "Who you really are?"

Breathtaker nodded. "I'm everything and nothing," he explained. "I'm the embodiment that can start and stop everything in existence. I have watched as the years have gone by, watched as everything continues to fall within the same cycle. Those who are utterly powerless have the most power and those who are the most powerful…" he sucked in a deep breath, closing his eyes as he did so. Relishing in the darkness around him. "I have watched the rise and fall of civilization. It all works out the same way, once you strip the power of those who are at the top of the hierarchy, they become sniveling quivering messes. Pathetic shells of man.

"My child, you can help make everything greater. Your powers are not of destruction. They're of renewal. Even the toughest flame can't be burnt out by life. Life has a way to ensure regrowth. Even when following blind leaders and the false Gods you continue to follow."

"You're the one who joined with Savitar," Cadence spat back, shaking her head. "You were the one who decided to work with him. The so-called Speed God."

"Anyone can call themselves God," Breathtaker pointed out.

"Is that what you call yourself?"

"God isn't a strong enough word. I've been called many things over the longevity of my life. God has not been anything I've identified very well with. I'm born from death and dead by life. I continue to set in motion the regrowth that's needed for the correct civilization.

"And if things don't work out that way?"

"Then there will be many that will fall." He shrugged. Looked like he was about to roll his eyes but continued to study her closely. Cadence wasn't surprised. Breathtaker was never one for much emotions, let alone ones he deemed to be 'unnecessary'. "There's always someone who will fall when you're working to make the world a better place."

"Sacrifices."

"If you want to call it that."

"You're giving me one last chance?" Cadence then took the time to eye him warily. It struck her then, what he was so insistent on having her for. "Because you need me. And Brady. You need him to make sure you're unable to die…and you need me because you know what I can do."

"And what is it that you can do, my child."

"I can kill you. You're afraid of that. You're afraid one of your 'protectors' are going to be the one to take you down, you know I'm it. Because I'm not your puppet anymore, you're afraid I'll get the chance to take you down. You want Brady to ensure I don't go against you."

Breathtaker replaced his hood. "There's always casualty in war, my child," he reminded her. Cadence stared at him. At the glowing eyes that used to hold her captive. At the glowing eyes she was slowly yet surely breaking free of. "Does it keep you up? Knowing there's always going to be someone coming after your child?"

"It's my worst nightmare," Cadence admitted. Not just for Brady. Not anymore. But for Leah and Connor and Alicia and Frankie and all the other children and teens who were affected by metahumans in some way. Knowing they were as indispensable to him as they were…it kept her going just as much as it kept her up at night.

"What do you do when you wake up to it?"

"I sorry for the idiot who decides to get between me and my kids."

Breathtaker chuckled a dark, dry chuckle. As dry as October leaves on a November wind. "I've warned you before, you are one of the keys to cleansing the Earth. I'm not going to rest until it's achieved. Even if I have to kill you for it, for betraying me, I shall do that."

"You already went and found my replacement," Cadence pointed out. "In White Hot. You can have her. You can't have my son."

"I'm sure you won't feel that way once you realize who White Hot truly is," Breathtaker remarked. Cadence hesitated. Did she dare to fall into his trap? It was something she'd always wanted to know? Who was the fire metahuman that plagued her as much as the rest of the Assassination Bureau had? Who would willingly sell their soul like that? "I'm sure you remember a Michael Bloom?" he remarked.

Cadence took a step back.

"You two were quite the pair when you were working for me. And yet, I should've known you were finding solace in each other, in knowing you were doing something questionable for the children in your lives. But what happens, my child, when all your hard work of making them into nice people, into _model citizens_ fails either way? Was all your hard work for nothing?"

"Hailey?" Cadence murmured. She hadn't thought of that name in a long time. Hadn't thought of the little girl she'd taken care of a few nights a week when Michael Bloom became too unnumbered, too sucked into his work with Breathtaker to take care of her. Had almost forgotten about her. "How'd you know about Hailey? About her powers?"

 _She_ hadn't known of her powers, let alone it being another fire metahuman.

"The same way I knew about yours." He watched as Cadence slowly fell into her mounting horror. "It's only a matter of time," he warned. "I've warned you. I wasn't going to be as forgiving the second time around."

"You're using her."

"To serve a greater purpose."

"How long have you been there?" Cadence demanded. She glared straight into Breathtaker's eyes. "How long have you been following me?"

Breathtaker smiled. He reached out a hand and pushed her hair from her forehead. "Since the beginning."

…

..

.

Cadence sucked in a shuddering breath, her eyes flying open. She felt a hand moving over her hair and shoved it aside, moving to scramble backwards. The hand then fell to her cheek. Warm and soft, gently stroking the skin.

"Hey, hey, it's just me," Barry's voice whispered. Cadence looked at him, relaxed against the pillows behind her. Barry continued to stroke her cheek, continuing to whisper to her. He put his face close to hers, allowed his breath to move over her face. His eyelashes fluttered against her cheek like a butterfly's kiss. "It's me. You're okay."

"What happened?" Cadence asked. She pulled her head back and looked around. "Jesse?"

"She's okay," Barry reassured her. "She's in the Cortex with the others."

"Brady—"

"—He's with them, too."

"But, Savitar, what happened?"

Barry didn't respond. He simply continued to stroke her cheek. Tilting his head, he looked at her, eyes shifting back and forth over her face. Cadence looked back at him, slowly yet surely relaxing. Breathtaker wasn't there. He was gone. And yet, there was enough there to know things weren't getting any better, no matter how close they were getting to Savitar. He planned on killing them all when he had the chance.

What was stopping him?

"Savitar got away," Barry explained. He ducked his head, shaking it warily. "He took Wally into the Speed Force. He's trapped there." Cadence gasped. "And it's…it's my fault," he said. "If I were faster I could've gotten to him in time but…"

"We'll find a way to get him out." Cadence started to sit up, already feeling her strength coming back.

Barry moved his hand from her hair and dropped it to her shoulder, firmly held her down. "We can't do anything yet," he explained. "Not until we figure out how to get in there. Until then, it'd be too dangerous. We don't even know if he can get out."

Cadence turned away, bringing her hands up to her forehead. It was her fault. She should've been able to break free from Mindboggler. Had she been able to, she could've been there to stop it from happening. She should've been stronger.

Why wasn't she strong enough?

"If anyone should feel guilty about it, it's me," Barry pointed out, reading her mind.

Cadence smiled a little. "Guess we'll just have to live with it," She murmured. "Having all the powers in the world but still being unable to help people. Being unable to stop more people from getting hurt."

"Feeling the most powerless," Barry agreed. Cadence looked at him out the corner of her eye. Powerless…? It wasn't a strange choice of words, if she were being honest. But…Barry reached up and ran a hand over his face. "It's exactly how I felt…when dad was in prison. I learned everything I needed to learn to help him, I became a CSI to prove his innocence and…even then I still couldn't help him."

"What happens to Wally if he's in the Speed Force too long?" Cadence asked.

Barry shrugged. "I don't know."

"I think that's the first time I ever heard you say that," she teased.

"Hopefully, it'll be the last." Barry leaned forward and pressed a long kiss to the side of her head. "Get some rest. I'll come check on you later." He stared to back away, his hand slipping from her shoulder. He moved to stand up from his chair. Cadence lifted her hand, allowing his to drop over hers.

The seconds their hands connected, Cadence stilled. Her eyebrows furrowed together. Then, quick as the Flash, she lifted her foot and kicked between Barry's legs. Barry opened his legs, leaning back to keep himself from receiving too much damage, making Cadence's foot strike the front of his seat. The force of her kick propelled his chair across the floor and into the wall behind him.

Silence stretched between them as they watched each other.

Barry tilted his head once he came to a stop. He didn't appear annoyed or concerned. Didn't appear startled from the way Cadence had kicked him across the room. He merely smiled back at her, the corner of his lips turning up in a smirk.

Cadence continued to stare at him. Slowly, so slowly, concluding she, intuitively, already knew. Her eyes flickered to his hand. The same hand that had reacted when she touched him, but in a sinister way. Different. It didn't feel like home. Familiar, but not home. Didn't spark the same way. Her eyes lifted to his once more. Barry reached up the offending hand and ran it through his hair.

He brought his hand back down to his lap, rested his arm son his legs, leaned toward her. "Go ahead," he whispered. Taunted. "Say it."

"You're Savitar," Cadence murmured.

Savitar nodded in confirmation.

* * *

 **A/N:** Oh, cliffhangers are so much fun for me. What'd you think? There's plenty more coming soon. And, awesome, I finally got two updates for you guys, one to make up for last week and one that's on tim!

I hope you enjoyed it.

 **Cheers,**

 **-Riley**

 **Review Replies**

 **DarkHelm145:** What'd you think about this ending? I hope it was just as good. Lol.

 **Ethan:** Earth-2 Barry isn't a criminal, Cadence is. She can't go back to Earth-2 because he broke her out of prison, since that was the last time we saw the two of them together. Hope you enjoyed the fight. There's more coming in, but I was just glad to do some JesseCade sisterly bonding, even if it was after Cade almost killed her, lol.


	49. Cause and Effect

**49**

 _Cause and Effect_

* * *

"Is this the right place?" Maya asked. She made a face, stumbling as her stiletto heel got caught in a sidewalk crack before entering the science building of Central City University.

Tess reached out a hand and steadied her friend. She smoothed her hair back from her face and said, "Yes, this is the right place. And forgive me for saying so, but I don't think high-heels are appropriate for a science building let alone for walking across campus."

Maya looked at her with wide, disbelieving eyes. "They're Prada!"

"We can talk about your shoe preferences and their misplace in science later," Harrison interrupted. His eyes shifted behind his glasses, taking in each face that passed the group. "Right now, we need to find Ms. Brand."

"She's always working on some sort of experiment," Tess explained. "Always working on some new idea as she works to defend her She's bound to be in one of these labs." She pumped open the door of the science building and the group walked inside. HR, at the side of the group, was edged out from them as they passed through the doors. But he continued to, practically, skip along behind them, undeterred.

HR sucked in a breath, making his chest swell and said, "Ah, the soul sucking fluorescents of academia." Then he let it out and added, "Yes, it's exciting. It's like meeting Norbert before he was Einstein."

"Norbert?" Maya repeated, perfectly sculpted eyebrows crinkling together.

"Yeah, you know Einstein," HR agreed. He looked back and forth between the three friends with him. "You know, _Einstein!_ One of the most well-known and famous scientists of our time!"

"He wasn't part of our time," Harrison explained. "He's been dead for over hundreds of years." He suddenly stopped walking, sniffing the air. Tess, Maya, and HR all turned toward him, watching as he continued to sniff the air, looking around. Alarm rang over his face when his eyes locked onto a nearby classroom door. He grabbed onto a nearby fire extinguisher and burst into the classroom, spraying a white cloud over the burning pile sitting on a Bunsen burner.

As he did so, a figure popped up from behind the counter, welder's mask on. She squealed in surprise and dismay, watching her experiment get put out. "Hey!" She cried. "What are you doing?" She lifted her welder's mask and stared at the group. "That was my work."

"I hate to break it to you," Maya remarked, looking at the smoldering pile. "But I don't think it's going to pass."

"I had it under control." The woman's finger slipped against the trigger of the blow torch, setting it off once more. At first, the flame was invisible, a shimmering mass that filled the air. Then the color filled in, reds, oranges, yellows, and a hint of blue, that sparked out like a bayonet.

The sudden sound and appearance of the flame made everyone jump. Tess moved forward and grabbed the blowtorch, quickly taking it away from the woman. "Let's just get that away from before you burn off your eyebrows," she remarked. "I don't know if you know, they take a while to grow back."

"And it's the part of the makeup routine that takes the longest to do," Maya added. Tess looked at Maya and gently rolled her eyes, smiling a little.

Harrison gazed into the bucket that the fire had been burning from. His eyes narrowed, scanning over the contents inside. Then, without lifting his chin, he lifted his eyes to land on the woman. "Did you set that fire yourself?" He asked in a low voice.

The woman nodded. ""Yes, I'm burning everything."

"What?" was the unanimous response.

The woman leaned to the side and grabbed a sheet of paper, shoving it into the bucket. Then she reached back and did the same. "My work," she explained. "I don't know why they call it work because none of it works."

Harrison cleared his throat, placing his hands on his hips. "Dr. Brand-"

"Just Tracy," The woman quickly interrupted. "I failed my dissertation, so I'm not a doctor. And I never will be." She laughed a humorless laugh. "Nothing like ten years down the drain and a pile of debt as a legacy."

Tess gave her a sympathetic look, immediately relaxed her shoulders and allowed herself to appear softer. A subtle change in the wary way she'd been holding herself before. There were many ways to make other people feel comfortable when in their presence and changing body language certainly was one of them. Tess lowered her voice to a warm murmur as she said, "We were hoping you had a moment to talk."

"No," Tracy said quickly. She continued to shove papers into the trash can. "My bus leaves in five minutes." She paused, looking into the bucket. Her upper lip curled as she poked at the smoldering pieces. "I hope I didn't burn my bus ticket."

"Where are you going?" Maya asked.

"Big Belly Burger." Tracy's voice was flat, indicative of how much she did _not_ want to go to Big Belly Burger. "I hear they're hiring."

"What about your research?" Harrison asked.

Tracy let out a bark of sarcastic laughter. "You mean my unsubstantiated and transactional inquiry into the purely suppositional nature of extradimensional energy?"

Silence stretched over the room. Not just because of the very calm nature that she explained her thesis, but also from how impressive it was, to those that understood it. Finally, Maya was the one who asked a tentative, "Yes?"

"A waste of time," Tracy said, becoming animated once more. She waved hand overhead before bringing her fingers up to do air quotes. "Or as Dr. Hirsch puts it 'a total misapplication of the university's resources'."

Harrison rolled his eyes. "Dr. Hirsch is an idiot," he remarked.

Tray seemed to concede his point, but said, "I may as well start practicing. Do you want fries with that?"

"Yes," HR said, eagerly.

"No," Harrison broke in at the same time.

HR ignored him and took a step towards Tracy. "Look, don't let the naysayers get you down. Your doubts are traitors." He gestured towards the science room they stood in. "Don't let your mind, which is too fine to waste, be used on nothing short of fast food—"

"You can't give up," Tess broke in. She waved off HR, who turned to her and started to say something about her being 'very rude' for interrupting his 'inspirational speech'. "Your work on relativistic quantum mechanics and its application to interspatial theory to manipulate matter on a subatomic level is groundbreaking."

Tracy eyed the four warily. She took a step back, slowly moving her hands up in front of her, as if to procure a barrier that'd keep them far away. Her hands shook. Eyes shifted from face to face. "I haven't shared my hypothesis with anyone other than my therapist. How'd you know that?"

Harrison grimaced and exchanged a look with HR. The easiest, and quickest, explanation was one Tracy probably wouldn't believe. That Harrison had his body taken over by an entity from the future who knew everything that was going to happen, which had been merged with Harrison's own experiences and subconscious. Of which had been shared with HR and Harry when the three mind-melded as well. That was the sort of explanation that would have Tracy call them crazy and head for the hills.

Or, Big Belly Burger as it were.

Harrison took in a breath and licked his lips. There were thousands of things he could say to convince her they were trying to help her. And most of those ways had to do with explaining that Barry was the Flash and that she was in danger and if they were going to stop Savitar, they needed her help. It was a messy situation. Things she wasn't supposed to know they'd have to tell her, her future…

But he didn't get a chance.

In seconds, the room erupted into chaos.

A cold chaos.

Unbeknownst to them, Killer Frost had inched up to the back door of the classroom and watched them through the glass on the door. Watched them long enough to know they'd be caught off-guard if she were to attack them. So she sent an icicle through the door, sending shards of glass and ice towards the five adults.

Maya immediately dropped to the ground, throwing her hands above her head. HR grabbed onto Tess and Tracy, pulling them away while Harrison rolled aside and used a nearby table to cover himself. He popped up, watching as Killer Frost stepped through the hole she'd made, feet crunching over the glass.

"Admission here is _so_ easy," Killer Frost said. Her blue lips pulled back into a smirk, equally blue eyes moving around the room. "It's a good thing I decided not to attend." She looked towards her fingertips where icy trails swirled around them.

Tracy looked up toward Killer Frost, eyes widening to the size of dinner plates. "Who is that?" She shrieked.

"It doesn't matter," Tess said quickly. She nodded toward HR and Maya, dragging Tracy with her as she did so. "Get her out of here."

Harrison, protected behind the table in front of him, whipped his arm to the side and pulled a long rifle he had pinned to his back. He slung it forward and rested it on the table top. Closing one eye, he pointed it towards Killer Frost. His hand wavered, getting a good look at her.

Getting a good look at the white blonde hair that cascaded over her shoulders, at the bright brown eyes that'd turned an icy blue. At the horrifically pompous sneer that encompassed her face. Harrison decided then and there. It was no longer Caitlin he was looking at.

Caitlin was gone.

It was proven as such when Killer Frost noticed the weapon pointed at her and chuckled. She tilted her head. "Do you know what to do with that thing?' She taunted. Challenge flashed through her eyes, an unspoken history between them.

"I assure you I know exactly what I'm doing," Harrison said. He slowly started to move his finger onto the trigger. "I don't want to hurt you."

"You won't," Killer Frost replied. "Not like you already have." Her voice was cold, void of any warmth that would've otherwise proven Caitlin was still in there. Her eyes flickered towards Tess. "You're your lovely wife there know what you were doing in her absence? Taking advantage of those that worked beneath you?" She tsk'd, shaking her head back and forth when Harrison's eyes flickered towards Tess. "Dr. Wells, what would the public think?"

"We were two consenting adults," Harrison replied smoothly. "Nothing wrong with that."

"But it was still an abuse of power. And now you're going to know what it feels like." Gritting her teeth, Killer Frost pulled back her hands and thrust them forward, setting out another wave of ice.

Harrison fired the gun at the same time. The sound of the bullet was an explosion in the otherwise quiet room. Tess jumped at the sound, pressing her hands tightly over her ears from where she was hunched behind the nearby counter. Harrison watched as the bullet shot through the sheet of glassy ice Killer Frost created and struck her in the shoulder.

She jerked back as if been punched, the expression on her face was nothing short of mild inconvenience. Then she lifted her head, her eyebrow slowly lifting at the same time, to lock eyes with Harrison once more. She chuckled, showing off her teeth, lifting her hand. "Well, that was fun," she remarked. The bloody mess of her skin slowly but surely healed itself over.

Harrison slowly lowered his gun. _Shit._ He'd made a miscalculation. Should've known something else should've been done if he were going to come up against a meta. It wasn't like there were any meta equivalent of kryptonite they could come up with on the spot. Though a shot of fire would've been the best thing they could use at the time.

And with the blow torches too far away for him to get to without the risk of getting frostbite…

He reacted too soon.

Killer Frost threw another wave of ice towards him. This time, she moved her arms in an arc, cold air blasting towards Tess then slowly moving towards Harrison. Harrison brought up his arm and turned away. The thick black sweater he wore was enough to keep out the chilly blast from an air-conditioned building, but certainly not from the icy wind Killer Frost was sending his way.

It buffeted him from all sides, seeming to entrap him in his own blizzard.

"Harrison!" He heard Tess call.

"Tess!" Harrison shouted back.

Then he heard a rattling. A rattling that started off slow, quiet, but grew in intensity as the seconds passed. Harrison looked up and saw all the metal instruments in the room started to rock back and forth, clattering loudly. Harrison looked back at Killer Frost. Her eyes narrowed, she lowered her hands, cutting off her icy flow. She tilted her head, still watching.

The metal objects continued to rattle before slowly rising. Higher and higher. Finally, they shot towards Killer Frost in a flurry of a metallic tornado. Killer Frost let out a cry and lifted her arm, using the swinging motion for her cape-like coat to block off the test tubes, beakers, and sharp instruments that became projectiles. She turned back just in time to get clocked in the face by the bottom of a fire extinguisher.

Killer Frost fell to the ground with a thud. She lifted her hand to her face, wiping away the blood that smeared down from her nose. _So,_ Harrison thought. _She isn't quite so invincible._ Then he looked around to find the source of aid, watching as Frankie Kane stepped into the classroom, eyes glowing a bright purple.

A smirk that rivaled Killer Frost's splayed across her lips, gloved covered hands held, palm side up. "I don't know about you," She remarked. "But I think you're starting to get a little too smug." She lifted her hands once more. Killer Frost cried out as her body was slowly lifted off the ground.

"What?" Killer Frost gasped. She glared at Frankie. "How are you doing this?"

Frankie's lips twitched. "A piece of advice, don't put metal in your suits." She thrust her hand forward, sending Killer Frost back through the doorway she'd damaged and into the wall behind it. Killer Frost collapsed to the ground in a heap. She glared up at Frankie before getting to her feet and running away.

Frankie twisted her mouth to the side, lowering her hands back to her sides. "I thought she would've been a tougher fight," she remarked. "Considering what they say about her on the news."

Harrison and Tess slowly straightened themselves from their hiding places. Harrison noticed Frankie's eyes move towards the gun Harrison held and he moved it behind his back. When the weapon was out of sight, she relaxed and said, "I'm looking for Cadence. Has anyone seen her?"

* * *

Cadence launched herself at Savitar, flaming fists and feet that propelled her from the bed to the other side of the room. Her hands grasped his neck as she slammed him in the wall. Savitar merely chuckled, his fringe falling against his forehead.

"Get your laughs out now," she growled. "Because I'm going to snap your neck in a second."

"I don't doubt you would," Savitar agreed. "But I'd think you'd like to know how I was able to trick you for so long." He paused, lifting his hands to wrap around her wrists. "Actually, I wonder what kept you from figuring out it was me sooner." He titled his head aside. "I guess it was how believable this face is. So trustworthy." He coughed when Cadence tightened her grasp around his neck. Then he smiled. "Wow, you really have gotten stronger."

Fire flashed through Cadence's eyes. She sucked back and blew out a breath of smoke. Savitar choked and turned his head away, trying to keep his face from the smoke. He phased out form her hands and moved across the room.

"God, and I thought morning breath was bad," he taunted. He zipped out of the way when Cadenec threw another fireball at him. "Now, Cay, didn't anyone ever tell you that it's a bad idea to throw a fireball at a speedster."

"Don't call me that," Cadence growled. She threw another one his way before following it by teleporting after him. She landed next to Savitar, kicking him in the side. He bent over in pain and Cadence grabbed his arm, throwing him overhead where he landed flat on his back. She conjured a fireball with her other hand and moved it closer to his face. "Don't fucking call me that."

Savitar merely smirked back at her. "Go ahead," he remarked. "You can't hurt me more than I already have been." He reached up and smoothed his palm over the right side of his face. Cadence watched as his face seemed to melt away, revealing his blind eye and the scarred skin beneath. "Look at that." He turned his palm up to face her, wiggling his fingers. "The wonders of modern makeup."

Cadence stared in horror. Stared at the face of the man she loved—thought she loved—staring back at her. Stared in the face of the man that'd haunted her and her friends, that'd turned Caitlin against them, that taunted them with their destruction and of the future that was coming. At the face of the man who was working alongside Breathtaker to help take over the world, to eliminate humans and let metahumans take over.

"You see, there's nothing you can do to me that hasn't happened already, and, Cay,"—Savitar zipped to his feet. Once again, he moved behind Cadence. She whipped around and sent a blast of fire toward him. Savitar held up his hand, catching the fireball as it crackled with electricity. "You really should stop throwing fire at me. By now I'd think you'd know about that whole boost thing we've got going on."

"I'm going to kill you," Cadence hissed.

Savitar lifted his finger and shook it back and forth. Then he stepped forward and framed Cadence's face in his hands. His eyes softened, sifting over her face. "Not yet," he murmured. He gently brushed his thumbs over her cheeks. "Besides," Savitar righted himself, dropping his hands from her face. "We've got company." He looked over as there was a flash of light and Barry appeared, throwing his arms out to keep himself from falling over, holding Jay's metal hat in his hands. "It's about time."

Barry stared at Savitar for a moment. His face etched into the angriest look Cadence had ever seen on him. A mixture of betrayal, heartbreak, and confusion. Then it clouded with something dark that seemed to fill his every being. He raced forward and grabbed onto Savitar at the same second that Savitar grabbed Cadence, dragging the three as far away from STAR Labs as Barry could go.

The three came to a stop in the middle of the forest. Like Barry, Savitar flung out his hands to keep himself from falling over. He glanced around the clearing and laughed to himself. "How fitting," remarked and pointed back and forth between Barry and Cadence. "Isn't this where you were first plotting to kill him?"

"You'd know, wouldn't you?" Barry hissed.

Savitar shrugged carelessly. He turned and kicked at the dead branches by his feet, noticing the scorch marks that still resided on them. "There's a lot of things I know," he said. "What about you?" He looked at Barry out the corner of his eye. "What do you know?"

"I know you've been waiting a long time for this," Barry said. Savitar smirked and nodded. Barry stepped towards him. "But everything with you is about time isn't it? The past, the present, the future, you know all of it."

Savitar spread his arms, just short of doing a bow. As if he was doing the final curtain call at the end of a play. The play he'd been starring in for as long as they could remember, maybe even longer.

"And you know everything about me," Barry continued, as if Savitar hadn't said anything. "And about Joe, about Wally, and Iris, and Cade…you know our strengths and our fears, you know how much we love each other. And you know how to use that love against us. All this time we thought we couldn't stop you because you were one step ahead. But that's not it, it was never it. It's because you lived it, you remembered when you were me—"

"—when I was you—" Savitar said at the same time. He shrugged once more. Ran a hand through his hair and looked away, almost as if posing for a phot to be taken of him. A model's shot if it were time for a freeze frame of sorts. "It's like I told you from the beginning…I am the Future Flash." He pointed to Barry then back at himself. "It's like looking in a mirror." He dragged his hand down the side of his scarred face. "Well, not quite."

"You're not so scary without your armor," Barry taunted.

Savitar grinned. Pleased at Barry's dark tone. "What can I say? I outgrew red."

"So…you're a time remnant," Cadence murmured, trying to wrap her head around what she was seeing in front of her. Trying to wrap her had around the truth. "You remembered what it was like to be Barry."

"Yeah, no. That's where you're wrong," Savitar said. He tapped his finger against his temple. "You think you're so smart, you thought you had it all figured out. But you haven't. You never will, so I'll be sure to explain it to you. But we'll have to take a trip to the past…to the night your mother night. Well, _our_ mother died."

Cadence looked to Barry, watched him falter at Savitar's news. Could see the emotion that shot around his face. Any mention of his mother was bound to do so, especially when he'd already gone back twice to save her; not doing it once, then doing it the second time. The time that set off everything.

She could see the guilt washing over him. Another reminder of the decisions he'd made and how it affected other people.

"What?" Barry whispered.

"I saved you that night, from the Reverse-Flash. _I_ was the one that kept your life from ending that night. And in payment, I got stuck in the Speed Force. I've been in that hell hole while you continued to live out your life. I was stuck for years, watching my mom and my wife repeatedly die in front of me. But I managed to break out and I got a firsthand look at the new timeline I was in; my own timeline and my world was gone."

"I had nothing to do with that," Barry protested.

"You were the one who went there and saved him," Cadence pointed out.

"Clearly you don't understand how past and future self works," Savitar pointed out. He rolled his head to the side and leveled his gaze at her. "It gets harder for you in the future, too. To remember what has and hadn't happened. But you always liked to hear about it. You and Brady couldn't wait until I got back to hear of my latest adventure. At least, you did."

Barry moved to stand in front of Cadence. "You're talking to me," he growled. "So talk. To me."

"Fine. I needed to learn more about this world and about you; I lost everything I loved. And you had it all." Savitar started to pace, continuously kicking at the ground. "I couldn't have that. I couldn't stand watching it, knowing it should've been mine. Y'see I needed a life. I needed yours. But here's the thing, you decided to play God and created Flashpoint and now here we are." He spread his arms. "Where everything Barry Allen touches turns to shit."

Barry sucked in a deep breath but continued to stay silent, allowing Savitar to continue. As the seconds passed, his chest heaved rapidly. Faster and shallower with each breath. Seconds away from exploding.

"But here's the funny thing, no one else seemed to notice the difference if they saw me. Well, except Julian anyway. He just seems to hate you on principle." Savitar took calculated steps towards Barry, keeping his eyes on him. "How many times do you think I interacted with your friends and family? How many times do you think I was there for Brady when he needed me? I mean, you. How many times do you think I was with Cade; holding her, and comforting her, and kissing her?"

"Shut up!" Barry shouted.

A cold wave washed over Cadence. Everything went numb. A roaring filled her ears. Had the ground given way beneath her feet? She couldn't feel it anymore. Felt as if the ground gave way, as if she were in a free fall.

Savitar laughed a loud cruel laugh. "It must be weird to be telling yourself to be quiet. To know that I'm getting under my own skin. But here's the thing, Barry, you've always been like that. So _weak_ , so insecure. So _pathetic_. Well, at least your version of me, of us, has been. A few deaths, a few decisions you've made, and you crumble like a wet piece of paper."

Barry swallowed hard. He took in a deep, painful breath. He reached out toward Cadence, but she stepped away from him, breathing as painfully, as deeply as he was. "How did you become Savitar?"

Savitar grinned. Almost like a kid in a candy shop. He practically bounced with glee, eager to spill everything he knew when he got the chance. "I was hoping you'd ask. What feels like thousands of years in the speed force can do that to you." Savitar gritted his teeth, emotion coming to his voice.

Anger.

Pain.

"Thousands of years watching my mom's death, watching my wife's death, watching my life move on without me…it's enough to drive any sane man completely crazy. I was broken. And alone. I wanted the pain to end. And that's when I realized the truth; God feels no pain. All I had to do was become one. And I only need two more things." He pointed directly at Barry's heart, jabbing his index finger against his front. "For Cadence to die so you're driven so far into the dark that I know I've taken away everything that's ever kept you going."

Barry speed-slapped Savitar's hand away. The smack created a loud crack within the otherwise quiet forest. "And the other?"

"It may sound ironic, giving who I'm talking to, but I'll keep that one to myself."

Barry raised a vibrating hand. Savitar's smile faded, just slightly, as he looked at the hand inching closer and closer to Barry's chest. "What happens if I kill myself?" Barry demanded. "What happens to you?"

"Cause and effect's a tricky thing, didn't work for Eddie did it? Shot himself in the chest, Thawne's still kicking around. You see that's the thing about time travel, Barry, the more you do it, the less the rules apply to you."

"But you're not supposed to be here," Cadence pointed out. "You weren't supposed to go back and save Barry. Us having this conversation, right now, is changing the future."

"is it?" Savitar scrunched his face up in an expression of faux-worry. Of faux-concern. Even the slightest twitch of his eyebrow made him was maddening. "My ascendency is nearing, when I have control of all of time, it will be you who is abandoned and forgotten."

With Savitar's last word, Barry streaked around and punched Savitar under the jaw. Savitar fell back to the ground, Barry was immediately on him. He wrapped his arm around Savitar's throat, squeezing as tightly as he could. Savitar choked, bringing up his hands to claw against Barry's forearms.

"You're going to die right here," Barry groaned, struggling with the effort.

Savitar's eyes glowed. Cadence took a step back. "I forgot to tell you," he wheezed, face turning red. "My suit's cooler than yours."

A bright streaking light shot through the woods. First encircling them before shooting through the clearing. Cadence was struck in the side so hard that she was knocked straight to the ground. Savitar's suit zoomed up behind Barry and grabbed his arm, throwing the speedster across the clearing. Barry fell hard to the ground and rolled back to his feet as Savitar's suit loomed over him. The suit lifted its foot and stomped down toward Barry's face.

Barry cried out and pushed the suit's foot away from him then leaned up, punching the suit directly in the chest. Barry rocketed forward and punched it again, sending it back even further. As it did so, Savitar jumped up and raced into the suit. He landed seamlessly, the back closed, sealing tight. Then he was running in large circles around the clearing, creating white lightning.

"No!" Barry got to his feet and did the same, running as fast as he could.

The lightning they created started to fill the air. Crackling so far that twigs started to snap off the branches, littering the forest floor. At the same time, Savitar and Barry stopped running. At the same time, they threw lightning they created, screaming with effort.

At the same time, the lightning bolts collided, sending a shockwave so large through the clearing that nearby trees and branches smoldered in its wake. Savitar was gone.

"No," Barry whispered, pushing himself up. He stood and looked around the clearing. There was no sign of Savitar, and if he didn't want to be found, he wouldn't be found. "No, no! Damn it!" He punched a nearby tree, sending splinters in the air. Then he turned and, seeing Cadence still kneeling on the ground, hurried to her side. "Cade. Hey, you're okay."

Cadence shook her head.

"It's just me. You're okay."

He grasped her hand, Cadence immediately pulled it back. "Don't touch me," she whispered.

"Cay—"

"Don't touch me." She shoved Barry as hard as she could, put her added strength into it. Barry flew back against a nearby tree trunk where it cracked under his weight and the inertia behind his hit. He cried out in pain, slumping. " _Get away from me_!"

Cadence teleported from the clearing. Couldn't think straight. Went back to STAR Labs. Needed to be sure everyone was okay. The second she landed, she turned her back to the building, grabbing her hair with both hands. She sucked in ragged breath after ragged breath, tears coming to her eyes, a think lump forming at her throat.

"Cadence?"

She turned at her mother calling for her. Saw, through her tears, as Maya rushed to her side, Tess, Harrison, HR, and Frankie further behind her, seeming to freeze in place when they saw the breakind down metahuman.

"Mom," Cadence warbled.

"Cadey," Maya grabbed onto her sobbing daughter. Rubbing her back, holding her tightly. Trying to comfort her. "Cadey, what's wrong?"

"Everything!" Cadence gasped. She hiccuped. Tried to speak through her breathing. Through her racing thoughts. Through the revelations she had to deal with. Through the harsh truths. "Everything is wrong. It's all my fault."

"I don't understand. What's going on?" Maya clutched her daughter to her chest. "You need to talk to me, Cadey-Cat."

Cadence grasped her mother's arms, holding tightly as her body racked with sobs. Held onto her tightly, so tightly that it cut off the circulation to Maya's arms. Nevertheless, Maya did nothing more but continue to smooth her daughter's hair back from her face.

"What is it, baby?"

"I should've known. I should've known everything that was going on. I should've known Savitar was Barry. I should've known Caitlin was Killer Frost. I should've known Killer Frost was working with him. I should've known Breathtaker wasn't gone. I should've known he was going after Brady to get to me. I should've known what he was doing and what he wanted form me from the very beginning. He's turned the city against me, he's trying…Barry wants to kill me, Brady's in danger. I'm going to die, mom! I'm going to die, and my friends are going to die and…and I can't leave Brady alone. I can't leave him without a mom. I can't, I just, I, I c—I can't…"

Finally, Cadence completely broke down. Mourning over everything she'd kept bottled up for. Mourning her father's death, mourning her future, mourning Brady's future, mourning Caitlin, mourning Barry and his future, mourning the end of the world…mourning a life of normalcy she'd never had.

Cadence cried long and hard screaming sobs, desperately holding onto her mother, desperate for the comfort that only a mother could bring but knew, ultimately, her mother wouldn't be able to give her.

* * *

 **A/N:** The way things are going now, it looks like this story will end at 60 chapters or so. So…I hope you guys are ready for what I've got in store for you all. And, get this, I've already got the first chapter to _Burn_ marked up, so I plan on having that uploaded the same time I finish the last chapter to this one, as I've done with my last few stories.

Buuut, I also have multiple other Flash stories in the works that will be coming soon as well. Some of which will be uploaded soon as well. Though I do have other stories in other fandoms I'm working on to finish as well, I've, finally, gotten past the point of feeling I can't upload new things before finishing others so it gives me inspiration/motivation to bounce around when I need to. (She says while knowing she ahs to update her McFly stories, lol).

Anyway, let me know what you think, I become a better writer with feedback. I always respond to reviews, even if they're anonymous, and I respond to PMs as well.

 **Cheers,**

 **-Riley**

 **Review Replies**

 **XxGeekyxX:** I'm glad you liked that SaviCade moment, I hope you enjoyed the one in this chapter as well. You're not a bad person for loving it, lol. I love it as well. It's an interesting take to play.

 **DarkHelm145:** Nope, you're correct. They're references. X-Men have always been some of my favorite superhero movies/entities and it's always fun to gain inspiration from them as well as to reference it occasionally. Plus, some plots I have coming up are inspired by the movies as well.

 **Ethan:** Yes, Mindboggler was controlling both. No, Cadence just doesn't like Felicity and Felicity just doesn't like Cadence. They don't have big reasons for it other than there's just something about each other that they don't like. No, not since the beginning of her life, Breathtaker's only been watching her since she became a meta. Still creepy as she was a child, but not as much.


	50. Changing Tides

**50**

 _Changing Tides_

* * *

Things in Central City were changing. With the Reverse-Flash and the Flash's appearance, there was a healthy level of skepticism that came from everyone in Central City. People talked about the metas that were starting to appear and wreak havoc, but there were still those that were able to come up with rational explanations for what could be going on.

With Zoom, there were those that started to wonder. Wondered what had been going on in their city. There were plenty that were able to link it to Harrison Wells's Particle Accelerator blowing up. There were more than enough people who could be equated to their lives changing to that night. There were more than enough pieces of evidence that could prove Harrison knew the Particle Accelerator was going to blow up, kill people, and make it so that others would become the impossible. Zoom's presence, then the arrival of Trajectory and other metas were what cemented the city to being 'home of the weird' rather than 'home of the Flash'.

Flash Day was forgotten about as the tides turned.

People were starting to wonder whether metahumans were helping or hurting the city. It was an even divide. Those for what the Flash was doing and those against. There were enough people that were starting to cause a ruckus within Central City. Those that tagged 'Death to Metas' on as many buildings as possible. Chats and open spaces for discourse on the internet brought out more people who could anonymously vent about how metahumans were menaces and all needed to be eradicated, including the Flash and Flare. Those that had the vilest and most hated things to say about metahumans that Savitar's presence didn't stop.

As a matter of fact, Savitar being around helped support the fanning of the flames of those that were against metahumans. But there were those that continued to think metahumans like the Flash and Flare being around were life savers. They felt safer than they'd ever had; not having to just rely on the police wo may or may not come in a timely manner. Their city could be rebuilt from any damage that was done sooner than any officials could have it done. Crime rates lowered. Casualties lowered. The quality of life in Central City was approving.

And yet, people like Lex Luthor were doing their best to affect all the super heroics that they'd been able to achieve. That is, until the gorillas attacked. Until the missiles were launched and Flash and Flare couldn't stop one. Lives were lost. It was a harsh blow against their popularity amongst the citizens of the city.

News reports flashed across the screen day by day, always speaking about what do to about the 'metahuman problem'.

" _In today's local news, the Metahuman Problem. Lex Luthor is continuing to hold his campaign platform against the eradication of metahumans within Central City. Last year, CCPD's police chief, Chief Paulson was at the forefront of pushing a Metahuman Registration Act forward. An Act where, if it was passed as law, those that were found to be metahumans were to register themselves; that is their identities, address, occupation, and power sets, into a database that would allow the public to know who they're surrounding themselves with."_

"Hm." Cadence hummed, watching the reporter on CCPN. She was just doing her job, reporting the facts, but Cadence could still fell, even through the TV screen, that the reporter had her own thoughts on the matter. If the way her lips twitched as if holding off a smile was any indication. "Sounds like they want to add us to a sexual predator list," she murmured, running a hand through her hair.

 _"Though there hasn't been any momentum with the Registration Act, the climate of the citizens of Central City can't be ignored. Protests are popping up around the city, those protesting Harrison Wells' STAR Labs, feeling the monetary payout they received was not enough to recuperate the pain and loss those suffered from the night the Accelerator went off. Then there are those that are questioning our very own superheroes, Flash and Flare. Though their numbers of favorability continue to hold steady, there are those that are starting to question their presence within the city, blaming them for the constant stream of metahuman, alien, and dare I say, impossible, attacks that have come across the city. This news comes on the tail of Flare's destruction of an apartment building, of which we still haven't received word for her motivations of doing so, and the missile launch that killed innocent campers in the nearby forest._

 _"What this all means for the future of Central City and our resident heroes we don't know. But it's safe to say Central City isn't as central in its way of thinking as it used to be."_

Cadence lowered the volume on the TV as the reporter signed off and the news station changed to a commercial. She lowered her head, bringing her hand up to rub over her face and the back of her neck, pressing her fingers into her pressure points to relieve some of the tension that mounted in her shoulders.

"Mom," Brady said from beside her. He reached out a hand, gently inching a plate toward her across the coffee table. The frustration in his voice as he said, "You have to eat something," proved he'd been trying to get her attention throughout the duration of the news cast.

Cadence glanced down at the plate filled with eggs and avocado toast, almost as if not recognizing it. Then she took a piece of toast and took a large bite. Licking crumbs off her lips she said, "Thanks bud," before turning up the volume on the TV once more when the news came back on. This time on a story about a new technology company that was going to be built in the middle of downtown Central City.

Brady glanced at the screen and sighed heavily, slumping against the buttery leather of the couch. His attention was already diverted from the news reports, even if metahumans were the focal topic, it bored him. "Mom?"

Cadence looked at him again.

"When are we going home?"

"We are home."

"No, I mean home with Barry."

Cadence sighed and dropped her hand, tapping her toast against the plate in front of her. She watched the crumbs fall to the hardwood floor, knowing Harrison and Tess would be upset seeing their immaculate home messed up. Unlike Maya—and by extension, Cadence, when she was young—who lived with maids and butlers to help keep a house—Harrison and Tess did all the cleaning and upkeep of their home themselves. And as guests to that home, she should've treated it with more respect.

But, in that moment, she wasn't sure what to think. It wasn't that she hadn't expected Brady's question to come, he'd asked it almost every day since they'd left the loft. And while Cadence always responded with 'soon' and he'd not pushed the topic any further, it was something they'd needed to think about. Since knowing Savitar was Barry from the future and knew everything they were doing…it made the most sense that they couldn't be around each other too much in case Savitar, finding out something they may come up with to take him down.

Albeit a bit selfishly, Cadence still couldn't be around him for a long time. Couldn't look at his face and wonder if it truly was Barry who she was talking to or Savitar. Not that being apart was difficult by any means. Work ramped up for them; Barry consistently went out to field cases that allowed him to get lost in the mysteries of what happened to victims and crime scenes. There were more than enough crimes going on in Central City—not to mention chemical tests and backlogged cases he needed to finish—that took up most of his time. Whether or not people felt they could get away with more due to the hatred of metas, bringing the Flash to certain crime scenes, they weren't sure. But Barry started to spend long hours in the lab and even longer hours patrolling the city.

Cadence, on the other hand, buried her head in her case work. There were many times she visited houses of neglectful parents, new parents that simply needed help in how to raise their newborn children, parents addicted to drugs who were on their last chances before their children were taken away, and those she took from danger and into police custody. There were only so many times she could see the fear-filled, innocent faces of children peeking around corners when she arrived or looked up at her when she asked them questions before she started to take it home.

It was something she tried her hardest not to do; compartmentalized her life into multiple pieces; mother, daughter, fiancée, friend, sister, CCPD affiliate, hero in secret…it was bound to spill over.

"Sorry. I didn't mean to—"

"—Don't be sorry, bud, you just asked a question." Cadence looked at her son with a small smile. Nudged his shoulder with her own. "Never stop asking questions, remember?"

Brady smiled, both remembering Henry Allen's suggestion to Brady years before. It seemed like such a long time ago. It'd only been a few years at best, but it seemed like forever since she first met Barry and the others, since Brady first met them and learned their identities with nothing more than excitement.

Since she'd gotten to know the best friends she'd ever known; her found family. Everyone at STAR Labs was her family, she couldn't imagine anything ever happening to them, would throw herself in front of certain death for them. Ironically, it's what she would be doing within the next couple of days.

It hit her then.

How fast everything had been moving. She looked down at the ring that glistened on her finger, along with the one she had on her pinkie. One from her fiancé and one from her father. It was funny how much she missed them. She'd always miss her father, but in terms of Barry, she missed her best friend.

Not that they didn't have their moments where they were easily reminded that they were best friends; moments where Cadence would laugh hysterically at Barry's laugh that was a mixture between a wheeze and a honk, where they'd argue over who had the better sports teams between their respective home cities, where they made bets over simple challenges—which reminded her that Barry still needed to dye his hair blonde, binge watching Netflix shows, going to the movies, going to the pool hall.

Their romance and friendship were interchangeable, and Cadence never realized how much she would miss it until her mortality was staring her in the face.

"Anyway, don't you have to get ready for school?" Cadence quickly changed the subject.

But Brady was adept this mother's mannerisms and noticed it immediately. "Are you going to die?" He asked quietly. So quietly, that Cadence knew it was something that bothered him for a while. No matter how brave both of them tried to be, it was something they probably should've talked about sooner than later. "What's going to happen to me?"

"Nothing, you'll be with Ryder," Cadence said. But she knew that's not what he meant. He meant, 'what's going to happen to me without my mom?' As much as Barry was her best friend and Connor was Brady's, she and Brady were the most important people in each other's lives.

Spending over eight years by themselves, there were more than enough time for them to create an unbreakable bond. From the first time Brady smiled to his constant eyerolling, they tackled everything in their lives together. There were rough patches here and there; many times where Brady would beg for the newest toy and she'd have to turn him down time and time again due to lack of money, where she'd let out her frustration on him when he was doing nothing but being his usual questioning, charismatic self, where they argued like rabid dogs which showed the smaller age gap between them than most others would have. But she wouldn't trade any of it for the world.

Even if her death seemed certain, she was going to do her best to fight back from the dead for him, for her friends, and for herself.

Cadence put her arm around Brady's shoulder, snuggling him to her side. He rested his head on her shoulder, letting out a quiet sigh. Tears came to Cadence's eyes, knowing it may be one of the last times she'd be able to cuddle him like that, whether it was from her death or the inevitable time where the last thing he wanted was to be seen with her, it may be the last time to do it.

In the next couple of days…

"And Barry will still be here for you. And Cisco, and Wally, and Iris, and Joe, and Jesse when she visits and—" Cadence broke off when she saw Brady bow his head, making his fringe hang in his face. He surreptitiously wiped at his eyes. Cadence pressed a kiss to the side of his head and hugged him tighter. The two sat in silence for a long while until Cadence noticed the time and said, "You should get ready for school."

"Okay," Brady murmured. He stood up and reached for Cadence's plate.

She quickly pulled it away. "That's mine," she declared to his wounded expression on response.

"I made it," Brady protested, already—and thankfully—moving on from the sad moment before. "You just get to eat it."

"And I gave birth to you and decide to let you live," Cadence shot back. She pointed towards the sprawling front hall, leading to the empty foyer and the marble staircase that led to his room within Harrison's and Tess's house. "Go."

Brady rolled his eyes, turning his body at the same time and started towards the stairs. He made it most of the way before deciding to phase the rest of the way. Cadence briefly wondered if his refusal of a cape on his suit was a good idea, before leaning over to answer her ringing phone. She looked at the time, making note that she'd be late for Frankie's court appearance if the call went on too long.

It'd shocked her when Frankie approached her in STAR Labs. In a good and bad way. In a good way as she hadn't seen the young girl in a long time, and she looked better. Her hair wasn't as matted, her clothes were as baggy and dingy; instead her mousy brown hair lightened to a golden brown and she wore clothes that were more in line with what teenagers were wearing those days. Most importantly, she smiled more. Even with the court case against her former foster father looming closer and closer—which brought her to Central City and seeking out the fire metahuman.

Cadence felt guilty about that, she'd put off responding to Frankie's attempts at contacts due to so much time being spent on Savitar and Breathtaker.

She saw Iris's name come up on her phone and hurried to answer it. "Hey Iris, I don't have a lot of time—"

"—You need to make time for this," Iris said. Cadence's eyebrows came together, hearing rapid footsteps and her heavy breathing. Straining, Cadence could also hear honking horns, the quintessential sounds of Central City. "It's important."

Cadence's heart immediately began to race. "What's going on?"

"They're finding metas."

"What? Who's finding metas?"

"Lex Luthor, Chief Paulson, Mayor Bellows, I'm not sure where all this ties to, but it may stem as far back as the government. They're looking for metas and they're finding them." Iris took a deep breath. "Do you remember that project you asked me to do?"

Cadence felt her heart drop to her feet. She did remember. She hadn't expected to get much out of it. "Yeah, I remember."

"Well, I haven't forgotten. At first, I didn't think there was much to it, I mean we talk about metas and do stories about them all the time at work. But once Chief Paulson started his tirade against you and Barry and Kara and Debby once they came to our Earth, I knew something was changing. And since then, there've been more and more people who are spreading their message that metas need to go. Including Lex Luthor."

"Well, what did you find out?" Cadence pressed. She started to pace the large floor of the living room. She brought her free hand up, starting to chew on her fingernails. She only managed to do it for a few seconds before her mother's nagging voice, " _Stop biting your nails,"_ a reprimand she heard for years, entered her head.

"It's bad, Cade. They're targeting a lot of the young kids in the city to see if they'd rat out their parents or anyone else they know how are metas or vigilantes in any way. You remember those cars that Brady said followed him to school?"

That was so long ago. "Yeah, sort of. He said something to Oliver about it."

"And Oliver said there were watching them. And that was shortly before all the meta-dampening tech was added to the school. Officially, they said the meta-dampening work and cameras were added to keep the students safe from any attacks that would go on inside, but what if they were trying to figure out who were metas inside the school?"

Cadence nodded quietly, allowing Iris to keep going. Investigations were her wheel-house and it seemed she was excited to get as much information together as she could. "And that CPS representative that came to talk to you and Ryder."

"We already knew about that one," Cadence interrupted. ""Natalie was Natalie. Until she talked to Ryder, that was Incognito pretending to be her to find out more about me."

"Yes, but shouldn't Incognito already know everything about you?"

"Well, I wouldn't say we were BFFs or anything."

"Cade, _think._ All of that happening together, and then suddenly Brady needs to get new shots where a letter hadn't been sent home from the school board warning you of the immunizations needed? Not to mention, you can't find any information on the shots anywhere. Nothing. I called the school for a quote and they gave me the run around before naming the drug. And then I remembered Ryder telling me that he didn't feel comfortable when Brady was at the office because they needed his fingerprints—"

"—They needed his fingerprints?"

"The nurse insisted on getting his fingerprints. Cade, all of this put together; the metahuman registration act, the encompassing technology in the school, this new vaccine, wanting fingerprints…consistently being questioned about your work, where you go, the Assassination Bureau knowing what you're doing every step of the way, it's not a coincidence. It's like they—"

"—wanted this all to happen," Cadence interrupted. She paused. Then felt incredibly moronic. How could she have been so stupid not to have seen it before? How could any of them have missed everything that had been going on for the past…well, since she first arrived in Central City? How could any of them had been so blind to see anything that would come up from metahumans appearing in the city?

More importantly, how did they not notice people coming closer to them?

"Do you have anything on your plate today? Any big stories?"

"I cleared my schedule to work on this, I was going to pitch it to my boss—"

"—When you're done, come to STAR Labs. We need to tell the others about this. And I need to talk to Ryder."

Iris paused, as if surprised by Cadence's sudden change in demeanor. It probably wasn't that, Cadence realized. But that she was realizing her own mortality and was working on tying up loose ends at work before the inevitable. "Right, yeah, uh, I can be there soon. I just have some things that I need to do."

"See you soon." Cadence gripped her phone tighter. "And Iris?"

"Yeah?"

"Thanks for all your help."

"…Yeah."

The girls hung up and Cadence turned back toward Brady as he phased through the floor to stand next to her. He hitched his backpack up his shoulder. Cadence immediately grasped his shoulder. "You're not going to school today," she declared.

Brady's eyes widened in surprise. His long lashes framed his hazel eyes, making him appear much younger and more innocent than the past few years would have anyone believe. "I'm not?" He asked.

"No. You're coming with me."

* * *

HR hummed to himself as he waited for the STAR Labs elevator to bring him up to the floor that held Harry's office. _It's not his office, it's my office, _he remembered Cisco practically snarling at him when HR referred to it as such once. Right, sorry, Cisco's office. Not that it mattered much, there were a bajillion offices within the entire building and they had to fight over the one that gave them the most to work with.

It was ridiculous, and yet Cisco graciously let them take over his workshop once they explained why they brought in Tracy Brand and how they could help her. However, HR also knew it was because Cisco couldn't stand to spend too much time in STAR Labs without becoming too unencumbered by memories of a best friend that didn't work there anymore. That wasn't part of their team.

And teamwork was important.

While HR tended to stand back on the sidelines, he still felt that he was a big part of Team Flash. A part that made them less serious sometimes. A part that reminded them how to laugh. How to have a good time and see the bright side of life, let alone to think about their problems in different ways. That's why he was so adamant about the STAR Labs Museum opening and continued to push for that opening.

Sure, they were a bit preoccupied with Savitar at the moment, but the STAR Labs Museum was something they could really use. But, that morning, what they needed more than anything else was something to keep their energy levels going.

Coffee.

And that's why he was ready and willing to go to Jitters and order up a bunch of coffees for the team of extraordinary gentlemen—and ladies—that would be coming up with what would ultimately take down who was actually one of their own.

The doors to the elevator opened and HR continued the jovial bounce in his step that took him toward the workshop. He stepped inside, gleefully brandishing the tray of drinks towards Harrison, Tess, and Tracy. "Good morning my scientific chums. Are you all ready for a break for that nutritious, delicious, and not exactly healthy in terms of possible carcinogenic additions to a drink that keeps us all awake and alive?"

Tess chuckled, tossing her hair over her shoulder. "Good Morning, HR."

"Is it morning?" Tracy popped her head out from behind what looked like a rocket launcher, blinking rapidly. She rubbed her eyes with gloved hands, dropping a wrench as she did so. It clanged to the ground but she didn't move to retrieve it. "Oh." She looked at a clock that hung on the wall and yawned. "I guess it is."

"Been working all night?" HR guessed.

Harrison's lips pressed together in a strained smile. "And not making any sort of progress," he said.

HR nodded, as if he knew exactly what Harrison meant. As if he hadn't been asleep at a reasonable hour the night before, sleeping soundly with no worries to keep him up at night. "Well, let's hope that this manages to perk you up a little, huh?" He gestured with the tray of coffee once more. "I myself will have a triple shot no whip mocha Flash." He set his drink aside then moved to Tess.

"And for Mrs. Wells, classic and cool, we've got a nice jasmine tea with a lemon drop." HR handed the drink to Tess, who smiled and nodded her thanks. Then he moved to Harrison. "I would think a straight black coffee for you, but that's more of a Harry Wells sort of thing. So I got you a lot of cream and sugar to put in it as well." He lifted the cup, as if tipping his hat towards Harrison.

Harrison merely grunted his thanks and pushed up his glasses to rub his eyes.

"And for the lovely lady," HR said, turning toward Tracy, his smile widening, eyes shining brighter.

Tracy quickly held up her hands. "Oh, well, I couldn't expect you to know what I like to drink. It changes on my mood. I'm always changing it, but I guess, right now I need to calm down." The corner of her mouth turned up into a sheepish smile. "So, I don't know if you got me a Zoom but—"

HR blinked at her blankly. "A Zoom? W-what's a Zoom?"

"Oh!" Tracy's eyes shifted aside. She reached up and brushed her hair from her face. A move that was casual amongst many people, but seemed nervous as she did so. All her movements appeared to be nervous and jerky. As if she were waiting for someone to jump out at her. "Well, a Zoom is a triple espresso with a shot of cayenne—"

"—with a shot of cayenne," HR harmonized, bringing the cup over to her. Tracy let out a quiet squeal of surprise, wrapping her hands around the cup and eagerly taking a sip.

"I figured you were that kind of girl. Vivacious, always on the go. Always willing to jump out and do what she wants to do, even if others don't think it's a good idea." HR bobbed his head back and forth. "I kind of see the good in people, that's my job around here."

Out the corner of his eye, he saw Harrison and Tess exchange knowing smiles as they quietly continued on…whatever it was they were working on. HR smiled at Tracy, who smiled back, and suddenly became at a loss for words. He cleared his throat and turned to the semi-rocket launcher and asked, "So, what do we have here?"

"Oh!" Tracy swallowed and lowered her cup. She placed it precariously on the edge of a table—which Tess swept up as she moved by, and gestured towards the mechanism. "Well, we're not quite sure what it is yet, it's all just going off an idea."

"Mhm." HR rubbed his chin.

"It goes along with what Tess had been studying for her thesis," Harrison explained. "All tying into quantum mechanics."

"But, focusing more on speedsters," Tess agreed. "Which is why we sought her out in the first place. Tracy had quite a reputation for herself around CCU. There were whispers of what she talked about here or there, I even sat on a few of her presentations and speaking engagements to get a firsthand look on what she was studying."

"I didn't know that," Tracy said. She shuffled her feet, embarrassed by the attention coming her way. Years of thinking she was less than had certainly affected her, HR noticed. Not that he didn't know hwat it meant. He could easily commiserate. How many times had he been pushed aside for what Randolph Morgan could do despite all the help HR had given him as well.

They were partners and yet he was regarded as something less than. Nevertheless, HR continued to work to the best of his abilities, all with a positive outlook on life. If he could spread that to Earth-1, then he was certainly going to do his best to do so.

"Yes, you've made quite a reputation for yourself in the science world," Harrison remarked. He kept his eyes on the side of the machine, twisting a wrench to the bolts that were attached to it. He paused long enough to give a fond smile. "Always ahead of your time."

"Oh. Well." Blushing, Tracy motioned for HR to move closer to her. HR dutifully stepped forward, spinning a drumstick around his fingers as he did so. "This is what we've been working on," she explained. Tracy cleared her throat and said, "When it comes to speedsters, there wasn't much research on them as you could all understand." She looked to her audience before continuing. "One day Central City is the quintessential metropolitan city and the next, there's a speedster running around saving people. Stopping giant tornadoes. And there are those that are using their newfound powers to their advantage.

"I always wondered what it was that made the speedster continue to run as fast as they could," Tracy continued. "What made it so that they didn't run out steam, so to speak? I assume they'd have to consume a lot of calories a day—"

"—About 10,000," Harrison agreed.

"—right, that aside. What is it that generates their ability to move at such high speeds. It was then I noticed that with every speedster, they generate some sort of lightning behind them. But," Tracy held up a finger, eyes growing wide, "I don't think all of it is generated from running. I think it's coming from somewhere. I think it comes from that Speed Force thing that you all have explained to me."

"Right…" HR said slowly.

That wasn't anything new. His crash course on the Speed Force had certainly been a crash course. One handshake from Harrison and Harry had made it so that everything they'd learned over their lives slammed into his brain. Even that small portion that was Eobard Thawne was nestled somewhere in there, giving him the information about speedsters and the speed force that others could only hope to understand.

"So, I've been doing some calculations and I think there might be a way to manipulate that lightning that's generated; maybe even control it."

"Right, right!" Excitedly, HR wiggled his finger. Now he knew what she was getting at. "There's, that move I love, you know that." He punched the air a few times. "That lightning throw. That supersonic punch. Great moves by young Master Allen if I do say so myself."

"Well, we're thinking of this being on a grander scale," Harrison explained. Each word of his was punctuated with a twist of the wrench. "We know Savitar was in the Speed Force prison, what if we could manipulate _that_?"

"I don't know, I think there are some laws you have to pass to be able to manipulate a prison," HR joked. Harrison smiled, chuckling quietly while Tess rolled her eyes.

"You're definitely a version of my husband," she murmured.

"And yet, I don't remember ever meeting a version of you on my Earth." HR whipped out his phone and started to bring up a draft document. "Is your full name 'Tess' or is that short for something. Like Tessa? Beatrice?" He looked at the three faces that looked him blankly and practically jumped. "Right, right, not the time. Now's not…it's really not…" he cleared his throat and gestured towards Tracy. "Please, continue."

"That energy from the speed force, the lightning that comes off his suit. What if we were able to harness that energy? The light reflects off Savitar's suit in a way that is unlike any other metallic compound I've ever seen. In simple terms it's called 'strange metal' it's a theoretical compound capable of dispersing heat at high temperatures."

"Similar to the boosts that Cadence can give him," Harrison agreed.

Tracy took over her explanation once more. "I think Savitar moves so fast that he needs that suit to neutralize the charge he builds up around him. So, if we could build a device capable of harnessing that power, theoretically we could use his own velocity against him. And de-power him."

Lightbulbs started to go off in HR's head. A way to depower him. Using his velocity against him? Something that may be manipulated? They didn't just need whatever this contraption was going to be. They needed something bigger. Something that was flashed in front of them throughout every encounter they'd have with Savitar.

"With a—" Tracy started.

"Speed Force Canon," Harrison declared.

"Speed Force Bazooka," HR said, broke in.

"Speed Force Gun…" Tracy said at the same time as the two versions of Harrison, throwing her hands up into the air in fanfare of her idea. She slowly. "Okay, well, the Speed Force Bazooka sounds better. But if we don't get it working soon, it'll be an epic fail."

"It's not going to be an epic fail, sweetie," Tess reprimanded her. She sighed heavily, moving her bangs off her forehead. "Though it certainly has been that way so far."

"You just need to take a step back from it and let yourself relax," HR chided them. He stopped to take a long sip of his Flash. "Because sometimes to move forward you just need to take a step back." HR chuckled to himself. "Or, as we're dealing with Speedsters here, a million steps back. And what is the best step backwards of all of this?" He spread his arms wide, grin as wide as a rainbow, waiting for the response.

Instead, he received three blank looks.

HR's exuberance waned slightly. "You guys. Come on! It's obvious, it's—Flashpoint, right? Right? Flashpoint started this all. But it started everything when Barry went back to create Flashpoint. But what started everything _here_ on _this_ Earth?" HR pointed towards the ground. Still, he received nothing but stares. "It'd be Flashpoint again, but what created the metas and the problems in the first place?"

"Alchemy," Tess replied.

"Yes!" HR pointed at her and jumped up and down excitedly. "Right! Correct Beatrice! Now, Alchemy was the catalyst. And the entire time, he had the Philosopher's stone at his disposal. You guys…we just need the Philosopher's Stone and we're golden!"

* * *

Savitar twisted his mouth to the side as he looked at his suit. It seemed to be in working order. He hadn't expected to receive so much damage from Barry's attack. Didn't think there was going to be any sort of pushback from a man he deemed so weak and pathetic.

Then again, he had taunted Barry easily. Threw everything in his face that rounded him to be the person he was. Knew exactly where to hit him where it hurt. Especially considering it hurt him to say the same things. There were more than enough times he'd wanted to explain to Barry everything he'd managed to feel and experience within the Speed Force but couldn't muster the emotion.

He didn't need words when what he really needed was to watch Barry squirm and beg for his life before killing him.

Savitar turned when he felt a hand on his shoulder, ready to snap at Killer Frost for interrupting him during his work once more. She was so annoying at times, constantly wondering what he was doing to move his plan forward. Once he was done with everything else, he'd kill her himself. That is, if the future weren't set in stone and she decided to get herself offed by her best friend.

That was a battle he was excited to see, to see what turns two people who are so caring into murdering each other without a second thought. If being in the Speed Force so long turned him into that sort of monster, what was it about Killer Frost and Cadence's mindset that would turn them into murderers.

Well, Savitar reminded himself. She already is a murderer.

The thought turned through Savitar's head as he turned to find Breathtaker standing behind him. Not just Breathtaker, but Stratos, Mindboggler, White Hot, The Top, Mirror Master, and another meta he'd never seen before, standing all with him.

"It's time," Breathtaker said.

Savitar grinned. He'd waited _years_ for this. "Finally."

* * *

 **A/N:** It's starting. It's starting! Or, well, ending. I can't wait for you guys to see everything. If I don't get another update to this anytime soon (or any of my other stories) please all have a Merry Christmas, Happy New Year, and Happy Holidays!

 **Cheers,**

 **-Riley**

 **Review Replies**

 **Ethan:** It's not going to be the last heartbreaking moment, that's for sure.

 **DarkHelm145:** I'm glad it worked out better than the show. I take it as a massive complement considering I hated how the reveal on the show worked out, plus it makes more sense to me for it to be the original Barry. (Though I"m sure it can be explained away as well, lol).

 **XxGeekyxX:** It won't be the only time. .Some more of it is coming.

 **Yummers:** Well, I'm glad my emotional points of it worked out so well.


	51. If You Could Turn Back Time

**51**

 _If You Could Turn Back Time_

* * *

Barry rolled onto his back, rubbing at his eyes. For a moment, for a full blissful moment he was able to lie in peace. Able to believe that everything was going to be okay. Forgot what was going on, planned out a normal day in his head. Getting work done, meeting up with his friends for lunch, working on whatever meta crisis came up, have game night with Iris, Joe, Wally, and Jesse, go home to Cadence and Brady to watch Netflix until they fell asleep on the couch, arms and legs tangled until they moved their separate ways to go to bed.

A smile graced Barry's features, thinking of the night before where they watched the _Great British Baking Show_ with Cadence and Brady continuously complaining to Barry, who would slowly but surely increase the speed on the playback while he then complained that things were moving too slow. Slow to a speedster, that was funny.

He wished he could slow time down. Stay in the moment for hours on end. Keep things from happening. But he could only hold it for so long. Only hold people in his stasis as long as his body could hold up. The tens of thousands of calories couldn't compare to the sheer amount of energy wasted when he ran as fast as he could, when he tried to slow down time as long as he could. Going back in time, creating a time remnant against Zoom, running hard enough for a supersonic punch or to throw out the biggest lightning bolt had nothing on him.

Stopping time?

Reversing it?

That was an entire other thing.

And it wasn't like he was going to be able to go back and time to change anything. Flashpoint was the catalyst for everything and even then, what was he supposed to change? He couldn't go back in time to stop himself from going back in time once more. Even running to the future wouldn't help. If he failed there…he couldn't keep going back and going forward. The time-space continuum would, no doubt, implode. Not to mention the sheer exhaustion that'd befall him.

Sighing, Barry moved his arm behind his head, gently tapping his fingertips against the base of his skull. Tried to keep the headache that was starting to form at bay. A side-effect of the grief he'd kept inside in fear of what would happen to his team if he allowed himself to break down.

It took a second for him to realize Cadence was awake as well. Though she kept her back to him, he noticed her breathing pattern had changed, shoulders shaking lightly. He heard her sniffle and saw her move her hand toward her face and held it there. Whether surprised to find she was crying or couldn't bear to brush the tear away, he wasn't sure.

It'd taken a long time for him to convince her that for that night, their last night, it was a good idea they were all together. "It's risky," she said. "It could be a mistake, we'd be sitting ducks if anything were to happen."

"We all need each other right now," Barry said instead. "Don't push me away. I'm not running this time, I'm not calling the shots. I want us to do this together. As partners."

And she'd looked at him, recalling how they'd argued about Barry's rushing to make decisions that started off everything And she'd nodded and agreed. She didn't have to say it, he knew. She needed it as badly as he did.

Barry rolled on his side. He reached out a hand to place on her arm. She didn't resist his touch, the love language that he preferred to receive as well as give. But when he said her name, filled with the hurt and fear he couldn't quite keep away, "Cade?" he felt her stiffen beneath his hand.

"Don't," Cadence said quickly. If her voice didn't betray her feelings, the way she flipped around, tears drying off her cheeks as the temperature around her increased, and she quickly changed the subject did. "You know what I would love right now?"

A life to live. Tension between their friends to go away. No more anger and frustration. He still couldn't get the voices of Cadence and Ryder snapping at each other like cats and dogs, voices echoing around the Cortex as she demanded to know why he didn't tell her about what had gone on in the doctor's office.

"I was trying to help him," Ryder said, voice almost turning to a snarl. "Don't forget, he's my son, too. And I'll be damned if I'm going to let any of this or what y'all've been working on get to him where I just stand back and do nothing."

"But we would've been able to figure this out faster if you'd just been honest with me," Cadence shot back.

Ryder tilted his head. "Like you've been honest with me about this whole thing?" He gestured around STAR Labs.

"You said you didn't want anything to do with this."

"That was before I knew you were supposed to die and that Brady is being targeted for…for capture. Or whatever it is these people want. Just because I don't have powers, just because I'd rather not be intertwined with all this meta stuff doesn't mean you get to shut me out when something like this is going to affect me."

Barry sat aside, cringing as they argued. Now knowing how it felt when he and Cadence argued in front of everyone, about why they were—or weren't at the time—getting married. Why they suddenly couldn't understand each other. He understood Cadence and Ryder then, they weren't mad at each other, they were mad at the situation and both felt nothing but wanting to do everything they could to protect their son. Still, the news threw Barry off course, much faster and harder than anything he could ever be told.

People around him, people he thought were trying to keep the city safe, were in fact, making it safe. But making it more and more dangerous for those that were metahuman. Starting with children within the city, starting off with his former school was genius, Barry begrudgingly had to admit. It was the state of attack from Tony Woodward, from Grodd, from it seemed that metas were popping out of the woodwork there.

Why not use it as the basis of investigation?

All fight between Barry and Ryder quickly dissipated once they were able to get everything out. But it was just something else that was going to be plaguing Barry's thoughts. What happened if they were able to stop Savitar and Breathtaker, but weren't able to stop the eradication of metahumans throughout the city?

Cadence gently nudged Barry's chest, ruffling the fabric of the gray STAR Labs t-shirt he wore. It gently grazed over his skin, tickling him. Reminded him of where he was in that moment. "Anything you want," he promised.

It was the least he could do.

"Caviar," Cadence said.

She said it so readily that it took Barry a second to realize she was serious. He blinked, pushing himself up on one arm to look down at her. His eyebrows came together, hazel eyes roving over her face, taking in the blue-green ones that twinkled back at him. "Caviar?" He repeated, the single word holding massive amounts of confusion and, equal amusement.

"Yeah," Cadence agreed. She nodded earnestly. Though they were the only ones in the room, she continued to speak softly, her tone matching Barry's. "You haven't lived until you've had some good caviar."

 _Isn't caviar really expensive?_ The thought came to Barry's mind before he could stop it. He was sure the horror reigned in his eyes for Cadence chuckled and added quietly, "It costs a lot, but it's so worth it."

Barry lifted an eyebrow. Caviar. Okay. He could do that…if he had any idea where to get caviar. Barry raised a hand, rubbing his palm against his eye. "I don't know any place that's open that'd have it…" he started, glancing around the room, his eyes landing on a photo of himself and Cadence, smiling widely for the camera, arms around each other as they stood on the bridge leading into Central City with the water in the foreground and skyline in the background behind them.

A smile tugged at his lips, remembering that day. It was cold, cold enough that even Cadence was shivering. The two continued to yell at Brady, who was placed to take the picture because he kept insisting the lightning wasn't right and they were moving too much. The picture sitting next to it was the one Barry had taken of Brady after when he wasn't paying attention, sitting on the railing of the bridge, looking towards his feet as he steadied himself. Then a selfie of the three as they made funny faces to the camera.

What seemed like forever ago, which was only a few months, came back full force. Reminding Barry he was about to lose everything. If Cadence did die, then Brady would be going with Ryder and…

 _No._ The word came to Barry's head quicker than the thought of the expensive caviar. He wouldn't allow himself to think like that. Things were going to work out.

Well the caviar was going to work out, especially considering the adorable pout Cadence put on, widening her eyes and sticking out her lower lip to guilt Barry into her wants. "I'll find an assortment," he said, moving to get out of bed. "How hard can it be to find caviar?"

"Well, the Russian Caviar can be a bit difficult stateside, but there's also some _really_ good Beluga Sturgeon which is _delicious._ " Cadence's eyes lit up as she sat up, tucking the blankets down around her lap. "Thank you."

"You're welcome." Barry turned back to the bed and leaned his face close to his fiancée's. His partner's. His best friend's. "Just stay with me, okay?" He murmured. "You're not going anywhere."

"I know." Cadence nodded. But her voice didn't reach the conviction she tried to put into her words.

"We can accomplish a lot in 24 hours."

"I know we can."

"Good." He pressed a gentle kiss to her forehead then kissed her lips. He leaned back, tightening the drawstring of his sweatpants when he stood back. "I'll go find some…" he looked at her funny. "Caviar."

Cadence ticked an eyebrow upwards. "What?"

"Nothing."

"No, what was that look?"

"Nothing." Barry picked up his watch and slid it into his wrist. "It's just…" A grin came to his lips. He tilted his head back, as if working to find the right words on the ceiling. Finally, he leveled his gaze to hers and said, "You can be very spoiled sometimes."

"New flash." Cadence rolled her eyes.

Barry smiled and zipped from the room. In a few minutes, he raced back and forth Central City, crossed over into Keystone, then raced to Massachusetts before arriving back at the loft with as much Caviar as he could carry. "I didn't know there were so many different kinds," he said, presenting them to a very excited fire metahuman.

They ate their—very salty and fishy—breakfast with crackers that Barry had bought as well, speaking quietly through their meal. Speaking of anything and everything but what was to happen that night. Then Cadence left to take Brady to school, giving Barry more than enough time to himself before he needed to be at work.

He raced through a shower before changing clothes and running to the West house. He stepped through the front door, carefully pulling his keys out of the lock, surprised to find the house was already alive, as early as the morning was.

Joe, Iris, and Wally sat around the table, breakfast dishes set aside. Smiles were all on their faces, all having finished laughing about something when Barry arrived. Wally turned when he heard the door open, feet itching to start running, before relaxing when he saw Barry.

"Hey!" Wally beamed.

Iris turned, dark hair flying over her shoulder. She smiled warmly at her friend. "Hey Bare."

"What's up, son?" Joe asked. He nodded towards the dishes. "Have you eaten yet?"

"Of course he has, dad, he's a speedster." Iris rolled her eyes and nudged her brother with her shoulder. "You know all they ever do is run and eat." Barry laughed along with her as she sat in his seat at the table, across from Iris with Joe and Wally at the ends of the table. "I'll get you a plate, Bare." She started to get up.

"No, I can do it," Barry said. He started to get up as well.

Iris, seeming to read the reasoning behind his motion, sent him another warm smile as she held up her hand. "It's alrighty, Barry." And she slipped into the kitchen, the sounds of spoons striking the top of a ceramic plate following soon after.

Barry settled back in his seat and looked toward Joe, whose gaze was lowered to a pistol in his hands. He rubbed a microfiber cloth along the side of the gun, smooth methodical strokes as he did so. Calculated moves that reminded Barry of the numerous times she'd seen Joe in the field. The times he'd seen Joe interrogate criminals that were unable to keep their stories straight—even going so far as to interrogate him and Iris when they tried to keep something from him. How many times had they had to rehearse their alibis point by point only for Joe to sniff things out seconds later.

"What's so funny?" Wally's voice cut through his thoughts.

Barry looked over at Wally then sucked in a startled breath. "Sorry, I didn't realize I was smiling," he apologized. Joe glanced at him.

"Come on." Iris set a full plate in front of Barry before sitting down as well. "Let us in on the joke."

"No, it's just…" Barry thought for a moment. "I was just thinking of how many times that Iris and I tried to keep something form Joe, only for him to find out later."

Joe started to laugh, that deep rumbling laugh that made his lips split into a winning smile. Clearly amused by his own memories. "You mean those flimsy little lies that would fall apart the second I started talking to you?"

"Well, no one can ever say Barry isn't honest," Iris said, an almost begrudging tone to her voice. She rolled her eyes at Wally. "Believe it or not, but the second dad would ask him a question, Barry would sing like a canary."

"I believe it," Wally said.

Barry gave Wally a look that shoed his betrayal as he started to eat the breakfast Iris gave him. He wasn't hungry, the short run not enough to put even a little dent into it his appetite. Iris caught Barry's eye and playfully rolled her eyes once more before looking at her dad.

She watched him for a few moments. "I used to watch you do that as a kid," she murmured. "I thought you were so cool." She then jerked her head towards Barry. "Barry freaked out anytime he saw a gun."

"Yeah…" Barry agreed. "I never liked guns." Hated them, was the better word. Anything that could be used as an obvious weapon to take a life, he detested. He became more than nervous when Joe would dissemble and reassemble the guns in the living room. Even with Iris perched at Joe's side, leaning over to watch his every move while Barry stayed as far away as possible.

It was safe, Joe consistently reassured him. There weren't any bullets in the gun. He always kept them separate. And still Barry hated it. Even sitting next to the empty pistol Joe cleaned, knowing what he was cleaning it for, made Barry shudder.

Joe, on the other hand, simply looked at Iris with a disapproving eyebrow raise. "'What did I tell you? Guns aren't cool, they're just for protection."

"Right," Iris agreed. She and Wally exchanged a look, waiting for Joe to continue. But he kept his head down. Iris looked to Wally once more, who raised his eyebrows. Iris tilted her head. Wally looked to Barry, who smiled in response.

Finally, Wally nodded and sat up, saying, "Dad, look, Ii know this is hard for everyone, but I feel like it's hardest for you."

Barry rolled his eyes.

Iris slapped a hand over her face.

Wally smiled sheepishly when Joe lifted his gaze, but didn't halt his movements. Wally wasn't one who was smooth with words, and Barry, worlds best babbler, couldn't compete. But even he knew how stupid that was.

Iris, hoping to remedy the situation sat up, clasping her hands together. "Dad, can I tell you something?"

"Yep." Joe's response was short. Though it was one word, it said everything Barry needed to know. Joe was getting ready for war, was ready to fight to the death to save his daughter and friends. Iris paused, licking her lips. Joe prompted her to continue. "Go ahead, baby girl."

"When I was sixteen…Barry and I switched rooms…" Iris waited for Joe to stop and look at her. When he did, she kept her eyes on her father. "So that I could sneak out the window past curfew."

Joe burst out laughing while Barry's eyes widened. He hadn't expected _that_ to be what Iris confessed. Telling him that she was the one who took his extra change from the change jar, maybe. She'd cried over the guilt about that for ages, despite Barry putting his own money into the jar so Joe wouldn't notice. He expected her to tell him about how they crashed his car, how her simply words of "he'll neer know" managed to get him to go on a joyride. (They still hadn't fessed up about that). He expected her to tell him about all the parties she threw that he was an unwilling participant of.

But now about changing rooms so she could sneak out. Nervously, knowing he was the accessory to every one of Iris's crimes, Barry glanced at Joe, who continued to laugh.

"Wait a minute," Joe said, finally finding his voice. "You told me that it was because Barry didn't like the noise from the street."

"Well, that was true," Barry said quickly. He didn't like city noises too much. If he could hear all of it, it was too quiet. Just like the quiet that was shattered by his mother's screams as she was stabbed to death. If he ever had a truly silent moment, he'd hear it all again. He still couldn't sleep without a white-noise machine silently playing in the background.

"Yeah, no," Iris quickly let him off the hook. "In my defense, my curfew was 8 pm."

"Yeah, I was a little strict," Joe said.

"A little?" Wally scoffed. "Sounds like you were a prison warden." He seemed to preen like a peacock in that moment. "My mom wasn't strict."

"And look how you turned out," Iris shot back.

"I turned out better than you."

"Tell me, how many speeding tickets do you have now, Mr. Street Racer?"

"Probably more as Kid Flash than I did then."

Barry laughed at Iris's and Wally's bickering. But he watched Joe. Watched as Joe finally sobered and placed the empty—and now sparkling—gun to the table top. Watched as a wistful look came to Joe's eyes. "Well, since we're confessing…" Joe said slowly. "Do you remember when I told you two that we couldn't eat out for a month because I was saving your guys' tuition?"

Barry nodded quietly. He did remember. He remembered because of how often they had to eat out being his fault. As a growing boy, he ate a lot of food, prompting numerous meltdown from Iris who would complain there was nothing in the fridge. But without a lot of money to continuously go to the store, Joe went the cheap route and brought them to numerous all you can eat buffets, police discounted days in restaurants, and copious amounts of Big Belly Burger to make up for it.

"I took some of that money and I went on a Blues Cruise."

Wally burst out laughing while Barry grinned and Iris let out a sound of indignation. Her mouth dropped open and and eyes widened, stuck in a pose between screaming with laughter and screaming in outrage. Barry slumped over the table, resting his forehead against the edge as he worked to stop laughing.

But Joe's wheezing laugh kept him going. Laughter filled the walls of the house, a sound that hadn't been heard there in a while. Finally, Joe regained composure. "Jimmy Walker was playing, and it was just for three days."

"Did you have a good time?" Wally asked.

"With that much money, he better have had a _damn_ good time," Iris declared.

Barry smiled. "Jimmy Walker," he murmured. "Wasn't that…wasn't there one song you sang all the time?"

"You don't remember?" Joe asked.

"I don't remember," Iris declared.

" _What Does It Take_ ," Joe said. Then he started singing the song gently. When he finished singing and became melancholy, looking at the three with sadness in his eyes. "I love you all," he said.

Barry quietly nodded, bringing his eyes to the table. Joe had said it many times before, would continue to say it. But how much could he love someone was going to be the cause of his daughter's death?

"I love you, too, dad," Iris said. She reached out, grasping her father's hand in hers, curling her smaller fingers around his larger ones. A child grasping onto their protector with only the pure innocence and love a child could bring. "And Wally." She shifted her gaze to her brother. Then to Barry. "And you, too, Barry."

Barry lifted his chin. He looked Iris in the eye. "Did I lose you?"

It wasn't a simple question; there were multiple meanings behind it. Through all of this, did I lose you as a friend? Did I lose you as a confidant? Did I lose you as a support system? Did I lose you because of what Savitar is going to do? Did I lose you because of all the secrets we've kept? Did I lose you because of how much we've drifted apart?

Did I lose you?

Iris's lips pulled at the corners. Tears came to her eyes. And yet, she still stayed composed.

"Bare, you know that's not possible. Never has been. You haven't lost me." Her eyes shifted. "It's just the opposite, really." She cleared her throat and looked up to him. "Whatever I can do to help. I mean, other than not getting killed." A humorless laugh escaped her lips.

"Yeah, don't go getting yourself killed. Again."

"You jump from a building one time."

"Yeah, and it'll stick with you for life."

Iris smiled. Then it faded. "You haven't lost me," she murmured. "Not after everything we've been through." She looked at him meaningfully, as if there was something else she wanted to say, instead, she fell silent, lowering her gaze.

Silence stretched between the West-Allen family before Joe stirred, stretching his arms. "We have to get to work," he said, motioning to Barry. "And with that story you've got going on, you don't want to miss breaking it," he added to Iris.

"Okay," Iris whispered.

She and Joe stood up, hugging each other tightly. Joe squeezed her, squeezed his eyes shut as well. He buried his face into Iris's hair, knowing what was coming. "I love you, baby."

"I love you, too, dad," Iris replied. She squeezed him once more, gave him a kiss on the cheek, and backed away. She reached over and squeezed Barry's hand before ruffling Wally's hair, making him make a sound of protest and lean out of the way.

"Yeah, and I've got to get going, too," Wally agreed. He got to his feet, motioning over his shoulder. "Jesse and I are going to patrol the city." He turned to Iris. "I can drop you off."

"Please do," Iris replied, holding out her arm. "I need all the time I can get to tweak my article before I submit it to my boss.

"Sounds good." Wally nodded to Barry and turned, zooming out the front door, taking Iris with him.

Joe and Barry stood in the dining room in silence. Barry grasped the back of his chair, drumming his fingertips against the wood. "Joe…" he started.

"No," Joe interrupted. "Barry, don't think you have to apologize. Whatever this thing is that's coming after us. It's not you. You're not doing this. You're not going to kill Iris and…" Tears came to Joe's eyes. "And I'm proud of you for everything you've done. I'm proud of the _man_ you've become." He reached out and cupped Barry's neck in his hand, holding him firmly. "There's nothing you can do that would _ever_ let me lose faith in you okay?"

"Okay," Barry replied.

Joe drew him into a hug. "I know I'm not your father—"

Barry shook his head. "You're as much of a father to me as my dad was, Joe. You know that. I'm always, _always_ going to be your son."

Joe nodded. He pulled back, framing Barry's face in his hands. Forced Barry to look him in the eye. Barry brought up his hands, his shaking hands, and placed them atop of Joe's. "Then bring my girl back." He tabbed Barry with his thumbs. "And bring my boy…my _son_ back, too."

Barry nodded.

It was a hard promise to make.

But he was going to do his best.

* * *

Earth-2 Barry turned his face away as a young couple walked through the doors of Jitters, directly to his left. Once he was sure the coast was clear, he brought his hand away from his face. He took off his glasses and rubbed the bridge of his nose.

Across from him, Burnout lifted an eyebrow as she brought her cup of coffee to her mouth. The steam fogged her face before she lowered it once more and said, "No one's looking at us, Barry. You don't have to worry." She glared when Earth-2 Barry shushed her. "Did you just shush me?"

"I'm sorry," Earth-2 Barry whispered, meaning it. "But we can't risk anything here."

"Oh really? I hadn't noticed."

Earth-2 Barry replaced his glasses, nearly dropping them to the table top. "I can't be the only one who's worried," he said. Lowering his voice, he leaned toward her, studying her face. "We're on a different Earth, where things are literally falling apart. There's not much for us here."

"There's plenty for you here, Barry." Burnout pulled her hair behind her ears, looking at him seriously. "There's not much for me anywhere."

"Burnout…" Earth-2 Barry lifted his gaze to the ceiling when Burnout gave him a pointed look. Oh, right. She didn't want him to call her that. Didn't want him to call her 'Cadence' either. "Catherine." It sounded weird on his lips, but he obliged. "There's plenty for you to have on any Earth you want to go to."

Burnout shook her head. She gathered her hair behind her, brought it back into her ponytail and fastened it. Earth-2 Barry watched as she did so, suddenly feeling a mix of emotions. She looked so normal with her hair pulled back and a pair of glasses on her face. A paper-thin disguise, but it seemed to work as people barely looked at him when he walked the streets of Earth-1. (Despite his worries of going to CC Jitters, where his doppelganger frequented on almost a daily basis).

"You know that's not true," she said, leveling her gaze at him. Burnout laced her fingers together, resting her chin atop of her hands.

"You just need to—"

"—have faith? Believe?"

"Trust me." Earth-2 Barry said. He said it so simply that Burnout's eyebrows furrowed. Her eye shot back and forth, darting over his face as if trying to find a crack in his armor. But Earth-2 Barry continued to look back at her, his eyes wide with earnest behind his glasses. "You just need to trust me."

Burnout slowly started to smile. "I thought I already did, considering you convinced me to come here." She pursed her lips, then tapped her cheek with her fingertip. "And when you said you'd get me out of prison."

Earth-2 Barry's smile faded. Just slightly. "Well, you're not the only one who can't go back home anytime soon."

"If I didn't know any better, Mr. Allen, I'd think you were trying to get me alone."

Earth-2 blushed at the implication that arose in Burnout's voice. He pulled at the collar of his shit and started to respond. "Well, I, uh, that's not, it's not _exactly_ what I was trying t-to do." He cleared his throat, shifting in his seat. "I-I mean, it's, I was j-just trying to _help."_ He blushed harder, his voice cracking at the end of his sentence.

Letting out a quiet, 'whew' Earth-2 Barry picked up his own water—claiming he was too nervous for anything caffeinated—and took a long sip, while Burnout continued to giggle quietly. Earth-2 Barry smiled back.

"I haven't seen you laugh like that in a while," he remarked.

Burnout shrugged. "Not much to laugh at lately."

Reaching out, Earth-2 Barry grasped Burnout's hand. He focused on the warmth that radiated from it and how she didn't pull back from the sign of affection, something she worked to shrug off nearly every other time he tried. "I promise, things are going to be better," he said. "Things are going to work out." Burnout didn't look convinced. Earth-2 Barry brought back his hand and licked his lips. "'Look, I know thing with that Julian guy didn't go over so well—"

"—Yeah, he really seemed to hate you."

"—He hates _this_ Barry, anyway. I can't control that. But I think things are going to work out." He sat back in his seat. "So, instead of sitting back and moping, waiting for whatever's going to happen, I think we should check out the waterfront. Blend in with the crowd."

Burnout nodded slowly. "Stand out by blending in," she mused. "Sounds like a plan. The whole 'what would you do with your last day' sort of thing." She used air quotes around the words. "There's worst ways I could spend my last day."

"It's not your last day," Earth-2 Barry reminded her.

This time when Burnout lifted an eyebrow, a quick jerk of the muscle that shot it upwards, her cup of coffee immediately started to bellow with steam. Of which she didn't pay much attention to despite Earth-2 Barry's gaze continuously drawn to it, wanting to flap a napkin around it.

"Can you promise me that?" She asked.

Earth-2 Barry didn't hesitate. "Promise."

Burnout smiled, the tiniest of smiles, almost as if she'd forgotten how to do it. Then she stood up, dropping some money on the table. Earth-2 Barry stood up as well, making sure his glasses were set firmly on his face and followed her out of the restaurant.

The two headed down the street before blending in with the crowd of citizens. Those that may be the exact doppelgangers of those they knew on their Earth. Those that didn't look their way, that didn't shout a warning, but made them feel as if they were at peace.

Probably for the last time.

Earth-2 Barry's hand twitched at his side as they went along. He stretched it out for a second, paused, then brought his hand back to his side, clenching his hand into a fist. Burnout reached out and grasped his hand, pulling him forward as she did so. She wedged her fingers between his and leaned into his side, resting her head on his shoulder.

Earth-2 Barry smiled, leaning back into her embrace. Whether it was to keep up appearances, to appear that they truly were Barry and Cadence, Earth-2 Barry didn't care. To everyone else, they were pretending to be other people.

To them, it was real.

* * *

Brady sighed as he rested his chin in his hands. He leaned back in his seat, leaned forward to rest his chin on his desk, then dropped his head. His teacher droned on and on. Brady had no idea what was being said, had no reason to care.

Who could care about something like that when it was only hours before his life was going to completely change. Hours before he'd lose the one thing he loved the most. Hours before he lost his mom.

Brady closed his eyes, forcing back the tears that came to him. He had ot be strong. Couldn't have people look at him and ask questions and wonder. What would he say anyway? A homicidal maniac who had the face of his future step-father was going to kill his mother by midnight that night? And not just him, but Iris and another one of his friends as well?

Who would believe him?

Who would believe him and not think it was a good idea to send him to the loony bin. He knew what happened to people like that. His mom had told him stories about working in the hospital, how there was a floor for people who weren't mentally healthy. How there were people who came in, screaming of voices in their heads, of bugs crawling all over them, of the voices telling them to do something evil.

He couldn't end up like that.

But...it didn't look like there was anything anyone could do to fix things. To change things. The only thing that could work…was a crapshoot of a plan. A plan that had a 50/50 chance of working out. A plan that Brady didn't have any faith in.

But he had to be strong. He couldn't let his mom see how upset he was. Couldn't let her worry about _him_ during her last few hours of her last day. So he put on a brave face and said he'd go to school that day. He held his head high, gave her an extra tight hug once she dropped him off, and went inside without looking back.

If he had, he would've seen his mother start to cry, would've been in hysterics himself. Would've been so inconsolable that, well, he may as well have been in Pre-School again. The first day where he kicked and screamed for his mother, wanting her back as she walked away to finish her own schooling for the day. The day after he was just fine, because she came back for him once school ended.

Would she come back for him that night?

Panic arose in Brady's chest as he walked into school that morning. The question stuck in his mind. Was she really going to come back? With each step he took toward his locker, the panic grew and grew, until it became so big that he wanted to turn on his heel, throw off his backpack, and race after his mom, screaming her name the way whole. That he wanted nothing more than to rip into his skin, tearing it off in clumps as he screamed and screamed, working to get the darkness out of him.

But he kept calm. Leah looked at him with saddened eyes as he arrived that morning, the only person in his school life who knew what was going on. Alicia, unknowing of the plight in his personal life, simply looked at him with a small sneer as she asked, "What happened to you? You look terrible."

The blunt comment, which would've otherwise ticked him off to no end, made Brady laugh. It relieved some of the pressure building within him, but not enough to keep it at bay. When he walked from class to class was when it came back. When in class; PE, science, math, he had something to distract him.

The end of the school day wasn't that.

So much so that when the final bell rang, he jumped a mile in his seat, unsure if it was a bell or if it was the sound of the page from the principal's office.

Ding-Dong.

Baden Nash, please report to the principal's office. We have some bad news for you.

But it didn't come. The day was uneventful. Leah grasped Brady's shoulder and squeezed it tightly as he moved to leave their last class for the day. She stood by him, looking at him curiously and asked, "Do you want me to come?"

A simple question. Did he want her to walk him home? To keep him company? They were a team, they should be there for each other. And he did truly believe that, as much as it would've made him snort and roll his eyes at the very beginning. He'd seen how many times Cadence had to remind Barry, "I'm your partner, not your sidekick," whenever he would try to tell her what to do.

 _Even if it was for her own good,_ Brady thought. He shuffled his feet beneath him as he walked towards his home, having bid farewell to Leah and Alicia—who was uncharacteristically quiet, watching him closely—ages ago when he left school. Would easily get there faster by using the city bus or even by phasing but wanted to draw out the time. A long walk that'd give him time to think. _He was just trying to keep her safe._

They always tried to keep each other safe. Brady had never seen Barry or Cadence angrier than when each other was hurt. Not even when Barry was pissed at Cadence for betraying him from working with the Assassination Bureau to try and kill him, was he as angry as when she was hurt.

Just like she'd become whenever Brady was hurt or suffering some sort of injustice. Mama Bear's had nothing on his mom. Brady looked up as a shadow covered him, surprised to find that he'd made his way to STAR Labs quicker than he'd thought. He was so deep in thought, that he barely noticed when he arrived home until he was walking through the door.

He closed the door quietly behind him, heading toward the living room. Slowing when he heard the hushed voices of his mom and Barry speaking.

"I just don't think it's a good idea," his mom was saying.

Brady knew, without looking at her, that she was trying to keep up a brave face. But he knew his mother, knew form the way her shoulders slumped, form the way her words were clipped, that she was second away from bursting out into hysterical tears.

Tears he knew he wouldn't be able to make go away with a silly joke or a silly dance that'd have her rolling on the floor before. Those were bad days. That night was to be devastating. Two different mediums that, he, as a child, sort of understood and sort of didn't.

Death was a hard thing to handle, he still wasn't over his grandfather's death. But he had to be strong then, too. Took over cooking so that he was sure his mother ate. He poked his head into her room to be sure she was sleeping well, often climbing into her bed to cuddle with her when she wasn't, in fact, okay.

"It's not for us, Cade," Barry said as Brady cooked off his shoes. "It's for everyone else. In case questions are asked."

"Well, I'd just as soon keep my mom from having a heart attack over this," Cadence said. She sighed heavily. "There's still a lot of things I haven't told her about what I've been up to here in Central City."

"I know," Barry said gently. Brady craned his neck, trying to see what Barry was moving closer to his mom, then frowned when he saw it was her cell phone turned on to video. "But, like I said, there's going to be questions. And we really need to think about the future, after all this is over."

Cadence smiled wryly, watching as Barry held his own phone in front of his face. "What happened to your everlasting source of hope?"

Barry was silent for a long moment. Pensive, worked to figure out the best words to say. "I still have hope," he murmured. "Hope that things are going to go well. Hope that I can keep my promises. But I can't leave everyone without some sort of message."

Cadence's smile widened. "That's one of the things I love about you, Barry Allen. That you always care about everyone around you."

Barry smiled back. It lasted for a moment before he became serious once more. "We need to do this," He took a deep breath and started his recording. "My name is Barry Allen and I'm the fastest man alive. To the outside world I'm an ordinary forensic scientist, but secretly with the help of my friends at STAR Labs I fight crime and find other metahumans like me. After defeating Zoom and defending the multiverse, I ran back in time and created the alternate timeline Flashpoint. I restored the timeline to how it was only to find it wasn't as I left them, I brought new threats to our world, and I saw Savitar murder the woman that I love. I won't let that happen. i'm going to do everything in my power to change what I've done wrong. I'm the only one fast enough to do it. I am The Flash."

He turned off his video and waited for Cadence to start hers. For a long moment, she tapped her phone against her thigh. Then, finally, she moved to record her part. She took a deep breath, sighed, thought for a moment then started. "My name is Cadence Nash and I'm a fire metahuman. Years ago, I did some terrible things, things that I was brainwashed into doing and things I did all on my own. To help me and my son survive. The Assassination Bureau controlled my life until I was able to break free. Since then, I've tried to atone for everything that I've done with them, working with The Flash to right the wrongs in Central City and protect those that are powerless to protect themselves. And I won't stop until everyone is safe. I am Flare."

Cadence lowered the phone to her lap and leaned into Barry, curling up into his side. Barry wrapped his arm around her, resting his chin atop her head, looking nowhere. Normally, Brady would've teased them to 'get a room', rolled his eyes, or left the room so that he could give them some privacy. His mom had someone he loved, someone who wanted him as well, it was all he wanted. Private moments were private moments.

But Brady needed comfort, too.

He wasn't too old for it, yet.

Tentatively, he moved closer to the couch. "Mom?" He asked.

Startled, Barry and Cadence whirled around. Cadence's eyes bounced from her son, to the time on her phone, to her son once more. Her eyes widened, almost as if she'd seen a ghost. Her lips parted and she looked away once more, keeping her gaze lowered. Finally, she cleared her throat and looked him in the eye. "Brady, what are you doing here?" She asked, concern marring her face as he moved around the couch to sit next to her. "You're supposed to be at lacrosse practice."

"I didn't go."

 _Way to state the obvious,_ he thought, seconds later. Brady sat down next to her, letting himself remember the feel of her hand as it moved through his hair, a gentle and soothing motion she'd done since he was a baby. A funny story told by her, where she would pet his head, then stop, and he'd look at her before grabbing her hand and moving it to pet his head again.

He needed it now.

"What's up, bud?" Cadence asked, her eyes boring through his. What a stupid question. She and Brady exchanged identical smirks, knowing they were thinking the same thing. Behind them, Barry chuckled to himself. A bystander to the moment between mother and son, despite being part of their family.

Brady looked down at the ring that sat on his mother's finger. Smiled a little. He lifted his chin and looked his mother in the eye to ask, "Will you tell me the story again?"

"What story?" Cadence blinked in surprise.

A patient sigh escaped Brady's nose. "You know," he pressed. "The story of when you found out you were pregnant with me. The story of when I was born. Tell me again."

A small, warm smile came to Cadence's face. She ran her hands down the sides of Brady's face. "You know the story, bud." Suddenly, her breath caught in her throat, hitched to hold back a sob. "I've told it to you a million times."

"I know. I want to hear it again." He leaned toward her. "From the beginning. And don't forget the part where you said that Mamaw fainted."

Cadence rolled her eyes. "Mom's always been overly dramatic."

"She fainted?" Barry asked.

"Only because she wouldn't listen when they said not to put her head behind the curtain to see when Brady was coming out," Cadence explained. She gestured with her hands. "And there was his head just poking out and looking at the world and my mom screamed and passed out." She shook her head. "I told the doctors I didn't want her in the room."

Brady smiled and laughed. "Yeah. Start from the beginning." Cadence sighed and looked away. Brady took the opportunity and leaned against her, pressing his face against hers. He gently rubbed his face against hers, like he used to do. A habit he'd grown out of shortly after meeting Barry and the others. "Please, mom?" he murmured.

Cadence smiled, laughing quietly. She leaned back, studying Brady's face for a long time. Long enough for Brady to squirm uncomfortably. He turned his head away, suddenly feeling uncomfortable under her gaze. He looked at her out the corner of his eye. "What?" he asked.

"Just trying to remember," Cadence replied. "I don't ever want to forget your face."

Brady's eyes widened and his shifted his gaze to Barry, who continued to sit quietly behind her. He sat, hovered in a crouch, looking like he was about to lay and egg, stuck between getting up to give them some privacy or to stay as part of the conversation.

At that moment, everything happened at once.

There was a knock on the door to the apartment. It slowly cracked open with Leah popping her head in, calling "hello," quietly.

At the same time, the windows across the loft exploded in a shower of glass, lightning streaking around the room. White light zipped back and forth. First, it raced to the door, whisking Leah out of sight as she screamed. Then it came back and grabbed Cadence, who cried out as she was taken away. Brady saw Barry for a split second. Long enough to blink. Then Barry was gone as well. Brady didn't get the chance to even breathe before he was grabbed by the back of his shirt and hefted through the air.

The world warped around him, lights of the city streaking by. Buildings whizzing at such a high speed that he couldn't tell which way was up. Then everything went black, the lights shut off and he was flying, without the grasp behind him. He flew through the air and crashed into a solid wall, falling straight to the ground.

The only thing he heard, before falling unconscious was the sound of a door clanging shut.

* * *

"Oh, Cisco." The sing-song voice reached Cisco's ears. He twitched, lying quietly on the ground. Then he heard it again. "Cisco, wake up."

Cisco's eyes fluttered. He opened his eyes and found nothing but darkness around him. For a moment, he wondered if the lights in the Cortex had gone out again. If there had been a security breach. It didn't take long for him to realize he no longer was in STAR Labs. That he wasn't working on the Speed Force Bazooka. That he didn't have a steaming plate of pizza pockets sitting beside him.

No, he was lying on a concrete floor. A cold concrete floor where the dark, damp cold seeped in through his clothes. Pressing his hands against the ground, Cisco pushed himself to his knees. He sucked in a deep breath then coughed, mouth dry. He licked his lips, swallowed his spit, worked to get feeling back in his mouth.

"Cisco."

Cisco whipped his head to the side. Stared in surprise as Killer Frost looked back at him through the bars that separated the two. His heart sank. In a cell, once again. "At least it's not the Pipeline," he murmured, knowing there was a good chance he'd still be able to use his powers if he weren't near any meta dampening measures.

"Yes, at least it's not your personal prison," Killer Frost agreed. She smiled, showing her teeth. "Try to use your powers," she taunted. "I dare you."

Cisco merely looked back at her. Looked back at the face of the woman he cared deeply for. Took in the white hair and blue lipstick, blue eyeshadow that all seemed to form the second Killer Frost took over Caitlin's form. He strained to see the friend he'd known for years inside her.

"Poor Cisco," Killer Frost teased. She tilted her head and backed away from the bars. Moved further into the room that sat outside the cell he was being held in. Started to pace.

"Caitlin," Cisco called. He shakily got to his feet and grabbed the bars like she'd done before. "This isn't you. You don't want to do this."

Killer Frost shook her head. "I should've known it'd take you forever to understand this." Killer Ffrost waved a hand up an down her body. "I'm not Caitlin, Cisco! I'm Killer Frost. Caitlin doesn't exist anymore. And the sooner you get that through your head, the better off you'll be."

"Unlike you, I can't turn my back on the people I love because of something they can't control," Cisco declared.

"Who says she can't control it?" Killer Frost whispered. "Who says this whole time she hadn't been able to control what's she's done and enjoyed it. Enjoyed hurting you and watching the poor, pathetic faces on your faces." She wiggled her fingers. "Savitar was right. In order to join him as a God, I have to cure myself of Caitlin. This has to happen." Killer Frost looked aside as there was a bright flash of light that stopped only to dump Cadence—in her suit—in the middle of the room. "Isn't that right, Flare?"

Cadence regained her footing, quickly looked around to see her new surroundings. Then she turned to Killer Frost, her eyes immediately narrowing. She tilted her head back and forth, cracking her neck.

"Cade," Cisco breathed. "Don't."

"I have to, Cisco," Cadence replied. "I made a promise."

"Caitlin wouldn't want you to do this."

"There is no Caitlin." Cadence took in a deep breath and spat. "She's _dead_ to me."

Cisco closed his eyes, feeling the hurt in Cadence's words. Knowing how badly it hurt. Because it was the same pain he felt when thinking about her every day. "She's not dead, she's here. She's standing right in front of us. She'd want us to help her. She'd want us to save her."

Killer Frost pouted, tilting her head to the side.

"No," Cadence replied. "She doesn't want to be saved. Killer Frost played us this entire time. it's not like you couldn't see it coming," Cadence's voice turned light. "Do you know how many times I've heard you guys say 'She's not Killer Frost', 'She's not going to become Killer Frost', 'There will be no Killer Frost on this Earth'?"

"Self-fulfilling prophecy," Killer Frost agreed. She giggled to herself. "it's like you _wanted_ It to happen. And now you've got what you wanted. The future is set." Killer Frost shook her head. "No matter what happens to me, Breathtaker and Savitar…they're Gods. They're going to do everything they've set in motion. Your baby boy's going to watch as you take your dying breath all for a greater cause."

Cadence's teeth clenched as hard as her fists. "Don't you dare bring Brady into this," she hissed.

Killer Frost ignored her. Continued speaking. "That is, if he survives. If anyone manages to survive. You see, if one of us falls, there's always going to be someone else to take their place. You understand that, right? First Incognito, then Brady. First you, then White Hot. Michael Bloom…and you. There's always going to be someone to take someone's place, getting stronger and stronger each time." She flicked her hands towards Cisco. "Maybe I should let him have a go first. Maybe see how long he lasts until he has no choice but to kill me."

No.

Cisco shook his head. Slowly at first. Then faster and faster. No. He would never do that. Not to his best friend. Not to the person that knew him better than he knew himself. Not to someone who knew his family and was a buffer to it every time they were around. Not to the person who singlehanded made him feel that he was willing and able to be as much of a hero as Barry was, even if Barry couldn't see it himself. Not to someone who was his soul mate, his other half.

How else was Cisco able to understand every nuance of every expression Caitlin made? To know what she was thinking before she even had the thought. To give and receive a fist bump without having to look at her. To just know by a simple look to understand what was bothering her. Whether it be as bad as the worst of the worst days to something as simple as oversleeping because she was on a breakthrough the night before.

He'd longed to tell her how he felt about her, watching as her relationship with Ronnie blossomed, making him stamp down his own emotions that slowly grew out of control. Felt he had all the time in the world. Now he was expected to watch her be murdered by one of his friends? Was expected to take her on himself?

Cisco slowly shook his head. "I don't want to hurt you," he breathed.

Killer Frost pursed her lips. A teasing smile. "You won't," she promised. Then she turned her gaze to the side, looked directly at Cadence who glared back at her. "I'm going to hurt her. I'm going to hurt her in the ways that'd make her hurt the most. Then I'm going to kill her."

An icicle formed in her hand.

At the same time a long, solid piece of fire formed in Cadence's hand, pointing directly at Caitlin. Fire blazed in her eyes, before flickering at her feet, starting to form around her. The fire aura filled the air.

"Not if I kill you first," Cadence replied.

Killer Frost smirked and stepped back.

Cadence stepped forward.

The two launched at each other.

* * *

 **A/N:** Well, things are certainly moving fast. I'm a bit bummed I have to move Abra Kadabra to my next story, but the plot for it is, in my opinion, cool. And even then it's a good plot with Brady along with moving Black Blade to be even more important there compared to how I was going to use him, originally, in this story.

Not to say you're not going to see Black Blade as this story ends, you will. He's a big catalyst for Brady's plot in the next season/story. It's just that I originally intended it to be in this one, but didn't get the chance with how things changed as I wrote.

Anyway, I hope you all enjoyed this one.

 **Cheers,**

 **-Riley**

 **Review Replies**

 **DarkHelm145:** You'll find out that other meta in the next one. And there are some other faces that still have to appear as well.

 **Ethan:** They're staying with Harrison and Tess because they wouldn't go all the way back to Metropolis to stay with Maya for as long as they'd think to be away. You're going to see Cade in court for Frankie's case, but not for a little bit. Yes, have lots of tissues ready.


	52. Marathon Sprint

**52**

 _Marathon Sprint_

* * *

Harrison looked up as alarms started to go off all around STAR Labs. His eyes darted towards his wife before looking to Tracy, Maya, and HR. They all looked worried, save for HR who continued to twirl his drumsticks around his fingers, almost deep in thought.

Harrison shook his head. He didn't know much about his Earth-19 doppelganger other than he was a Wells. He, supposedly, had the same sort of brain power he and Harry had. So far, Harrison hadn't seen it, and the nonchalance HR exhibited wasn't making him feel very well. Still, HR had to have something up his sleeve if he managed to stay calm despite all the loud alarms going off.

Harrison pressed his pale pink lips together, eyebrows twitching. Sweat beaded on his forehead, rolled down his cheeks, adrenaline rushing through his synapses, making his hands shake. He listened hard to the alarm going off, recognizing it as something different. Not the normal warning alarms that'd go off if there was an intruder in their midst.

A different sort of warning.

"What is that?" Maya asked. She looked worriedly at all the scientists in the room. They looked back at her, frozen with each strobe of the warning klaxons.

 _Oh God, no_ , the thought slammed into Harrison's head the moment he determined what the new sound was warning them of.

Harrison raced from Cisco's workshop, the thudding footsteps behind him let him know the others were on his heels. He skidded into the Cortex, slamming his fingers in a certain combination on the keyboard nearest to him. The TV screen across from them came to life, showing the source of the warning alarms.

A power source was slowly surging in the breach room. It grew bigger by the second, twisting and twirling in on itself. Had it come from the center of the room, Harrison would've thought there was a breach opening, someone from another Earth coming to help them out. But as it stood off on its own, it had come from its own power source.

Something else was going on.

"What is that?" Maya repeated her question, this time with more awe in her voice than ever before. She looked to Tess, who shook her head, bringing a hand to her mouth. "Seriously, what is it?"

"It's…exactly what we need to get our Speed Force Bazooka to work," Harrison said grimly. He gestured feebly to his computer screen where some graph rose and fell as the seconds passed. "We've been tracking the power signatures of it from the first time we came across it." He drew his arm across his forehead. "It's the Philosopher's Stone."

"The Philosopher's Stone?" Tracy repeated. She scratched the back of her head, jostling the goggles that sat atop her hair. "I thought that was a myth. I mean, HR mentioned that you'd need it, and from what you told me about all of this," she waved around STAR Labs, "It seems to be important to what's been going on. But no one's actually seen it before." She leaned closer to the screen, a smile coming ot her face. Tthis is fascinating."

"I know, isn't life such a joy to be able to experience all of—" HR started.

Footsteps thundered behind them. Joe skidded into the Cortex, slowing long enough to take long strides when he wasn't alone. "Savitar's got Iris," he reported, working to catch his breath, eyes filled with dread. Dressed in all black, a holster crossed the front of his chest, slinging a high-powered rifle to him. "And Wally and Jesse. One minute they were next to me, the next they were gone in a bright flash of light."

"Then he's got them all," Tess said. She motioned to the computer she threw herself into. Her eyes roved over the pinpoints on screen, showcasing the tracking devices on each of the Team Flash; Flash, Flare, Vibe, Shadowhunter… "I don't know where they are, can't get an actual lock in on them, just where they're near."

"Savitar must've put them somewhere deep underground," Joe said. He ran a hand over his mouth, scratching at his beard, brought his hand back up to his forehead to wipe away the sweat that formed. "Someplace where STAR Labs' equipment can't reach."

"Well, not entirely," Tess pointed out. "We can still see where they are. His suit may be interfering with our tracking devices."

"That's fine, but what are we going to do about this increasing energy… _thing_ we've got going on right here?" Maya demanded, gesturing towards the screen that showed the increasingly pulsing energy wave in the breach room.

"We'll have to find a way to contain it," Harrison replied. He shook his head, taking in a breath through his clenched teeth. The only solution that came to mind was one he would've gladly chewed off his own arm for. But as it was, they were all keeping themselves vulnerable for any incoming attack. "We might have to use the Bazooka."

HR's smile finally fell from his face. He nearly lost his grip on his drumsticks, eyes widening at the realization. "The Bazoo—no!" he declared with a sharp shake of his head. "If-if we do that, then we won't be able to stop Savitar. It's the _only_ thing we have to stop Savitar!"

"Well, right now, it's the only thing that may keep STAR Labs from blowing up," Harrison snapped in response. He turned to HR, eyes flashing as he folded his arms. "Unless you think there's a way all of this could disappear in the next, say, five seconds!"

A sharp breath seemed to suck all the air out the room. Harrison turned to Joe in time to see the man's eyes widen. "You mean…" he started slowly. "I…I don't get all this science stuff," Joe quickly apologized, waving his hand. "But you're going to use that Bazooka thing to take down Savitar and need the Philosopher's Stone to power the Bazooka, but now that mass thing right here, is the Philosopher's Stone about to blow up all of STAR Labs?"

"That's exactly what I'm saying," Harrison agreed. He brought a hand to his mouth, continuing to watch the mass on screen increase in size as the seconds passed. "But if we can harness that energy, we can use it with the Speed Force Bazooka to take down Savitar, I'm just now sure how we're going to contain something like this."

"Maybe if we put it down in the Pipeline," Maya suggested meekly. She wrung her hands together. "Maybe it'd negate all the power it's amassing."

"How are we supposed to move it into the Pipeline?" Tracy asked.

"We don't know if that'd even work," Joe agreed. He swallowed hard, gesturing towards the screens. "All the pods in the Pipeline dampen metahuman powers. We haven't seen if it'd be able to dampen anything else…even something mystical. And how do we know Savitar didn't do this because he thought of—"

Harrison's movement stopped Joe. He reached beneath the desk and grabbed a long-ranged rifle from beneath it. He whirled around, bringing it up to chest level, squeezing one eye shut, as HR and Tracy leapt out of the way. Out the corner of his eye, Harrison saw Joe had done the same.

It was Joe who had warned him of the danger; his eyes shifting just behind Harrison as he spoke about the Pipeline. Saving him from the danger that Alchemy radiated as he walked into the room. No, Harrison realized.

Not Alchemy.

Julian stood before them, smirking wildly. Instead of being dressed in his work clothes, his 'uniform' of an ill-fitting dress shirt—which typically hung on his lanky body-and tie, a tweed blazer, expensive slacks and dress shoes, Julian was dressed normally. In a baseball tee, jeans, and sneakers. Almost as if he'd been caught off-guard, taken over by some entity when he was reveling in his own time, in his down time.

As Julian spoke to the scientists, his voice was a mixture of his own and Alchemy's, as if he was slowly growing hold on himself as the Philosopher's Stone continued to exude its energy amongst the breach room. Harrison kept his eyes on Julian, running what it meant through his head.

 _The Philosopher's Stone is losing its energy, making it harder for Alchemy to keep a hold of Julian. If that energy runs out…_ Harrison glanced back at Joe, who look at him then at Julian once more. Julian may be in worse danger than they originally thought. "And to think, Savitar was worried you'd be able to best him," Julian remarked.

"Alchemy," Tess breathed.

Julian shrugged. "Always have a Plan B. And what's a Plan B other than destroying what it is that you'd know would help the other side win?" He held up the Philosopher's Stone, that didn't shine nearly as brightly as it used to. As the seconds passed, it continued to decrease in its luminescence.

"What's going to stop us from taking you down and taking that Stone?" Joe demanded.

Julian tilted his head. Made a 'tsk' noise as he shook his head back and forth. "Well, if you were to do that, what'd happen to Julian?" He waved a hand over his body. "And, as far as I remember, Team Flash doesn't kill." The Stone glowed brighter, becoming blinding in seconds. "Thankfully, I do."

"Get out of the way!" Joe barked.

He brought back his hand and thrust it forward. At the same time, Harrison, Tess, Maya, HR, and Joe all scattered. Harrison and Joe directed themselves to the other side of the main computer desks, waiting for the blast overhead to stop. Once it ended, they whipped themselves around, aiming their weapons at Julian and fired.

Julian simply lifted the Stone, the bullets deflecting off the aura around the Stone. Harrison cursed under his breath and lifted himself from behind his cover and flung himself across the Cortex, to the doorway of the Medical Bay, where Tess, Tracy, and Maya took cover inside. Joe, on the other hand, stood and continued to fire towards Julian, who shifted his hand back and forth, using the stone to continuously deflect the bullets.

"Guys, we have to think of something!" Joe shouted over the sound of the rifle going off.

Harrison continued to level his rifle towards Julian, randomly firing off shots here and there. He wasn't aiming to harm Julian, knew with every shot of his rifle was going to be directly to the left or above Julian's head. Enough that a normal person would flinch and back off. At the moment, it was just to keep Julian's attention off the women as they figured out what to do.

"Is there anything in here we can use to stop him?" Tracy asked, looking through random drawers in the medical bay.

"Can't we, just, like, poison him or something?" Maya asked.

Tess gave Maya a withering look as she sat by an inventory stand, roughly pulling out drawers and taking out whatever she found inside. "What do you plan to do? Get close enough to inject him with something? The Stone would blast you across the room with only a sliver of a power it's exuding."

"No, I mean, maybe we can make some sort of a vapor," Maya continued. She waved her hands. "To wash over him or something. Like Carbon Monoxide."

Tracy looked at her like she grew a second head out of her neck. "This isn't some sort of an Aztec temple! They don't have fail-safe security like darts flying out of the walls and poisonous vapors that fall from the ceiling." She paused and looked back and forth between Harrison and Tess. "You… _don't_ have that, do you?"

Tess lifted her head and locked eyes with Harrison.

Harrison looked back at her, knowing their minds were synched on the same solution. The only thing they needed was to be sure they could trick Julian into thinking it as well. Harrison looked back at Julian and adjusted his rifle, lowering it towards Julian's knee.

Julian noticed and scowled at Harrison. "It doesn't matter what you do, Savitar is going to prevail."

"And what about you?" Harrison asked. Julian paused, eyes squinting just slightly. "What's going to happen to you once Savitar prevails?" Julian continued to watch Harrison. Neither of them moved. They simply continued to hold their weapons steady. "He'll have no use for you anymore. Once Savitar is ruling the world, he doesn't need anyone beneath him. He'll be a God."

"There are always sacrifices in the name of Gods," Julian said. Nevertheless, Harrison could see Julian's eyes blink rapidly before shifting aside. Faltering.

"Alchemy will be sacrificed," Joe added. He gestured with his rifle. " _You_ will be." He let a pregnant pause fill the air before asking, "What'll happen to Julian."

"Julian is nothing but a pawn in our game," Julian replied, all but rolling his eyes. Anything that made him worry was now gone. "And once the game is over, the winners will rise, and the losers will fall. There will be sacrifices. Sacrifice is the greatest gift one can give a God."

Behind Harrison, Tess continued to scurry through the Medical Bay, muttering to herself as she riffled through numerous drawers. Finally, she snapped one shut and shoved a vial into the pocket of her jeans. She turned back to Harrison and nodded. He subtly nodded back, adjusting his grip on his rifle. He looked to Joe, who looked back at him.

The same thought passed through their gaze in that moment. A parental gaze that let each other know; no matter what happened, they weren't going to give up until Iris and Cadence were safe. Whatever they were going to do, they had to do it fast, so they could get to Team Flash and help them. So they could save their children.

"And what happens to Gods who lose their followers?" Joe asked. His lips pulled back in a snarl. "What happens when they Gods lose?"

Julian's face twisted into a scowl. "Everyone perishes!"

Everything happened at once.

Harrison and Joe, seeing Tess throw herself from the Medical Bay, fired at Julian at the same time. Julian lifted his hand and fired blasts of energy out from the Philosopher's Stone at the same time. The bullets deflected up into the ceiling, just as they'd hoped. Harrison knew the recoil pattern of his rifle and Joe, a skilled policeman, knew the same. As they fired, they pulled their guns upwards, altering the trajectory of their bullets going towards Julian.

The bullets shot into the circuitry of the ceiling, sending sparks shooting down. Thankfully, the wires also covered the air conditioning unit that ran through the ceiling. A pipe burst loose, knocking a bright white cloud into the air before it turned colorless.

Joe waved his rifle aside and Maya and Tracy quickly hurried out after Tess, who sprayed something green into Julian's face as she went by. Julian's face twisted into surprise before he started to cough. His face turned red as he sucked back a sharp gasp and started to gag.

Harrison and Joe followed the women, holding their breath as they went. Harrison lifted the butt of his rifle and knocked Julian on the side of the head, dropping him to the ground. The Philosopher's Stone clattered along the ground of the Cortex. Joe scrambled to pick it up, ripping off his glove with his teeth as to put a barrier between his skin and the stone as he went.

"What about him?" Joe asked, ducking out the side of the Cortex, breathing deeply.

Tears pricked at Harrison's eyes, his chest convulsing from how long he'd held his breath. He knelt by Julian's side and grabbed his arm. He dragged Julian forward and heaved him up over his shoulders in a fireman's carry before shuffling out of the Cortex. When he and Joe were further down the hallway, he finally let out his breath in a loud gasp.

"Chances are, without that, he's going to be back to Julian," Harrison said, nodding to the stone that glowed brightly in Joe's hand. "We have more important things to worry about. Like keeping this place from blowing sky-high."

"Right." Joe nodded. He paused and looked around. "Where's HR?" He asked.

Harrison didn't respond. He'd noticed his doppelganger had disappeared almost as soon as Julian/Alchemy had showed up. Wasn't going to question it. No one ever said their doppelgangers were all the same, there was nothing to be ashamed of if he couldn't bring himself to the call of duty. They ran to the breach room, where the others hovered by the doorway, and the two ran down to the breach room, where the others were waiting.

Harrison faltered when he saw Gypsy standing, gaping at the power vortex that continued to increase in size. "Okay, I've seen a lot of weird things, but this is the weirdest," she remarked.

"What are you doing here?" Harrison asked, leveling his rifle at her.

Gypsy turned her way, eyes narrowing into an impatient glare. "I had to come here," she practically spat. "Seems that Cisco is in some sort of trouble and I have to come and help him."

"How did you know that?" Joe asked. "How'd you know he was in trouble?"

Gypsy thought for a moment, trying to think of the best way to respond, before rolling her eyes and blurting, "All breachers have a mental connection. We can tell when each other is in trouble." Silence stretched between the group. "Besides, I'm here to collect a dangerous criminal that escaped from their Earth. I've tracked them here." She gestured towards the Philosopher Stone's power. "But it seems there's more that you guys are dealing with right now. What is that?"

" _That_ is going to blow up STAR Labs if we don't figure out a way to stop it," HR pointed out. Harrison then noticed he scurried around, setting up the Speed Force Bazooka, pointing it at the vortex.

"Wait," Tracy pleaded, throwing her hands out. "We don't know if this is going to work, or what the blowback from the energy field will be."

"We also didn't know what to take down Alchemy and that ended up working out," Maya said. She turned to Tess, who suddenly was preoccupied with a tablet she'd found on a nearby bench, a leftover from studying Barry's power levels after consistently traveling to and from Earth-2.

Tess gently shook her head. "Toxic gas courteous of Kyle Nimbus," she remarked. "I thought it was good Caitlin decided to keep a little bit of every meta you've come across. Clever girl."

"So, what are we going to do with this if we don't use it for the Speed Force Bazooka?" Joe asked, gently cradling the Philosopher's Stone.

"We might not need it." Tess's voice was suddenly blank. A quiet 'oh my god' escaped her lips before she could stop it. All eyes turned her way. Even HR lifted his head from the Speed Force Bazooka to focused on her. Swallowing hard, Tess turned the tablet around to show the banner that scrolled over the CCPN.

 _Missiles Launched; Nation On Edge._

"Missiles all over the world have been launched into the atmosphere," Tess said, voice as quiet as a church mouse. She shook her head, lifting her gaze to her husband's. "There's nothing the government can do, they have no control."

"We forgot about Breathtaker," Harrison murmured ominously.

* * *

Cisco watched helplessly as Killer Frost and Cadence battled it out. Fire and ice streamed back and forth in front of Cisco's cell, accompanied by the girlish shrieks and grunts of frustration and anger they exuded as they worked to best each other. Cisco tightly grasped the bars of his cell, willing it to move.

"Come on," he murmured. "Come on."

Something with his vibrational blasts weren't working. _Or, you don't want them to work,_ a voice in the back of his mind said. "No," Cisco murmured. He tightened his grasp along the bars, pulling as hard as he could. He felt all the muscles in his body straining, looking back towards Cadence and Killer Frost as they swirled around each other. Steam built in the enclosed space, sliding over them, filling the room to the brim as they did so.

Cadence flipped over Killer Frost's head and immediately lifted her back foot in a kick, knocking the icicle that was shot her way directly back towards Killer Frost's face. Killer Frost ducked her head out of the way, allowing the icicle to shatter on the wall behind her. She glared towards Cadence, whose chest heaved with the effort of their fight.

Killer Frost pointed her hands towards the ground and created an icicle slide, projecting herself towards Cadence. Cadence glanced down then back up as her former friend came hurtling toward her. The she ran towards Killer Frost and ducked away from the ice metahuman's outstreched hands. Cadence slid beneath Killer Frost, the hand that dragged behind her on the ice melted it below her. Killer Frost suddenly stumbled forward, her heels catching the concrete, traction immediately halting her in place. Cadence grabbed onto Killer Frost's leg, holding herself still and twisted herself upwards, pressing herself into a handstand along Killer Frost's shoulders.

Then, in a dismount that looked like a quick flurry of arm and leg movements, Cadence was back on her feet with her arms locked around Killer Frost's neck, her upperhalf bent back over Cadence's upraised knee that dug into Killer Frost's back. The two metas breathed heavily, faces close to each other in the post they were locked in.

"That's hot," Killer Frost murmured, face awash in a hellish glow. Her eyes flashed towards Cadence's face, watching the fire meta's eyes narrow behind her goggles. "So, why don't you be a good girl and make good on your promise and kill me now?" She pursed her lips. "Or in this case, a bad girl."

"Oh, you'd like that, wouldn't you?" Cadence replied. She lifted her gaze toward the low ceiling, almost rolling her eyes. Killer Frost's lips curled at the corners. "I could melt your head clear off your shoulders in a few seconds flat."

"Why not do it?" Killer Frost taunted. Her smile immediately faded at Cadence's words, the fire metahuman slowly grinned a sadistic smile as she said, "I want to make sure it hurts."

Killer Frost's expression then twisted into pain when Cadence tightened her grasp around Killer Frost's head and neck. Killer Frost started to scream when Cadence moved her fingers to her cheeks and cheekbones, holding her tightly. A sizzling sound filled the air, wisps of smoke coming from Cadence's fingertips. Killer Frost reached up, trying to knock Cadence's hands loose.

Fingers slipping over Killer Frost's sweaty skin, patches of charred skin peeled away from Killer Frost's face as she did so, exposing the nerve ending in her face. Even the slight twitch of her facial muscles made Killer Frost scream in even more agonizing pain. She grabbed Cadence's wrist with one hand, forming a sheath of ice over her wrist.

With the other, she conjured a long, barbed icicle. Killer Frost twisted it in her hand and, with a strangled cry, thrust it backwards, shoving it through Cadence's stomach. Cadence grunted, her eyes slamming shut at the same time her eyebrows came together.

Cisco watched the exchange, shaking with fear. Watched as the skin around Killer Frost's face continued to black and char, slowly peeling away from her lips and towards the source of the fire. Watched as the icicle poking out of Cadence's back collected with blood and dripped to the ground. Watched as Cadence's features twisted into pain she tried to conceal, still holding a thrashing Killer Frost tightly.

If she wanted to, she could easily crush Killer Frost's head between her hands. Could easily melt her head off her shoulders. Could rise Killer Frost's internal body temperature to cause irreversible brain damage, all before Killer Frost could even move. Just as, if Killer Frost wanted to, she could freeze any part of Cadence's body and shatter it to pieces.

Cisco pressed himself flat against the wall behind him. Steadied his feet, raised his hands. He sucked in a deep breath, focused on the dimensional energy he could see through his vibe glasses, and concentrated hard, throwing his arms forward. A vibrational blast shot out and struck the bars of the cell door in front of him. They quaked and trembled before shattering, allowing himself to leap through and stand before his friends.

Cisco threw out his hand, knocking Cadence away from Killer Frost. She landed on the ground, breaking the icicle beneath her. Cadence cried out, bringing her hand up to her stomach where blood pooled around her. With the icicle deep within her body, it was unable to heal, trying to form itself around the projectile. She cried out again, clenching her jaw against the pain when she tried to budge it, the fresh skin that started to heal ripping with her movements.

Killer Frost rolled to her hands and knees, trembling. She glared at Cisco, the side of her face melted down to the bone stared back at him. She heaved sick, wet breaths through her cheek and between her clenched teeth. Her fingers dug into the ground beneath her.

"Oh my God," Cisco murmured at the sight before him. Unlike Killer Frost, who trembled in pain, he trembled in fear at seeing his best friend's state before him.

A white vapor slowly encompassed Killer Frost. It swirled around her as she stood, and when it disappeared, her skin slowly started to heal itself, coming back together until Killer Frost's smooth, pale skin remained. At that she flickered her head towards Cisco, abandoning any attention she had towards Cadence.

"Oh Cisco," Killer Frost intoned. "Why'd you have to go and ruin all the fun? We were just getting started."

Cisco shook his head. "She's my friend."

"I thought _I_ was your friend," Killer Frost forced her lips into a pout. "I thought you really cared about me, Cisco."

"I care about both of you," Cisco replied. He continued to hold his hands up in front of him, in case Killer Frost started to charge. "You're both my friends. I don't want anything to happen to either of you." He worked to block out the strained grunting sounds Cadence made as she continued to try pulling the icicle from her belly.

"You know when it's war, people die, right?" Killer Frost said saucily.

Cisco tried to keep from smiling. The way Killer Frost said it…was the same way Caitlin always teased him. The same facial expression as she did so, the same lift to her voice. And yet, it held Killer Frost's silvery tone. A reminder that it wasn't, in fact, Caitlin talking to him. But that Caitlin was still somewhere in there.

A crackling filled the air. Cisco's eyes looked down to Killer Frost's finger tips, where the icy vapor moved around her fingertips. He briefly wondered if, with Savitar, Killer Frost had managed to learn how to turn her entire body into a solid block of ice. Knew how to sue it to her advantage.

 _Or if Breathtaker and Alchemy managed to give her a power boost,_ Cisco thought. At a basic level, Killer Frost's and Cadence's skill sets weren't too different. And yet their skill set and the bag of tricks they managed to come up with that continued to surprise him. Killer Frost stepped toward Cisco, making him take a step back.

"You don't have to do this," he murmured. It was a futile attempt to appeal to her, he knew. He'd said the same thing before and she didn't seem to make note of his words. But maybe, just maybe, now that the imminent danger of Cadence was gone, he'd be able to talk her out of what she needed to do.

Maybe he could reach Caitlin.

"Yes, I do," Killer Frost said. Her eyes turned half-lidded, clearly bored with the conversation. "I have to kill you because you're going to attack me, a classic tale of good vs. evil. We all know how this is going to turn out."

"Why?" Cisco took a small step toward her.

Killer Frost didn't move. He continued toward her, feet shuffling over the stone ground. He could feel a small draft. He was underground, somewhere. That much was obvious. But couldn't quite figure out where. He looked around with his vibe goggles, to determine the vibrational patterns to give him a map of where he was.

Nothing so far.

So he kept talking.

"Because Savitar commands it?" Cisco demanded. "He's not a God, Caitlin! He's just a man! A man that's using you!"

Killer Frost simply lifted an eyebrow, slowly folding her arms. She drummed her fingers against the inside of her arm. If Caitlin was still in there somewhere, Cisco wasn't quite sure. But something was keeping her from attacking and it certainly wasn't the fire metahuman behind her that was slowly starting to grow her strength and resolve to yank the icicle out from her body.

"He's not Barry!" Cisco continued. "Barry would never do this to us! Barry would never want to hurt people like this. He's not someone who would want to harm people like this, who would want people to kneel before him and blindly follow him."

Killer Frost tilted her head aside. "And what are you doing? Following Barry's every order as he leads you into danger?"

"He's not leading us into danger," Cisco remarked. "He's protecting us. Like he's working to protect the rest of the city. Don't you get it?" He reached his hand out toward Killer Frost, ready to touch her. "Everything Barry does it for everyone else. It's to save the city. It's to save everyone."

"He didn't save us when he created Flashpoint."

"He was working to save his mom. To save his dad." Cisco was right in front of her. Her icy eyes locked straight onto his. "Wouldn't you do that to save your father? To save Ronnie? To save the life you could've had?"

Killer Frost turned her head away, for a moment, Cisco saw her eyes shift to brown. He bit back an excited smile. Just as he thought. He reached out and grasped her shoulders, forced her to look at him. He put his hand on her cheek, turning her head his way, gently stroked her cheek with his thumb. "Savitar is a man that's using you. Come on, you know that!" Killer Frost merely blinked. "You're—"

"—One of us?" Killer Frost broke in, voice taunting.

Cisco frowned. "We're a family." His frown deepened, hearing Caitlin say the words with him. "We protect each other 'til the end." His eyes searched her face. "How are you doing that?"

"Savitar told me everything you'd say." Killer Frost smirked, eyes slowly, very slowly turning icy once more. "You see, that's how Savitar knows every move you're going to make. He's always one step ahead of you. Because this is all history to him. That's how I know that you're trying to distract me!"

Killer Frost whipped aside and threw an icicle towards Cadence, at the same time that Cadence ripped the one from within her out, spraying the ground with blood. She threw the icicle back towards Killer Frost, knocking the one she'd created out of the air, leaning backwards as she did so.

At the same time, Cisco threw out a breach behind Cadence, allowing her to fall backwards to safety. She appeared behind Cisco who threw a vibrational blast into Killer Frost, sending her flying. She landed hard on her side, immediately pushing herself to her feet with a snarl.

"It's over, Caitlin," Cisco declared, fingers twitching as he held them up.

"Caitlin is dead."

"Not to me. Never to me."

Caitlin brought her arms back, rolling her shoulders, and threw a wave of ice towards Cisco. He watched as it formed a giant ice ball before him. Cisco threw a vibrational blast toward her. It shattered the ice ball in a thousand glittering pieces before the vibrational blast combined with her ice.

Their powers met in the middle, slowly pushing back and forth as they did so.

"You can do this Cisco," Cadence said as the last of her wound closed. "I have to go find the others."

"Aww, Cadey," Killer Frost taunted. "Are you giving up already?"

"Don't worry," Cadence shot back. Not taking her bait. "The future's set. No matter what happens, I'm going to kill you." She moved to teleport away, then stopped, screeching in pain when an electrical current shot through her body, sending her to the floor. "Gah." She shook her head. "Not again."

 _"You better fucking let me out of here! I swear to GOD!" Cadence let out cries of fury as she smashed her fists against the bars in front of her face. Over and over she slammed her flaming fists into the metal, hoping to see it bend, give, or even start to melt, but they stood firm._

 _Undaunted, Cadence took a deep breath and focused on her power, causing the flames that surrounded her hands to increase in size, then punched as hard as she could. Still nothing. Falling to her knees, Cadence tried to catch her breath. In the cell across from her, she could see Barry sitting with his back against the wall, having not moved from that position since the two had woken up in captivity. It couldn't have been more than a few hours they were gone. Still, it didn't appear they were going to be taken out anytime soon._

 _Not even teleporting was working. They had to have done something that was blocking her ability to get from the room. Each time she tried she felt a jolt strong enough to send her flying to the ground. It was a tough pill to swallow, having her worst fears confirmed, that she had been doing all of this just to be double-crossed at the last minute._

Cadence's eyes widened at the realization.

Across the room, Killer Frost slowly started to advance towards Cisco while hers slowly pushing him backwards. Cisco's hands start o shake, his teeth gritting. Blood started to drip down his nose.

She threw an icicle at him. He throws out a vibrational blast that shatters the icicle into tiny shards. She threw another pump of ice to Cisco, backing him toward the wall behind him, feet sliding over the ground. She flicked her right wrist, sending an icicle into Cisco's shoulder.

"Ah!" It pinned him to the wall.

Then she flicked her left hand and the icicle passed through, pinning him as well. Pain radiated through Cisco's body, the edges of his vision darkening. With the icicles through him, it kept him upright, forcing Cisco to pay attention as Killer Frost moved closer.

Her lips parted to show her teeth. "Do you think Caitlin doesn't know how you feel?" She asked.

Cisco lowered his chin, focusing on all the energy in his body. "What?" He breathed.

"About her. You don't think she knows? Just imagine how disappointed she'd feel if you did this to her. Don't hurt her, Cisco." With another flick of her wrists, the vapor that came towards him increased in size.

For a second, her smile remained. Then it slowly faded. Confusion made her eyebrows pinch together. She looked down at her own hands before looking back to Cisco.

His entire body vibrated with effort. Grunts escaped Cisco's lips as if he were running a marathon, a sprint. Blood pooled from his nose, slipping around his mouth and dripped over his chin, landing on the front of his jacket.

"What are you doing?" She asked, voice trembling. She stumbled when a vibrational blast forced her back.

"I'm sorry," he said. "Caitlin's alive in there. I know she is." Cisco continued to thrust push after push of vibrational energy onto her. "But I have to stop you to save you." Another hit knocked Killer Frost off her feet, stumbling to the ground. Cisco turned his hands towards himself and placed them on his chest. A vibrational blast shot through his body, breaking off the icicles that stuck in his shoulders.

The second he landed on the ground, he wind-milled his arms to keep himself upright. "Whoa," Cisco murmured. He concentrated on the feeling, recognizing it as sensing the Earth's vibrations. Looking down through his goggles, Cisco saw what resembled electric trails swirling through the ground, following his movements as he shuffled his feet.

 _I can see the vibrations of the Earth,_ he realized. Grinning, Cisco lifted his foot and stomped it hard on the ground, pushing the direction of his energy downward. The ground shook beneath him, traveling along until it knocked Killer Frost off her feet in an explosive force, sending her backwards into the wall behind her, where she struck with a nasty thud and crashed to the ground.

Cisco lowered his hands, the only sound filling the area was his heaving breathing and the blood sliding from his nose dripping to the ground. Energy spent, Cisco's knees wobbled and she slowly fell to the ground. He looked to Cadence, who looked back at him in stunned surprise and slowly gave a thumbs up.

Until a bright flash of light shot through the area, removing her from sight in seconds.

"Flare!" Cisco called after her.

* * *

 **A/N:** Sorry, still not time for Flare vs. Killer Frost yet. That's it's own battle. So, the reason this chapter took a long time to come out was because I, originally, had every single match-up in this chapter. And a heartwrenching end. But I realized two things; 1) I don't anyone wanted to read an almost 30k word chapter and 2) the rest of the story would've moved too fast in comparison to it. So I had to split up multiple points.

But, I hope you enjoyed this as well.

Oh, it's also not the last of Julian/Alchemy. How anti-climactic would _that_ have been?

 **Cheers,**

 **-Riles**


	53. Vertigo

**53**

 _Vertigo_

* * *

Jesse rolled across the ground the second she felt the pull of a speedster subside. She gasped in surprise, pressing her palms against the ground, pushing her upper body up to take in her surroundings. It looked like what would be a roman battle arena, though on a smaller scale. She was underground, that was for sure. A stale, almost sickeningly wet breeze came from somewhere, brushing through their hair.

Almost as if a sea creature had pulled its fingers through her hair. Jesse shuddered as she stood up. Her eyes adjusted to the dim lightning, a broken, streaky light that worked through a dust covered lightbulb. Its harsh light cut across her face.

Jesse brought up her gloved hand to shield her eyes. It was then she noticed a figure in the distance, more lights cutting on at the same time. It made her jump. Jesse took a step back, then clenched her hands into fists. Something wasn't quite right, with how quickly she'd arrived…

Savitar was faster than she though. She hoped the figure before her was him. Wanted to see for herself. Wanted to be able to let him know how she felt about him. She'd been nothing but worried when Wally was taken into the Speed Force, completely helpless to help him in any way. Barry had sat her on the sidelines, just because he felt she wasn't ready to take on something as big.

Now she had her chance.

Jesse sped towards the figure that stood before her, then stopped when she came close. Her mouth dropped open. The light above her continued to blink, making the woman's—she could see now it was a woman—movements jerky. Strobing.

She was wagging her finger in front of something.

Jesse moved closer. Her jaw dropped even further, a had gasp sucked into her chest. Her eyes darted back and forth from the woman to the smaller girl that stood in front of her. Herself and her mother. Judging by the hairstyle, a haphazard ponytail, it was a day where her father had been the one to get her ready for school.

She remembered it fondly. Remembered when they would eat breakfast together, she sat in his lap as they read through the newspaper before he got her dressed for school. Where he would then go through everything in her closet before deciding on something, because he needed to make sure she was the best dressed one at school. Where her hair came last because that wasn't anything he was very well versed in, many times grumbling under his breath about needing to invent something to make it easier all the while Jesse giggled quietly.

Aa time before her mother had passed.

And yet, there she was. Another version of Tess Morgan who stood before a younger version of herself, wagging her finger as Jesse, sadly, stood in front of her, lower lip quivering, clutching what looked like an expensive—and broken—piece of equipment in her hands.

"How many times do I have to tell you not to touch the equipment without your father's or my express permission?" Earth-2 Tess asked.

Jesse's lip continued to quiver as she murmured, "I just wanted to help."

"I know you did, sweetie. But this isn't the kind of help I needed," Tess said frankly. She held out her hand and Jesse handed over the broken pieces of equipment, hanging her head further. Tess looked over the broken parts then shook her head—which Jesse then noticed was a dark brunette shade, compared to the blonde Tess of Earth-1 styled her hair as—making Jesse's head hang further. "I'm just glad it wasn't daddy's newest shipment."

"I'm sorry," Jesse whispered again.

"I know, sweetie." Tess moved forward and pressed a kiss atop Jesse's head. "Next time ask. And, this is going to come out of your allowance and birthday money."

"Okay."

"And your father's going to—"

Jesse's face screwed up. "Do you _have_ to tell him?" She asked, voice as petulant as ever. Her pouted deepened and she turned her head away when Tess reached up and patted Jesse's hair, jostling her haphazard ponytail. Then Jesse lifted her gaze and looked at herself, her older self. "Mom!" She pointed.

Tess turned around and looked to Jesse. Her eyes widened in surprise before they relaxed into the warmth Jesse remembered and longed for. _This_ was her mother. This version of Tess was the woman she'd grown up with, loved…missed dearly. But there was nothing she could about it; her father didn't talk about him, seemed not to want to acknowledge she used to be part of their lives.

Tess of Earth-1 wasn't her mother, Jesse could never mistake her. There were mannerisms that were very similar and yet those wildly different. The woman standing in front of her, without a doubt was her mother.

"Hi Jesse," Tess greeted her, unbothered by the two version of her daughter in front of her. Her smile wilted ever so slightly. "What's the matter, honey?"

Jesse reached up her hand, feeling something tickling her cheek. She brought her hand away and saw a tear rolling down her glove to the palm of her hand. Jesse lifted her head, taking in another sharp breath, noticing her mother come closer to her. She titled her head back, allowing Earth-2 Tess to cup her daughter's face in her hands, tilting her head back. Tess looked at her in concern, eyes washing over her face before she brought Jesse closer to her for a hug.

"Mom…" Jesse hugged her mother tightly, squeezing her as hard as she could. Didn't want to let go. Never again.

"Everything's going to be okay, sweetie," Tess said. She rubbed Jesse's back, gently patted it, as if she were cuddling a small child. "Everything's going to be okay."

Jesse closed her eyes, hugging her mother tighter. A smile came to her face. Everything was going to be okay. Her mother was there. Just as she'd always wanted. As she didn't realize she needed so badly. The dusty light flickered, a staccato hum. The lights flashed behind Jesse's closed eyelids. She felt her mom squeeze her even tighter.

Tighter…

Tighter…

Jesse gasped. Feeling her back slowly start to protest at the increasing pressure. She heard something in her back start to crack. Pain erupted through her. Jesse opened her eyes. She took a breath, feeling the pressure move around her even tighter, a boa constrictor squeezing its prey. Jesse tried to breathe again, increasing the pressure band around her.

"Mom," she gasped.

Then Jesse looked up, eyes widening in horror when Mindboggler grinned back at her. The darkness swirling behind her in a vortex. Jesse's eyes shifted back and forth, working to keep her head on straight, trying not to get brought in by the continuous swirls.

"Mommy wants to send on the message that she loves you," Mindboggler said before bringing back her hand and thrusting it directly into Jesse's chest.

Jesse flew backwards, crashing into the wall behind her. She collapsed to her side, looking up when Mindboggler lowered her hands to her side and stretched her arms before her to crack her knuckles. Jesse shook her head, watching her. This was a different Mindboggler that she knew.

On _her_ Earth, the Assassination Bureau were investigators of sorts, working concretely with the government and hired out. They didn't kill as much as they did on Earth-1, though, as far as Jesse knew, Breathtaker was a myth on her Earth. Something that she and the others read about and told 'ghost stories' about when they were blaming disappearances on someone.

Jesse had never run into Leah Wasserman—mostly known as Minboggler—but knew of the black-white haired woman who used her sexual charms, like a snake charmer, to lure men in to isolate and interrogate them. Jesse had never seen it in action, knew the CCPD worked with them as much as they loathed to come in contact with the criminals for hire.

Seeing her up close and personal, Jesse wanted nothing more than to take her down as quickly as possible. She surged to her feet and started to run in tight circles around the room. Lightning started to crackle from her feet, illuminating the room and Leah, who turned to watch her, eyes narrowing a fraction of a second.

 _Take this,_ Jesse thought, slowing everything down around her. She brought her left foot forward, planted it heavily. Dragged her other foot around, her body following it as she flung her arm forward. Lightning crackled up her body—from her feet to her wrist—and out from her fingertips as she threw her arm forward.

Jesse skidded to a stop, everytihgn zooming back into real-time as she watched the lightning shoot towards Mindboggler. Mindboggler didn't move, and allowed the lightning to pass through her before disappearing from sight.

"What?" Jesse gasped. Then cried out when something struck the side of her face. She heard a cracking sound, her mouth filling with blood as she slammed to the ground. Jesse spat the blood out from her mouth, a tooth—a shiny beacon—fell into the middle of the puddle of blood.

Twisting back, Jesse watched as Mindboggler dusted off her hands and inspected her nails. She turned back to Jesse and said, "Not so quick on the uptake are you."

Jesse gritted her teeth and started running once more. This time in a figure eight. Around and around she went, wind kicking up at her heels as she went. A vortex slowly started to appear, twisting up through the air, billowing towards Mindboggler. This time, when Jesse came to a stop and threw her arms to change the direction of the vortex, moving it toward Leah, she saw it immediately change direction and come back toward her.

Gasping in surprise, Jesse skidded to a halt just as she was picked up by it and flung into the wall on the other side of the room. She crashed hard against it, landing against the arm she threw out to catch herself.

 _Cr-ack!_

"Ah!" Jesse slammed to the ground, her arm flopping from her back to her side. She stared at it, eyes wide with horror, the revolting z-shape it made as it moved. She tried to bring up her arm then stopped, a flash of red pounding through her, the pain nearly making her pass out.

 _Shing!_

Jesse heard something fly by her head seconds before something brown fluttered in front of her face. Jesse reached up with her good hand, catching whatever it was that came down. She rolled it through her fingers, hearing the low crunching sound of the texture rubbing against her gloves.

Hair.

Her hair.

 _Shing!_

The sound came again. This time, Jesse watched as a butcher's knife flew from the darkness and came toward her. Jesse slowed down time around her, watching as it came nearer. Saw every outcome of the butcher coming toward her. Everyone ending up with her stabbed in some way. The grin that formed on Mindboggler's face proved she knew it was coming, was gleefully waiting for it to come to fruition.

Jesse's eyes narrowed behind her domino mask. She took in a deep breath and stood up, the tip of the butcher knife aiming toward her chest as he did so. Directly at her heart. She looked around the room, her eyes pinging from Mindboggler, to the lights, to the swirling darkness around them.

Over and over.

No way out.

Jesse smiled in resignation.

The butcher's knife flipped end overhead; handle, blade, handle, blade, directly toward her. Jesse allowed time to speed up once more. The second she came out of the perception, the butcher's knife flipped toward her. Jesse rapidly shuffled her feet back and forth.

The ground wasn't made of anything that'd take on the static electricity, a lift cloud of dust formed around her feet. But it was fast enough that lightning swirled up her legs to her hand. Just enough so that when Jesse moved her hand forward, a lightning bolt shot toward the butcher's knife, sending it spiraling off course.

"What?" Mindboggler seethed.

Jesse then took off running. Running fast enough that she created a breach in front of her. She ran through it, opening another breach behind Mindboggler. Running forward, Jesse slammed her shoulder into Mindboggler's back, knocking her off her feet and into the wall directly in front of her.

Mindboggler screeched in pain, colliding with it chest first, breaking ribs as she did so. Jesse pushed herself backwards in time to dodge the butcher's knife flipping toward her once more. It whizzed by and smacked into the wall, bouncing up toward the ceiling. It crashed into the light, knocking one out, the room becoming shrouded in darkness.

It continued to swirl in increasing haphazard ways, slowly making Jesse lean back and forth, trying to stay balanced. Her feet rocked beneath her, as if she stood on the deck of a ship caught in a storm. Shaking her head, Jesse briefly closed her eyes to regain herself.

When she opened them again, she found ger friends lying motionless on the ground. Their bodies tortured and ripped apart, arms and legs flung all over. "No," Jesse gasped.

Screaming exploded in her head. Tortured screams of agony and despair accompanied by the sound of cracking and snapping. Jesse squeezed her eyes shut, twisted her head back and forth, slapped her palms over her ears. It was all in vein. She was then Barry realized that he was listening to the sound of his friends and the screams they had emitted when their bodies had been torn apart by Breathtaker's invisible hands. Then another screaming sound filled the air, louder and more tortured than others.

But even with her eyes closed, Jesse could see everything. Could see Cisco lying on his back, staring sightlessly at the ceiling with a gaping hole in his chest. Could see Harrison, Tess, Maya, Tracy, and HR lying in a heap, different portions of their bodies gashed open, an increasing puddle of blood spreading beneath them. Saw her father twisted in a grotesque direction, as if his back had been broken, blood splattered over his glasses. Saw Caitlin's neck ripped open, Cadence's repeated stabbing, Barry's limbs being ground down to stumps as he was forced to fun, Brady with his neck bent at an odd angle, broken, and Wally…

Wally trying to save her from something, she couldn't quite tell what it was. But Wally being forced to see her death over and over, running back in time to stop it differently, but being forced to watch it. Just as she'd been forced to watch Wally get sucked into the Speed Force and unable to help him.

It played through her head over and over. The screaming continued to increase in volume as the grotesque images slowly, very slowly started to fade. Fade into Mindboggler's gleeful laughter.

Jesse sucked in a deep breath between her teeth. She brought her hands down from her forehead and focused on Mindboggler. She held her breath as Mindboggler approached her, hoping things would work out.

"Come on, come on," she murmured under her breath.

"You can say whatever you want," Mindboggler said. "You can scream, you can cry, you can beg for mercy. You can even stay quiet as you face your death. I don't care." She smirked. "I've heard it all within my years of doing this. What's one more?"

 _Shiing!_

The butcher's knife flew and crashed into the one remaining light above them, plunging the room into darkness. Mindboggler cried out in frustration as she did so, realizing what Jesse had realized before. If Mindboggler couldn't see, she couldn't use her hallucinations and illusions against Jesse anymore than she already had. She had to be able to see her opponent to hang onto them, and the best thing was, the faster Jesse moved, the more lightning she produced, making it easier for her to see Mindboggler, who couldn't keep track of her.

For the first time, Jesse smiled. She lifted her chin and started to run, pumping her arms and legs as fast as she could. Jesse nearly stumbled and fell with the pain that whizzed up her arm when her broken bones shifted against each other. Still, she kept herself on her feet, throwing herself forward, cradling her broken arm against her chest as she ran. Lightning filled the room once more. She threw it towards Mindboggler and launched herself after it.

Mindboggler was struck head on, the force of the blow pinning her to the wall behind her. Jesse darted towards Mindboggler, raining punches and kicks on her body when she had the chance, opening portals to run through and continue attacking when Mindboggler got away from her. The few seconds Mindboggler regained her balance, she used the darkness around them to induce vertigo in Jesse, making the floor roll in waves, threatening to trip her up.

Finally, Jesse crouched low towards the ground, not moving. Mindboggler halted and looked around, giving Jesse the momentum to superspeed herself up into a butterfly twist that struck Mindboggler in the throat. Mindboggler crashed into the ceiling then back to the floor from the force of the hit. She tries to get to her feet, only to receive another lightning bolt strike into her that continued to hold the longer Jesse's legs shuffled back and forth.

A high-pitched wail exploded from Mindboggler's throat as the lightning bolt ran through her. Her clothes burst into flames, hair slowly fell out and fluttered to the ground, skin started to blacken and smolder in the exposed areas from her clothes.

Finally, Jesse supperspeeded forward, leapt high into the air, and came down, punching Mindboggler in the chest. Jesse felt Mindboggler's bones crack and give way beneath her fist seconds before the body left contact with the speedster, crashing to the ground where she lay still, blood pooling out from beneath her.

Jesse landed heard on her knees, breathing heavily. She collapsed to her side, her broken arm unable to keep herself up. Mindboggler's breath came out in gurgling gasps, growing weaker as the seconds passed. Jesse's breathing soon covered Mindboggler's.

It was going to take her a long time to heal from the encounter.

Jesse blinked as a flash of white light zipped out the corner of her eye.

Savitar.

* * *

Cadence closed her eyes when they stopped once more. When she opened them, she saw the room they were in was a bit more decorated than where she'd been before. Savitar picked up a tray and held it out to her. Food. Water. When was the last time she'd eaten?

A thought struck her, a horrified one that flooded her with numerous memories of the past that she'd worked to keep deep in the recessed of her mind. When was the last time she'd _really_ eaten?

Cadence ignored the gesture. "Why are you doing this?" She asked. Savitar lifted an eyebrow as he turned toward her. "Why do you keep making me watch my friends fight for their lives." She swallowed hard. "Why don't you just—"

Savitar swiftly interrupted her. "Get it over with? Kill you now?" He twisted his mouth aside, noticing she wasn't taking the tray he offered. Instead, he set it aside and sat on the end of a nearby table. He pursed his lips, fingering the fork that sat on the plate, spinning it around. "There's plenty of time for that."

"Considering you have all the time in the world, right?" Cadence asked. She looked around Savitar's holding chamber. Looked for a way to escape, knowing if she tried teleporting, she'd be shocked once more. Not that Savitar would let her leave so easily, when he could find her within moments. Cadence looked back at Savitar, watching as he tilted his head to the side, allowing his fringe to fall from his face.

The corners of his lips turned up in a smirk, as if reading her mind. Though, Cadence realized, if he truly was the original, future version of Barry, he probably would be able to. And still, Cadence watched him. Watched as he absentmindedly spun the fork around the plate, watched as he watched her. Her eyes roved over his shoulders, rolled forward, his posture, otherwise ramrod straight.

His feet gently kicked back and forth.

Nonchalant.

They couldn't hear the sounds of the others fighting. It was probably the point, she realized. Only bring her in when he needed her to watch. But if he wanted her to watch so badly, why watch them continuously win against those in front of him?

Unless they were his pawns as well.

"What?" Savitar finally asked.

"You're nervous," Cadence finally remarked. Savitar's movements immediately halted. He stopped spinning the fork, stopped kicking his feet back and forth. His mouth slacked. All for a second, then it started up again.

 _Scritch, scratch, scritch,_ the fork scratched the plate every time the handle shifted over a partially chipped portion hiding just to the side of the sandwich sitting atop of it.

"Am I?" Savitar finally asked.

"Your body language," Cadence explained. "You don't think you can do this." She paused, lifting a finger. "No, you're afraid of what Breathtaker is going to do. What his plan is with you after all of this is done. You're stalling for time. After you erase Barry from his existence…" She thought for a moment. "If Barry's erased from existence, what's going to stop you form not existing?"

Savitar's face twitched.

"The Philosopher's Stone."

Savitar tilted his head back and laughed. "The Philosopher's Stone," he repeated. "It's funny that you think I need that to survive." He carelessly examined his nails. "Especially considering what's been going on back at STAR Labs. I thought it was crazy, that you'd all be stupid enough to continuously fall for the same tricks. The same diversions that, for those boasting to be the smartest people in the room, can't comprehend." He moved closer to her, dropping his head so that his eyes locked onto hers. "Why do you think I'm not worried about anyone coming for you? Why do you think I'm not so concerned about Barry, Cisco, Jesse, Wally…?"

Cadence clenched her hands at her sides but didn't respond.

"For people who claim themselves to be so smart…" Savitar ran a hand through his hair. He folded his arms and shrugged. "Well, I'm sure you know about that."

"Without the stone and without Barry," Cadence continued, mind whirring at a mile a minute. "There's no way you're faster than other speedsters."

"You're forgetting I'm the fastest man alive."

"Until you cease to exist. You've said you haven't needed the Philosopher's Stone…you don't need Barry, and the only thing that manages to make him faster, to keep him from losing his speed…" Cadence swallowed hard. Her gaze shifted towards Savitar.

He looked back at her, almost a passive glance. But from the gleam that shot through his eyes, she could see there was something coming that he gleefully wanted to explain. But, true to his form, he dangled it in front of her. Like a mouse dangling in front of a cat. Poking a bear with a stick. He waited for the inevitable straw breaking that'd at least give him a show.

"Go on," he pressed.

"I'm dead," she finally breathed. "Aren't I? Not just in this future we've seen, but in your future. The original one."

Savitar clapped. First starting off as a mocking golf clap before using the entire spread of his wing span to clap loudly, each clap sounding like a gunshot through the room they stood in. "It took you that long to figure it out. Ladies and gentlemen, give the woman a prize." He dropped his hands back to folded arms. "Took you long enough." He wagged his finger at her. "I thought you were smart, but you…you really had me there. Must be those Wells genes finally kicking in."

"How'd it happen?"

"Beaten to death." Savitar said it so flatly that Cadence couldn't help but notice. "You try to help people, try to be that 'beacon of hope' for them…start that revolution that should bring everything together. But one false move and everything comes crashing down." He scratched the back of his neck. "Honestly, you'd think people would know that you didn't _mean_ to have that missile launched, but those Gorillas…" he let out a loud whistle.

Cadence swallowed the lump that formed in her throat. No matter what, she was going to die. Even if she managed to live in this future, if Savitar was of the regular future they were supposed to have, she was going to die. So, what was the point of anything? What was the point of moving forward? What was the point of still trying.

Savitar's lips pulled back from his teeth in a shark like smile. He moved towards her, brushing by the back of his hand his knuckles over her neck to flick some of her hair away. Then he lifted her goggles from her face and dropped them around his neck. "So, now you see why I've been taking you around to watch everyone. To give you just a _tiny_ glimmer of hope that you managed to instill in _someone_. Even if it fails. And,"—his tone turned, suddenly dark—"I want to be sure,"—Savitar lovingly ran his hand over her hair, eyes searching her face—"That you can see how much these people will fight for you, before it all ends." He rested his hand on her cheek, this time she didn't pull away. "In a way, I'm sorry but…" he shrugged. "It's the way it has to be."

"You're going to hurt so many people…" Cadence murmured. "Just because you made the decision to go back and save yourself."

Immediately, like wiping a slate clean, Savitar's smile faded. He pressed his lips together, almost pursing them in the dreaded 'duck face' that Cisco consistently got on Cadence's case about when they took selfies together. "No. Because of the life I've lost and how much I've had to suffer. Because of this Barry's selfish actions. I want to make him hurt as much as he hurt me. If I didn't…" he started to close his hand into a fist, stopping when Cadence winced at the feeling of his fingers increasing pressure on her skull. "It wouldn't be too pleasant."

"Like death is going to be a walk in the park," Cadence said, her voice tinged with sarcasm.

Savitar laughed. "I'm going to miss that," he said. "You always make me laugh, make me relax. Make me feel alive, like I'm not alone." He laughed again. His other hand curled through Cadence's hair, framing her face. "I know this sounds scary, the unknown is scary, but we can enjoy the time we have together before it has to end."

Cadence's voice was dry. "What a honeymoon."

Savitar's eyes roved around the room, bouncing off whatever he was looking for before landing on hers once more. "Call it a—"

"—Gift from God?" Cadence broke in.

Savitar blinked once. Quick as a flash, he swung out his arm and swiped the food and drink off the table. The sound of the plate and glass shattering in the otherwise quiet room was like a gun blast. Cadence jumped. Savitar swung back around and grasped Cadence's face so hard they both shook. Cadence glared defiantly back at him.

"If you don't follow a God, life is meaningless. You're running around blindly, following what you think will bring you happiness and power. "And for what?" He roared. "A shell of a life that leaves you wondering what's out there? For a man who does nothing but continue to be the most selfish creature who destroys everything he touches? For a man who would give you up in seconds if he were to choose between starting everything all over again all because of his power trip? When knowing all in the end that he's not fast enough or strong enough to do anything about it. When he's not strong enough to handle everything that comes his way with the power that's needed to be a strong figure for people to follow. What will you do when he leads you down into the pits of hell and you can't escape? What will you do then? Who's going to save you?"

Cadence lifted her chin, flames flickering in her eyes. Her hands tightened into fists around his own. Savitar looked down at her hands then back into her eyes. She wasn't sure what she saw, when she saw them flicker.

Trepidation, maybe?

Trepidation, fear that maybe, just maybe, he realized he's messed up. That he underestimated the version of Cadence he was currently in the vicinity of, compared to his future wife, feeling she wasn't as strong.

That he realized she truly felt and believed her words when she answered his question with a forceful, "I am," and shoved a flaming sword she'd conjured through his stomach.

* * *

 **A/N:** So with everything I'm going to do with the ending of this story I started to re-read _Flash Fire_ and, you guys, it's such a trip down memory lane. I love seeing how everything with Cade and Brady started out (though there are some very tiny things I ended up retconning later) but it also made me notice a few things I hadn't before as well as other things I really need to get back to.

Sometimes, seeing how everything was shiny and new and how it started is just the boost of motivation you need to keep you guys. It's such a trip to remember what happened back then. Sure, there are some things I'd change (as well as some things I've fixed with editing) but I love how it turned out. Also, as I said on Twitter, Barry is either extremely oblivious or just blinded by his love for Iris not to see that Cade liked him from the beginning.

But I hope you liked this chapter. Some more SaviCade for you all. And more fights coming, chapters will get longer! Like I said before, all of these fight scenes were originally in one chapter, but it became wayyy too long so I had to cut them up/arrange them/fix them in ways I thought made them work better.

 **Cheers,**

 **-Riley**

 **Review Replies**

 ** ** ** **Ethan:******** If things were gruesome now, it'll be worse when Cadence and Killer Frost finally do face off against each other. Like you said, who knows how they'll be able to move on after that, if they even can. ** ** ** **  
********

 **DarkHelm145:** Yep. I always loved the comic powers and wondered why it'd never been worked towards on the show so I needed to include it. Thanks for taking the time to review.

 ** **Yummers:**** Hope that was a suitable response to your question! :)


	54. Mirror Mirror On The Top

**54**

 _Mirror, Mirror On The Top_

* * *

HR stumbled as he landed on the ground from Gypsy's breach. He immediately jumped back out of the way to be passed by a screaming siren of a police car. To his left and right he found Harrison, Maya, Tess, Joe, Tracy, and Gypsy all land beside him, where it disappeared quick as a flash.

Turning, HR watched STAR Labs in the distance, looking for any sign of the explosion that was to come. There was nothing but STAR Labs standing tall in the distance. The sounds of an increasingly worried city rumbled around him.

It was then the sound of screaming reached his ears, all coming at once. There was a low roaring sound that stretched to the sky he could barely hear—he tilted his head back to see the missiles streaking up toward the sky. But it wasn't all he could see; he could see Breathtaker hovering high above the city, glass and shards of the buildings closest to him twisting and breaking apart, shooting towards the sky as he did so. As the seconds passed, the sounds of people around them, screaming and hollering in fear, continued to increase as the seconds passed.

"Oh boy," Harrison murmured.

"Do we have anything to stop _that?"_ Tracy asked.

Tess nodded swallowed hard. "Yes, but…they're gone."

"Oh, okay, well…" Tracy shrugged, bobbed her head back and forth. Her voice turned light and airy, as if there wasn't anything bothering them at the moment. A small, almost frantic smile came to her face. "I meant more like a weapon."

"Probably what's destroying STAR Labs right now," Joe remarked. He turned to Harrison, eyes wide in anticipation. "The uh, the uh, uh," he stammered, trying to find the words amongst his panic. "The Philosopher's Stone? If it blows STAR Labs sky high, maybe it can take out Breathtaker, too."

"If Breathtaker hadn't already thought of it," Gypsy said grimly. She shook her head. "If this guy is the same as the Breathtaker on my Earth, it's going to take a lot more than that Stone to take him down." She looked behind her, hearing another sound of another bloodcurdling scream. A younger couple screamed, cowering amongst the ground as a a chunk of concrete fell toward them.

Gypsy threw out her hand and a breach opened to catch the concrete. It fell into the swirling vortex and Gypsy flung out her other hand, creating another breach where it shot out and scratched along the ground, coming to a stop next to a fire hydrant.

"So, what are we going to do?" Maya asked. "With Barry and Cadence and the others taken away—"

"Look, while you eggheads go around and talk about what's going on, I'll handle this guy." Gypsy threw open and leapt through it. The breach deposited her on the rooftop nearest Breathtaker. Breathtaker simply looked at her with a raised eyebrow, before turning his attention back to the sky, holding his arms out to the side as if in rapture. "Better bask in it now, because today is the last day you'll see."

"The collector," Breathtaker murmured, voice echoing over the city. "To what do I owe this pleasure?"

"Oh, believe me." Gypsy clenched her hands into fists. "The pleasure's all mine."

"We're going to have to take him out if we want this to stop," Maya said. She jumped out of the way of another police came that came screeching up the street.

Joe glanced inside and shook his head. "That's Chief Paulson," he said. "This is just the reason he needs to push his anti-metahuman agenda even further than before. And without the Flash or Flare to help us…"

"We'll need to help ourselves," Harrison agreed grimly. He set Julian on the ground, his head lolling to the side, and motioned toward Maya. "Make sure nothing happens to him. If he wakes up as Julian, we may find a way for him to tap into Alchemy and help take Breathtaker down."

Maya nodded.

Harrison then slid his rifle around toward his front and stood next to Joe. "There's not much of a chance for us," he murmured under his breath. "Without powers, but we have to do something to distract him long enough, to give them more time to come back from…wherever they are."

"What about me?" HR broke in. Harrison and Joe both looked at him as if he were crazy. "There must be something I can do to help. There's always something I can help with, whether it be realizing other people's potential, or even coming up with a way to help out—" he spun his drumsticks around his fingers then shoved them in the back pockets of his jeans. "There's more than to me than meets the eye." As if to prove his point, he reached behind him and pulled out a pistol. "I'm not quite sure what this does compared to the 'normal guns' you all have around here," he used air quotes around the words. "But if I'm a Well and we did that mind-meld thing, we must have a pretty good shot."

Joe leaned back and forth, bobbing and weaving as HR waved his pistol around. "Watch where you're aiming that thing. Always treat a gun as if it's loaded."

"Why would you leave any unloaded weapons around STAR Labs?" HR chuckled. "I mean, that's just careless, that's just—" he broke off, noticing Harrison staring straight tat him. "I know, it's dangerous. I'll stop." He lowered the pistol to his side.

But Harrison continued to stare at him, eyes narrowing a fraction. Finally, it appeared that clarity came to his face and he nodded. He held his hand out to HR. Confused, HR did the same and Harrison grasped it firmly. The two stared at each other for a moment before HR blinked hard, as if waking from a deep sleep. He took a step back from Harrison and nodded, dropping his hand to the side.

Harrison nodded back, pulling his rifle in front of him once more.

HR looked upwards once more, watching as Gypsy through a red vibrational blast toward Breathtaker, the blast arching and curving around him as he did so. It was only a matter of time until he became nuanced with her presence and decided to attack her. Nothing was taking his attention from the missiles that continued to arc higher and higher in the sky as the seconds passed.

He lowered his chin and nodded.

"We'll have to help the police evacuate the city as quickly as we can," Joe said. "Gypsy can hold off Breathtaker for now. We've got some anti-meta measures within the police force that can hold them off for a while, but until the Flash and Flare get here, we're on our own. Don't stop unless they give you a reason to stop, and even then, keep going."

With that, Harrison, HR, and Joe broke off from the others and headed into the surging crowd to lead them to safety.

* * *

Brady turned a corner and sighed, pressing his palm against the wall beside him. Another dark, empty hallway. His mother's warning continued to follow him (or was it from TV?)—keep your left hand on the wall and follow it, eventually you'll find your way out.

 _How does that work if you don't know where you are?_ Brady thought. It was one thing to be that young drunk woman in the Catacombs whose panic and impaired state made it even more difficult for her to find her way out even if she were in the right state of mind, and another thing to be taken out of your apartment by force from a Speedster who had a grudge against the life you were a part of.

What did it mean for Brady to be trapped wherever he was, if it was all out of his control? Not that he'd ever thought being a superhero was going to be easy, but geez. Sometimes they should cut him a break. How many times was bad things going to happen to him before the karma of being a hero would kick in?

First his PaPaw dies, then his mom acted like everything was okay when she clearly wasn't okay, then his friends start getting hurt left and right, and betraying them and then Caitlin is Killer Frost and Barry is Savitar and his mom…

Brady pressed his lips together, continuing to stare at the darkness in front of him.

His mom was going to die.

Brady kept creeping forward, dragging his fingertips along the wall beside him. It accompanied the sound of his footsteps. Anything that would keep him from focusing so much on the breathing that seemed to be getting heavier by the second.

"Mom?" He called out as he went deeper into the darkness. "Barry? Cisco!"

The silence continued to stretch around him. The sounds of his feet dragging over the concrete seemed to echo and swirl around him much like the darkness in front of him. Brady twisted his lips to the side, feeling his heart race start to increase, focusing on the darkness in front of him.

He was afraid.

As the realization settled upon him, Brady shook his head. _Don't be afraid,_ he reminded himself. He could be afraid later. It wasn't the right time to be afraid. They were going to get through this just like they did everything else. Things were going to be okay.

Brady kept going, he wasn't sure how much time passed. He dragged his fingertips along the wall, following it every time it came to a new hallway or a dead-end. There was a way he got in, so there would be a way he could get out.

Finally, after however long, he found himself still going, when something at the end of a hallway grabbed his attention. Brady stopped walking for a fraction of a second. Just to figure out what it was he was seeing. Then he started to move faster, trying to figure out what it was he was seeing.

Brady's footsteps moved faster and faster.

Yes.

It was just as he thought it was. A light. A light at the end of the tunnel if it were. Brady picked up his pace, not moving at a run, but faster than a walk. Finally, he got close enough to see what it was he was bobbing towards. He slowed down, reaching out his hand. His fingers pressed against something, making him jump and bring his hand back.

Then he reached it out again, finding his hand pressing against a firm surface. Brady's eyes narrowed, he leaned closer then backed away again. The dim lightning, coming form somewhere behind him, made it easy to see he was looking back at himself. He watched as his reflection tilted its head to the side just as he had. Then back the other way.

Releasing a low breath, Brady lowered his hand and found his reflection doing the same. Over and over he'd move slowly, watching his reflection do the same. Not that, rationally, he had to do it. But something about him seeing his own reflection in the dark, with his suit on, was a bit unsettling.

As if he was expecting something to move differently.

Brady turned to go back the way he came, almost making it so that his back faced the mirror, then stopped. Eyes narrowing once more, Brady started to turn back, noticing his reflection moving a fraction of a second further. Caught, it turned the whole while and smiled back at Brady, his face twisting into an ugly snarl.

"What the-?" Brady started.

He closed his eyes as a shockwave of energy punched his stomach, accompanying the sound of shattering glass. Feet swept out from beneath him, Brady found himself flying through the air before he landed on his back on the ground.

He sat up, opening his eyes once more to find Sam Scudder aka Mirror Master leaping through the mirror to stand in front of him.

"You again?" Brady managed to wheeze out, rolling to his side. His fingers stretched across the ground, scrabbling to grab a hold of the shards of glass that broke. He looked down, a quiet, "What?" escaping his lips when he found there was nothing there. As if he'd made up the sound of glass breaking.

Mirror Master shrugged. He ran a hand through his hair then pushed back the bottom of his suit jacket to give him space to slip his hands into the pockets of his slacks. "Oh, you know, never really go out of style," he remarked. "And what else would I do to bide my time than to get rid of the snot nosed kid that keeps getting in my way." He pointed towards Brady. "It _was_ you whose been keeping tabs on me, right? Since that time at the soccer game and then when you got my police file."

Brady's heart stopped. "How'd you know about that?"

"Let's just say there's beauty in the eye of the beholder," Mirror Master remarked. He turned back to the mirror behind him and ran a hand through his hair once more. "Reflections, as they say, are the best view of oneself."

A quiet groan escaped Brady's lips as he pulled himself to his feet. "Why does every villain have to talk in riddles?"

"Kicks," Mirror Master replied. "And it's fun to watch our helpless victims squirm. It's fun."

"I don't know." Brady finally made his way back to his feet. He clenched his hands, the darkness around him starting to swirl into a ball. Mirror Master glanced at it then look back at Brady, obviously thinking him as nothing short of a nuisance. "It looks a little tacky from over here."

A wheezing laugh burst forth from Mirror Master. He wagged a finger back and forth. "We told you to stay away."

"I try not to listen to criminals or stupid people." Brady shrugged. "And you seem to be both." He charged towards Mirror Master, hoping to catch him off-guard.

Mirror Master, instead, took a step back and melded into the mirror behind him. Brady, unable to stop himself from moving forward, couldn't stop his forward projection and crashed headfirst into the mirror with a resounding _tong!_

Groaning in pain, Brady leaned back and rubbed at his forehead. Mirror Master's laughter eased out from the mirror just as he leaned his head out, making Brady glare back at him, then wince from the villain's sudden appearance and the pain shooting through his forehead.

"Didn't your mommy ever tell you to watch where you're running?" He then lifted his hand, producing what appeared to be a gun, and fired it off to the side. Mirror Master smiled in satisfaction as a glass vortex opened before it solidified into another pane of glass.

He pulled his head back in through the mirror and appeared through the second one he'd created with his companion, Rosa Dillon, aka The Top, leaping through with him. Her green eyes flashed as she threw her long blonde braid over her shoulder.

"You should've done as you were told," Top remarked, lips pulling back into a smirk. She motioned between herself and Mirror Master then pointed at Brady, the mirrored vortex behind them disappearing. "It's two versus one, odds aren't in your favor."

"I'll take that bet," Brady replied.

He whipped his hand from behind his back, brandishing his slingshot and pulled back the ammo he had inside. He released it, shifting his hand down at the same time. The ammo crashed into the floor, letting out a tiny implosion before the brightest of lights illuminated the area.

Mirror Master and Top both turned away, shielding their faces. At the same time, Brady transpose dhis slingshot into the long metal bow staff and swiped it at Top's legs, taking them out from beneath her. He then planted the end on the ground and with a leap, pushed himself forward in a pole vault to bring his feet directly into Mirror Master's chest.

Mirror Master fell to the side while Top crashed heavily to the ground. This gave Brady the opportunity to swing the bow staff around and towards Mirror Master's head. Mirror Master lifted his hand and knocked it away before sliding forward to swipe his feet out from beneath him. Brady fell hard to his chest, the wind knocked out of him for a moment, before he phased through the ground, seeing Mirror Master get back to his feet, a snarl on his face.

When Brady phased back through the wall, he found Top waiting for him, striking him in the face the second he came back through. Brady stumbled back for a second, bringing his hand up to his face.

 _Don't underestimate your opponent!_ Oliver's voice immediately warned through his head. The amount of times he'd trained with the Emerald Archer had been enough for him to learn how to defend himself when needed—a step up from what his mother had taught him over the years—and he'd really underestimated these guys.

Mirror Master couldn't fight to save his life. Brady knew that form the second he looked at him. He was dressed too nicely to be able to fight well. Top, on the other hand, caught him off guard with how well she could anticipate him, not to mention within the second he was hit in the face, Brad noticed her muscles tense and the way she held herself before throwing the punch forward.

A quick glance of his opponent told him as much. Briefly, in the back of his mind, he could hear his mother smugly saying, "I told you so," in terms of how much you could learn from other people when you're watching them.

Brady lowered himself to the ground and Rosa sent another punch his way. This time, Brady allowed her fist to phase through him. Top's eyes widened in surprise before narrowing in confusing, allowing Brady the chance to bring up his knee and strike her in the side. She crashed into the wall beside her and Brady formed a shadow ball, striking her in the chest with it.

Mirror Master growled and leapt through the mirror behind him, reappeared behind Brady and struck him hard in the back of the head. Stars exploded in front of Brady's eyes and he found himself falling to his knees. Mirror Master then walked around Brady and kicked him straight in the ribs.

"I don't care if you're a kid," he remarked, then lifted his foot, kicking Brady once more. Brady cried out in pain, rolling onto his back. "If you get in my way, you're in my way. And I need to make sure you leave me alone." He lifted his foot and stomped onto Brady's ribs.

Had he been a normal human, Brady was sure his ribs would've immediately snapped beneath the force of Mirror Master's foot to his chest. As it was, pain exploded through him, making him let out a low wheeze. Mirror Master backed away, pulling his arms from his jacket.

Top moved next to him, dusting at his shoulders. "Aww, baby, you got your coat dirty," she whined. "You need to get it dry cleaned."

"Tell that to that little shit over there," Mirror Master said, jerking his head towards Brady.

Brady used shadow blasts for shoot himself back to his feet, his cloak swirling around him. He held his hands out to his sides, black orbs starting to form over his hands. Mirror Master tilted his head back, making a long groaning sound.

"We've done this before, kid. It must take you a long time to get the picture—" He jerked his head back out of the way when Brady threw shadow balls toward him. The shadow balls struck the wall and left a warped circle out from the concrete around him.

Top narrowed her eyes at him. "This kid is stronger than the last time we've seen him," she murmured, still hanging off Mirror Master's shoulders. Then she turned back to Mirror Master, planting a kiss on his cheek. "But so are we."

Mirror Master grinned, spinning his gun in his hand. "Got to thank Breathtaker for something. By now, we're going to reap our rewards." He turned back to Brady. "Nothing personal, kid, but we've got some riches we're in for. You know how it is."

Brady threw another shadow ball toward him. Mirror Master held up his gun and turned it aside, showing off the reflective side. The shadow ball bounced off and flew back toward Brady, who quickly phased it through him. Mirror Master frowned and pointed the gun toward Brady again.

This time, Brady held his ground. He'd had enough guns pointed at him over the past year to not be afraid of them anymore. He looked down the darkened barrel of the gun and straight into Mirror Master's and Top's eyes defiantly.

Brady ducked down, grabbed handfuls of the dirt that covered the floor and threw it in the air. Mirror Master turned away, moving to cover his face. But Top moved in front of him swiping a hand through the air before doing a straight punch forward into Brady's chest.

"Top," Mirror Master declared, coughing loudly. He sucked in a sharp breath and continued to cough. "Give him a little ride."

"With pleasure." Top gleefully rubbed her hands together, eyes glowing a brilliant bright green. Then she locked her gaze on his, tilting her head aside.

Brady gasped, watching as the world around him twisted and turned. Tilted like a top. Everything around him started to slant, making him let out a low groan and bring his hand to the wall, working to keep himself steady. Nausea rolled through Brady's stomach.

Even as he closed his eyes, Brady continued to feel that he was being pulled in multiple directions. Opening his eyes once more, Brady's eyes twirled in his head, trying to keep track of the walls that spun like a moving kaleidoscope.

Then Mirror Master held up his hand and clenched them into fists. Instinctively, Brady turned away, finding himself face to face with the puddle he'd stepped in before. The reflection, which would've been an upside-down version of what they were seeing before, twisted and turned in a spiral, copying the walls around him.

 _It's all in your head,_ Brady thought, breathing deeply. His chest screamed in protest, still working to heal from the kicks he'd received before. _It's all in your head. It's not really happening._

"Oh, it's happening," Top warmed, pursing her lips and adopting a babyish tone. "And it's not going to stop."

Brady gasped, pressing his back to the wall behind him. He slowly fell to the ground, bringing his hands up above his head, trying to push back the walls that continued to crumble around him, twisting around and contorting itself into a block that moved in on all sides.

Top cried out in surprise, suddenly flung to the side. Mirror Master was shot in the opposite direction, the hold the two metas held on Brady was released. He let out a sigh of relief, pressing his hands to the side of his head, finding Leah standing next to him. She gasped for air, her hand pressing into her side.

"Are you trying to make this a thing?" Leah asked him. "Because there's only so many times I can save you before it gets old." She grabbed his elbow, hauling him off the ground.

"Two against one is never a fair fight." Brady shook his head, working off the last of the nausea that washed over him. He was sure Deity may have said something like that to him before. Or he'd heard it from somewhere else...? It _sounded_ like something Deity would probably brag about, but... "Why does that sound so familiar?" He asked her.

Leah chuckled quietly. "I've been running around here looking for anyone, you're the first person I found."

"No one else?"

"I haven't seen anyone. This place is big…wherever it is…"

"Are the lovebirds done having their merry reunion?" Top asked, getting back to her feet. Her cheeks bloomed red, teeth bared, long braid hooked over her shoulder was loose, spilling her hair everywhere.

Despite the situation, Brady and Leah both looked at each other with wrinkled noses. "Ew," they said in unison.

"Looks like everything's even now," Top said, stepping towards the two young superheroes. She rubbed her palms together once more, then planted her hands on her hip. She looked at Mirror Master over her shoulder, who shared the same bared teeth expression, hair falling over his forehead. "We've both got someone to take down."

Leah held up her hand. Top's face muscles started to twitch as she slowly, very slowly was forced toward the ground. Mirror Master looked at her before he did the same. "Your crime spree is going to stop here," she declared.

"What did Breathtaker promise you to help him?" Brady demanded.

Mirror Master snarled but didn't respond. His hands slowly moved toward the ground, moving him into a submissive position. Silence stretched between the two groups, the gravitational pull moved between them. "I'm going to do whatever I want. There's a new King in town."

"And I'm his queen," The Top added.

"I wouldn't be too sure about that," Leah said.

"I would, little girl," Top continued. Her eyes narrowed on Leah's. "It's the circle of life. Everything always manages to go in cycles. They just spin, spin, spin…" Her eyes started to glow once more.

Brady closed his eyes, turning his head away. "Don't look!" He reached into the belt attached to his suit and pulled off the frisbee. With a forward thrust of his arm, Brady clicked the frisbee into moving into its shield position, ducking the two behind it. "That's how she gets you, she has to look you in the eye.

"What else are we going to do?" Leah asked.

Brady opened his mouth to respond, then cried out, feeling an almighty blow against his shield. One solid one, then multiple little ones that continued to press against the frisbee. Brady risked a glance over the top and noticed shards of glass coming towards them like a hailstorm.

Mirror Master's face was twisted in fury as he continued to throw shards of glass at them, pieces increasing in size as the seconds passed. Brady and Leah cried out when a considerably big one hit the front of his shield, denting it.

Brady slowly inched his way backwards as Mirror Master continued toward them, taking a step forward for each of theirs back. Leah lowered her hands, allowing Top to get back to her feet as well. She grabbed onto the handle of the shield, helping Brady hold it up.

"We can't hold this off for long," she said.

"I know," Brady agreed. He jumped again when there was another large strike against the front of his shield. The metal continued to hold, but it probably couldn't withstand what Mirror Master was giving to it. Not when Cisco probably hadn't meant for him to be in so much danger. "What else can we do? If we lower this shield, we're going to be shishkabobs."

"There has to be something we can do to stop him." Leah shook her head. "I don't know how much longer I can hold them."

Brady squeezed his eyes shut in thought. It'd all come down to him. But his shadow balls didn't seem to be doing much to keep them at bay. Even the size of the hole he'd left in the piece of concrete wasn't enough to slow Mirror Master down. _What if it didn't slow him down but sucked him in?_ The thought came to Brady's mind out of thin air. (Or, he thought a split second later, he'd paid attention to Barry when the time he'd gone on and on about space when he was helping Brady with his telescope to look at the moon).

Something about there being spaces in the universe that were void of anything but a gravitational pull. Where anything that went in couldn't be let back out. The pull was just too strong.

"A black hole," he said. Brady wasn't sure how loud he said it. But noticed Mirror Master's eyebrows twitch, his eyes grow crazy, throwing glass harder and harder as he did so, creating more sheets with his gun when he ran out. Top stood next to him, clenching her hands, looking at her boyfriend then back to the young superheroes. Then Brady looked to Leah, who looked back at him.

Leah nodded.

All at once, Brady stood up and swung his arm as hard as he could, throwing his frisbee-shield in the narrowed hallway. Mirror Master and Top pressed their backs against the wall to keep from being hit. At the same time, he activated his phasing powers or flight while Leah decreased their center of gravity, shooting them straight up to the ceiling while the wave of glass soared beneath them, skittering along the hallway.

Clear of the danger, the two let go and dropped back to their feet. Brady fell into a crouch, groaning when he felt glass digging into his knees. Ignoring the pain, Brady created a large shadow ball of energy in the air while Leah added her gravitational manipulation on top.

It took a second before the shadow ball to start swirling in on itself. The back end made a peak, shifting back towards Brady and Leah while the front held steady. Brady and Leah watched as Mirror Master and Top pressed themselves harder against the walls, their clothes starting to be pulled from the gravitational pull of the black hole.

Brady pressed his lips together and threw more shadow energy into the vortex, making it bigger, the pull from inside growing stronger as the seconds passed. Finally, Mirror Master and Top, screaming, were sucked in side the black hole, reaching for each other as they were pulled inside. Brady and Leah dropped their hands, breathing heavily from the exertion of energy they used.

For a long minute, the only sound around them was the sound of their heavy breathing. Finally, Leah ventured to ask, "Are they…?"

Brady focused on brushing direst off his suit, realizing with surprise that Cisco had to have made them stain resistant in some way, not finding any dirt sticking to him. "Dead?" He completed her thought. Brady shook his head. "No." At least, he hoped not. "I think I phased them somewhere else." He didn't stop to think about it. "Come on, we have to find the others…Savitar, Breathtaker… we have to go."

Leah nodded and the two took off running once more, this time with Brady leading the way as they phased through the walls. It was much faster and, if they were stopped by Mirror Master and Top, the others had to be in as much danger.

* * *

 **A/N:** Well, the next one is the big one you guys. There's a lot that's going to be going on and, well, you need to be prepared for it. That's all I can say about it, though. Unless you ask, because I have no problem answering questions and giving spoilers if you need it.

 **Cheers,**

 **-Riles**

 **Review Replies**

 **Ethan:** Glad you read through the Superbowl, must mean the game was as bad as everyone else thinks (lol) or it was a compelling chapter. You're right, Cade doesn't need anyone to protect her, lol. But she doens't mind a bit of backup.

 **DarkHelm145:** We'll find out if Jesse killed Mindboggler and what it means for her character moving forward cause, no matter what, it'll be a poignant event for her.


	55. Til' Death Do Us Part

**55**

 _Til' Death Do Us Part  
_

* * *

Frankie ducked out of the way of the blow coming toward her head and threw up her arm. All the years of abuse she'd suffered from, not only John, but form other foster homes at least gave her some sort means to defend herself. Her reflexes were top notch, able to keep herself from being touched again. She looked to the man that stood in front of her, who didn't move too quickly, but was confident enough in himself that he could wear her down.

A metal sheet flung off the wall along with Frankie's movement and shot toward the meta in front of her. She gasped, feeling a sudden sharp pain in her wrist and looked down, grimacing. The skin on her arm was ever so slowly peeling away, as it had when he'd first touched her. The veins of her arm turning a nasty green color, as if gangrene was already starting to take its hold. The meta hadn't had a good grasp on her when she awoke; he'd simply nudged her with his foot, taunting her as he walked around her.

She'd immediately awakened from a sharp kick to the stomach that sent her bending over, retching toward the ground. Before she was snapped in the jaw, making her spit up blood.

"Well, I'd hoped there was more that you would have been able to do for me," the meta said. "Put up a bit of a fight. After all, it's not every day I'm asked a simple favor to get my revenge. If I have to kill you to get to Joe West…the CCPD…well, then I'm all for it." He stretched his hand out toward her. "It won't take too long. But it might hurt a little, I've seen and heard the horrified screams of some of my victims, but we'll see how you do…"

He'd moved to grab her then. to It hadn't been a good grasp on her, just a grazing tap of his fingertip, as light as a tissue brushing against her arm from how quickly she jerked back, anticipating pain. She kicked his legs out from beneath him and pulled her hand into a fist, allowing a metal rod from the ceiling to swing down and strike him in the face.

Her eyes glowed a bright magenta as she did so. But this time around, she had her powers under control. The time she knew how to work them to her advantage, especially when she was facing a meta who was seriously underestimating her. Plus, it was a good way to let out any of her residual aggression that'd she knew would otherwise be pointed at John.

It'd been his upcoming trial that she had to speak at, to bear as a witness to that had brought her back to Central City. And it had been her hesitation toward that upcoming trial that'd made it easier for her to work on her powers when she was alone. Her new family didn't understand, wouldn't understand.

But at least she managed to work her way up to being able to stay in control. So much so that while this meta continued to throw everything he had at her, growing increasingly frustrated by the second, she easily fended him off, while working to stave off the infection slowly growing in her arm.

Frankie changed tactics, throwing pieces of metal at him as hard as she could, repeatedly pulling parts from the walls and ceiling to do so. But the meta, having realized Frankie had more power than he originally intended, continued to smirk at her, lifting his hands to shield himself, the metal sheet that struck him slowly crumbling away, as if it were made of dust.

"Okay, this is getting boring," the meta said.

"Really?" Frankie chuckled. Sweat poured down her face, dripping off her chin. "I could do this all day."

"That should be interesting," the meta replied. "I should be able to, too. What, with that power boost I've managed to get." He held up his hand. "Maybe I should give you an up close and personal look." He brought up his arms, crossing them in front of him to form an 'X'. He then opened his arms, sending a rippling wave of energy her way.

As the energy came nearer, extending in all directions, the ceiling and walls started to crumble away, turning to dust in seconds. Frankie kicked off the wall beside her, launching herself to the other side of the room. She heavily to her side, protecting her injured arm and crouched low to the ground. The residuals of the wave came closer to her and she clapped her hands together, releasing an electromagnetic pulse into the ceiling. Immediately, the concussive force shot through the ceiling. The bulbs all burst, plunging the room into darkness, making the walls crumble even further.

Large sheets of rock and ceiling fell around her, crashing to the ground and creating deafening booms as they did so. At the same time, At the same time, the pulse knocked down wires from the ceiling, showering the room with even more sparks. One of the few hoses that dropped sent a chill through the air, causing Clive to recoil, shielding his face from the icy blast. Within seconds, Frankie felt the temperature in the room drop.

The meta started toward her, bringing up his hand to catch the rocks that fell toward him, decomposing them as they fell. Then one struck his palm. He stared at his hand, eyebrows coming together in confusion. Another struck him, this time dropping his hand down. The meta growled and brought up his other hand, crying out when he found that the rocks continued to weigh his hands down, one hitting him particularly hard to scrape his palm open.

"No!" He cried. "What are you doing to me?"

Frankie's and the meta's breath started to form clouds in front of their faces, the air in front of them continuously growing cold as the pipe hanging from the ceiling spewed out its contents. Frankie looked down at her arm, watching as the erosion seemed to come to a halt.

She looked up once more at the sound of an enraged snarl that the meta screamed toward her, and started to charge her within the melee, hand held out to her. Frankie got to her feet and threw up her hands; creating an electromagnetic field around her.

The meta crashed into the shield and bounced back against the ground, the back of his head smacking the ground hard. Frankie lowered her arms, gasping for air as she looked over the man that lay prone before her. She walked toward him, studied him. A handsome man, she realized, but no one she recognized. No one from the Assassination Bureau or whomever else had landed in the encyclopedia the team at STAR Labs had been creating.

No, this man hadn't been anyone the team had seen before. She would've understood if it was Julian Albert coming after her, part of her wished it had been him that she'd seen upon waking up. But it wasn't to be, she'd see him again when her trial started. But this man, he was innocent. And didn't deserve anything to happen to him.

Using her powers, Frankie made a construction of metal that'd shield him from the still crumbling walls and ceiling. Frankie walked to him, kneeling over the man's body. She patted his pockets, easily finding his wallet. It was funny how much her life in and out of foster homes had given her more skills than even the poorest of people; able to know what it was like to live a privileged life as well as the poorest. And some of the better things she was able to do was fly under the radar, let alone figure out how to get information from people.

The funniest part was that people seemed to have a false sense of security that made them easy targets. Men never carried bags other than the most rugged looking backpacks as they didn't want to appear feminine or—gasp—mistaken for gay. They tended to leave their wallets in their back pockets and didn't go many places without it.

So much so that it was easy for Frankie to ID the meta that attacked her, and get some cash in case her trial went south. She was still holding his ID when Brady and Leah came phasing through the wall directly to her right. She jumped, looking at the young metas, who gaped back at her.

"They got you, too?" Brady finally asked.

"Looks like they've got a lot of us," Frankie replied.

"We have to keep going," Leah said. She gasped for air, rubbing sweat off her face from beneath her suit—Brady's former one before his Cisco upgrade. Her eyes shifted, as if waiting for someone to blast through the wall beside them. Or for the meta to get off the ground and come back to alive. "Find the others. Find Barry and Miss. Cadence before Savitar gets to them."

Frankie's eyebrows rose. "Savitar?" She repeated. She brought a gloved hand up to her forehead. Winced. So many memories of her time as Magenta. As Alchemy had given her powers. How she'd struggled between being Frankie and Magenta. How Alchemy had been behind all of it.

It had to have been why she was taken.

 _"As a matter of fact, there is," Julian remarked. His eyes shifted to the side, spotting Frankie poking her head out from around the door of Cadence's office. Cadence made a face and quickly motioned for Frankie to go back inside, but Julian was faster. He lifted the folder in his hand and pointed it towards the teenage girl. "You!" He barked._

 _Frankie jumped and motioned to herself. "M-me?"_

 _"Yes, you." Julian pointed at her then turned to the others that stood around him, eyeing him carefully. Cadence's heard sank, listening to his almost feverish words. "I ran a test on the DNA sample I got from your glass the last time you were here. With that, I isolated an element that was consistent with all five husks that have been found around the city. The last one being that of Edward Clariss's crime scene. It's not one I've found in any other metahuman sample I've found."_

 _"You think she has the same component in her DNA?" Barry asked. He folded his arms, pressing his lips together. Cadence recognized the look just as she became used to every other nuance of Barry's expressions and signs of body language. He was worried. Worried that Julian was coming too close to the truth._

 _"I wouldn't have done the tests if I hadn't thought so, now would I? But it's a good thing I did." He looked at Frankie once more. She gaped, taking a step back from Julian, moving further into Cadence's office. "You did it."_

 _"What?" Frankie gasped. She brought her hand up, as if to cover her mouth, eyes widening with fright. Her chest heaved, pain flickering through her eyes with the rapid breaths she took in. "No. I wouldn't…"_

 _"With the light post, you attacked him." Julian continued to wave his folder towards her. "I've got the proof right here." His voice raised with vehemence. " You did it."_

 _"Julian," Joe warned._

 _But Julian continued his tirade. "You're a metahuman. You put your foster father in the hospital. Didn't you?" Frankie brought her hands up to cover her ears, trying to block out the accusations Julian threw her way. " Didn't you? You hurt him—"_

 _Frankie's head snapped up frighteningly fast. A puppet on marionette's strings, she turned to face Julian, face slack, expressionless. Slowly, very slowly a smirk came to her face as her eyes glowed a bright magenta. "Oh," she said slowly, in a voice unlike her own. A voice coming deep from within her. "I want to do more than hurt him." With that she started to raise her hands in a similar manner Cadence did while igniting her fire around her hands._

 _She exchanged a glance with Barry, the two moving into defensive stances. They couldn't do anything yet, had to wait to see what sort of danger was coming their way. Had to case the situation and act accordingly._

 _"Now I'm going to do the same to you," Frankie continued to rasp. The sound of screeching, bending metal filled the air, lightbulbs cracked and erupted, showering the floor of the CCPD with shards of glass. Cadence whipped her head around, watching as all metal started to bend and twist, pulling themselves from their mounted placements._

 _"Frankie," Cadence called._

 _"Frankie, stop!" Joe commanded._

 _But Frankie continued to breathe deeply, holding her hands up higher and higher. As the seconds passed, the screeching sound continued to fill the air, increasing in volume by the second. Then slowly, very slowly, the golden plaque that sat on the wall started to teeter forwards, ripping off its place on the wall and fell towards Julian._

 _Once again, Barry and Cadence exchanged a glance. Simultaneously, they sprang into action. They raced into their suits before going back to the CCPD, all in a fraction of a second. Then Barry raced forward to grab Julian, pulling him to safety of the plaque that shattered on the ground. Cadence charged forward and wrapped her arms around Frankie and teleported, bringing her outside of the CCPD and into a nearby alleyway._

 _The moment they stopped, Frankie elbowed her way out of Cadence's grasp and backed away, still sucking in sharp, angry breaths. Cadence held her hand up towards her. "Frankie," she warned._

 _"I'm not Frankie," She growled. "The name's Magenta!"_

 _"You're like this because of Alchemy," Cadence said, quickly putting the thought together. Strange blackouts, new, sudden powers. The same had to have been said of Edward Clariss before he suddenly turned up dead. Digging into his case, shortly after his body was found, revealed to Caitlin and Cisco his frequent complaints and worries of lost time before his arrival as a speedster._

 _She looked over as Barry appeared at her side._

 _He took in what she said and added, "He changed you somehow, didn't he? With some sort of a stone?" Frankie continued to watch the two, her eyes darted back and forth between them. "This isn't you. Just…let us help you."_

 _Frankie shook her head. "I don't need anyone's help."_

 _"I don't want anyone to get hurt."_

 _"It's too late for that."_

"Let's go," Frankie said. "We're not doing much by standing here, we need to get out of here. If Savitar got the rest of us together like this, then it's—"

"—For a distraction," Brady broke in. He ran his hands over his face. He bit his lower lip and let out a sigh through his nose. "It's going to happen."

"What's going to happen?" Frankie asked.

Brady shook his head. He clenched his hand into a fist, sucked in a deep breath through his nose, and twisted, punching it into the beside him. Frankie and Leah winced, expecting Brady to let out a cry of pain. Instead, he brought his arm back to his side, barely glancing at the blood that poured over his knuckles, something dark swirling through his eyes.

Leah's eyebrows furrowed. She reached out and grabbed Brady's shoulder. "Brade? Are you okay?"

He knocked her hand away, grunting under his breath. "Come on." He turned, placing his hands on the girl's shoulders. Frankie looked back at the meta who'd attacked her once more before being phased through the wall.

Clive Yorkin.

She had to remember that.

* * *

Savitar stumbled back, pressing his hand to his stomach. Not far enough to let go of Cadence, but enough so that they could look at each other. Watch each other closely as the seconds passed. Savitar bent in half, watching as blood seeped through his stomach. Then he stood up straight, bringing his hand away from his stomach to show his wound already healing.

"I get the sentiment," Savitar drawled, watching as she continued to glare at him. "But, I could never accuse you of being the smartest person in the room. Yes, you have the smarts that'd make even the Wells family jealous, which is ironic going to you. But it seems you've forgotten I'm a speedster," he wiggled his free hand and moved his face closer to hers. "I heal fast."

Cadence turned her head away from his. "That's what I was hoping."

Savitar's eyes narrowed when he saw the look on her face. A small smile of mischief that he'd grown to love over the years. This version wasn't the same Cadence he'd grown to love, but there was still something there. He felt it simply by looking at her. Could see everything of the life they'd lived together from his time. Still, in the back of his mind, he knew it wasn't her. And he knew she'd just betrayed him.

Sucking in a deep breath through his nose, Savitar stood up straight, framing Cadence's face in his hands. He looked at her for a moment before murmuring, "I'm really going to miss you, you know?" before kissing her.

The sparks were still there; figuratively from the love they held for each other, despite being from different timelines and literally from their powers working together. But it was different; what clued Cadence into knowing it was Savitar who'd been holding her hand that time before. Just as it was different now.

Savitar pushed Cadence away from him, raced into his suit, and was back in his spot before he whipped his arm out, striking Barry across the face. Barry twisted back through the air, crashing into the wall behind him. Savitar followed him around and grabbed him by the head, slamming it into the wall behind him.

"Nice try, Flash, but you can't sneak up on me," Savitar snarled. He pushed harder, making Barry cry out in pain, the pressure of his face being pressed into the concrete slowly starting to break his cheekbone. "I _am_ you. I know everything." He turned and flung Barry across the room once more before grasping Cadence's arm. "It's not for me to kill you," and withdrew her from sight before turning back to Barry. "It's not time for you either, Flash."

"I'm going to stop you," Barry replied, chest heaving as his body worked to heal his face. "No matter what, I'm going to stop you."

Savitar crouched low. "Then let's make sure it's a good fight," before he raced toward him.

Barry and Savitar shot around the enclosed room, yellow and white lightning zipping back and forth, fighting at superhuman speed. Anyone watching them would've seen nothing but those flashes. Flashes that moved so quickly that it would've been questioned what was seen.

But within those rapid movements was a terrible fight; devastating punches and kicks to each other, slams into the ceiling and the floor along with the walls. Blows that knocked the speedsters back before they raced forward and knocked into each other once more.

Over and over.

Flash, flash, flash, flash, flash.

Until the flashes stopped, Savitar and Barry raced from the room, and all was silent.

* * *

Killer Frost looked over as Cadence was dumped in the middle of the clearing in front of her. She smirked, finally allowing herself to rise from her seated position on the flight of stairs that she'd been perched upon, waiting. Flicking her hand, Killer Frost created a long icicle and tapped it to the top of the railing next to her.

 _Shiiiiiink._

The sound echoed among the empty space around him. Cadence turned toward her and glared, immediately flicking out her hands, flames appearing at her fingertips. Killer Frost continued to walk towards Cadence, her heels snapping against the ground as she did so.

'I'm giving you one last chance," Cadence said.

"There must be something about Caity you like if you consistently want to keep from killing me," Killer Frost said. "But what's destiny to a little bit of affection between girlfriends, right? Let me guess." Killer Frost tapped her icicle against her palm. "You think she's still in me and you may want to keep her safe."

Cadence rolled her neck.

"She's gone, Cadey," Killer Frost mocked. "There's nothing left for her in me." And to prove her point, Killer Frost held out her arms and tilted her head back, leaving herself open for attack. But she searched inside for Caitlin, searched the snowy, mountainous region within her for the bioengineer, smiling cruelly when she found her still knocked out, curled up in the snow. "And, soon, there'll be nothing left of you."

Cadence tilted her head, watching Killer Frost closely. "You think being Savitar's lackey is going to help you beat me?"

"No, I think your refusal to kill me is what will make me beat you," Killer Frost replied. Her leather skirt dusted her knees, as she continued toward Cadence. "You're not strong enough."

"And you are?"

"More fun to rein in hell, and all that."

"Believe me, the only person who knows about hell is me," Cadence lifted her hands, flames rushing around her fingertips. "'Fire in the heart and all that," She mocked.

Killer Frost's lips pulled back into a snarl. She bent low at the knee, thrusting her hands out in opposite directions. As she did so, she created an ice slide that erupted from beneath her feet that twisted her up into the air. Projected by the ice she threw out behind her, Killer Frost slid forward on the ice, arching over the Central City landscape. Cadence ran forward and leapt onto the ice slid, using her fire powers to propel her forward, melting the ice behind her as she went.

Glancing behind her, Killer Frost smiled to herself as they arched around the city, the ice path twisting and turning like a roller coaster as they went. Loop over loop, turn after turn they slid through Central City. Every now and then, Killer Frost threw a blast of ice towards those on the street, prompting Cadence to teleport them to safety before following back behind Killer Frost once more.

Killer Frost then twisted towards the ground, in an increasingly narrowing spiral, the edges of the path coming closer and closer. Out the corner of her eye, she saw Cadence still following her. Killer Frost bent her knees as she came closer to the ground.

 _Bamf!_

She gasped, seeing Cadence suddenly appear in front of her once more…but she was still behind her. Killer Frost tried to change direction of her trajectory path and found herself unable to move fast enough. Both Cadences—the real one and the fire mirage—struck her in the back with hard kicks at the same time. Killer Frost's feet slipped out from beneath her, sending her across the street and into a parked car.

She fell to the ground and got back to her feet in time be kicked in the chest by another mirage, that melded back to Cadence in a rush of flame. Killer Frost spat on the ground, blood marring the sidewalk as she did so. She drew her arm across her mouth, smearing the blood over her cheek.

Then she got to her feet and threw a vapor of ice towards Cadence. Instead of it slowing her down, Cadence simply counteracted it with a wave of fire. She stomped hard on the ground, an orange, hellish glow covering her as a ring of fire encircled the two. Killer Frost snarled and moved forward.

She threw as many punches and kicks to Cadence as she could, each one Cadence managed to fend herself off from. Each punch that moved toward her head was blocked by a convenient place of her wrist. At one point she grabbed Killer Frost's arm, twisted her body down; spinning on one foot in an illusion, and maneuvered herself around Killer Frost and kneed her hard in the back.

Killer Frost fell to her knees then turned back, rushing towards Cadence. Cadence leapt over the parked car that stood between them, bringing her legs up to keep from catching them on the roof of the car. She kicked Killer Frost in the chest.

"Ugh!" Killer Frost turned around and moved to punch Cadence in the back, forming ice around her fist as she did so. Cadence placed her hand on the side of the car, lifted her feet, and spun herself around, then pushed off with her hands.

Lifting her arms and legs up, she flew back over Killer Frost's head, landed gracefully on her feet, and sent a solid punch directly to Killer Frost's face. She backed away, giving Killer Frost some space to catch her breath.

Killer Frost threw her hair back from her face. Her eyes narrowed into slits. "Looks like you've really stopped holding back," She said. "I'm impressed."

"I'm not looking to impress you," Cadence replied.

"Right, we're just trying to kill each other," Killer Frost agreed. "I didn't forget." She reached out and placed her fingertip against the flame. The circle of flames immediately hardened into ice. "Now it's my turn." She turned and punched Cadence across the jaw, hitting her so hard that she flew across the clearing and crashed into the ice wall. "Did you really need to make it that easy?"

Killer Frost then lifted her head, blue eyes growing even brighter. Snow stared to fall around them, freezing before it hit the ground, droplets pinging off the sidewalk around them. Cadence got back to her feet.

"You're forgetting something, sweetie," Cadence said, lifting her head. Her eyes slowly started to burn a solid, scary shade of red. The flames around her hands turned so darky, they were almost black. "Breathtaker made me stronger."

"You should show it off once in a while," Killer Frost replied, looking at her dark blue polish on her nails. "I'm getting bored."

"Believe me. I plan on it."

They moved at the same time.

 _Thwoom._

Their movements blurred together, fire vs. ice. Killer Frost's head twisted to the side when Cadence punched her in the face. Then grabbed her by the front of her jacket and threw her hard across the street. Caitlin flew through the air and smacked into a lamppost, falling to a heap.

Growling, Killer Frost got to her knees, punching her fists forward, sending snowballs to Cadence. Cadence lifted her hands and punched back. Instead of shooting fireballs back at her friend, she simply used the movements to melt the ones that were coming towards her. Her eyes stuck to Killer Frost's face, watching to see where she'd move next.

So much so that when Killer Frost's eyes lowered, ready to take down the fire metahuman with a slick sheen of ice over the ground, Cadence used her heat vision to melt it back to Killer Frost's hands, who squealed in pain when the heat reached her fingertips.

Then Cadence teleported forward and grabbed Killer Frost by the neck, slamming her to the ground. Stunned, Killer Frost could only grab onto Cadence's arm as the fire metahuman started to teleport back and forth across the street.

Cadence continued to throttle Killer Frost, moving her back and forth across the street until Killer Frost got the upper hand. Then the tables were turned with Killer Frost gaining the upper hand on Cadence, knocking her around with savage blows reinforced by her ice so it was a solid strike among her body. Almost as if she'd gotten an exo-skeleton from her ice powers.

When she knocked Cadence back, Killer Frost froze her legs to the ground. Grunting, Cadence placed her hands on the ice, struggling to free herself. Killer Frost chuckled and walked over. She grasped Cadence's jaw, looking her in the eye.

"Do you want your death to be fast?" She pulled her arm back, icicles forming on her fingertips. "Or slow?"

"I was going to say the same to you," Cadence said. She let out a blast of fire from her eyes, striking Killer Frost in the cheek when she, instinctively, moved her head aside. The fire struck Killer Frost's cheek, streaking off a strip of skin from the apple of her cheek. The outer line of the burn blackened and curled away.

Killer Frost's mouth opened in a long scream, her hands going to her face to cover the bubbling skin. Cadence kicked the ice away from her legs, in time for Killer Frost to conjure an icicle and threw it towards the fire metahuman, striking true and getting her in the thigh, making Cadence's screams mix with Killer Frost's.

Cadence recovered first, sending flames around her body to melt the icicle before teleporting forward. She grabbed and Killer Frost.

 _Bamf!_

They appeared high above the ground and fell, with Cadence twisting Killer Frost beneath her. They crashed against the ground and bounced apart. Slowly, they got to their feet and stood apart from each other, breathing heavily.

Their eyes flashed as they looked to each other.

Killer Frost licked her lips, creating an even thicker icicle. Cadence followed suit, forming a fire sweord in her hand. Killer Frost swallowed hard, nodding once. "Tell Caity I'll miss her," Killer Frost declared. "And I hope that heaven treats her well."

"Tell her, yourself," Cadence replied.

At the same time, they pulled back their arms and plunged their weapons into each other.

* * *

Barry gasped as he rolled across the ground, feeling Savitar's clawed hand shove him hard across the back. Finally, he came to a stop and looked at the sky. The sky looked so beautiful, a serene sky of inky black with the most brilliant stars and littered above.

The same stars he and Brady would look at every night through his telescope. The same ones he went through time and time again, explaining the names behind each one and how they were named. How the constellations were created and the mythos behind them with Brady listening in rapt attention though, there were times Barry could tell he'd lost the young boy in what he was saying, but he still listened quietly.

Where Cadence would sit nearby, curled up on the window seat either with a book or just watching the two with a half-smile on her face. The times where he, Cisco, and Caitlin would pull all-nighters at STAR Labs where they'd work to catch an elusive metahuman or do rounds of endless tests that resulted in them going to the garage that held all the STAR Labs vans. Where they'd open the side of a van and sit inside, eating late night Big Belly Burger and Pizza Pockets while opening the garage door to look out over the city, watching the sky as the hours passed, growing lighter as they continued working.

Barry remembered all of that, stuck it in his memory as he got to his feet. Knowing and reading what was coming the second he saw the CCPN news box staring at him the second he stood up.

 _"In other legal news, the highly publicized trial of Jared Marillo, aka Plunder, has come to a close._ _Marillo was found guilty of grand theft and aggravated assault after he was caught by the Flash robbing the Central City Museum earlier this year."_

Barry barely glanced at the box. His legs moved forward on autopilot as much as he screamed for his mind to stop. As much as he wanted to change the future, to take it back from what was going to happen. He couldn't think of a solution.

For once, he wasn't the hero he set himself out to be.

He wasn't going to save them.

No.

It was happening.

No.

Lifting his eyes, Barry took notice of the street sign he stood under; the sign reading in bold letters INFANTINO STREET. Barry twisted on his heel and raced across the clearing, stopping at the foot of the plaza before him when he saw Savitar waiting.

Just like the future had predicted.

Barry gasped for air, like a fish out of water. Struggled with the overwhelming tidal wave of emotions that suddenly crashed into him. It was happening.

"Don't!" Barry cried.

He inched towards Savitar, who had a tight grasp on Iris's shoulder. Beside him, Killer Frost stood with an icicle pointed directly towards Cadence's—who was in her suit—heart, Cadence holding onto a flaming sword pointed at Killer Frost as well. The two gasped for air, shoulders heaving from the fight they'd put themselves through only moments before.

"It's time to choose," Savitar growled. He tilted his head back and forth between Killer Frost, Cadence, and Iris. "Who will be saved?"

"No, no!" Barry cried, hand outstretched. He continued to inch towards Savitar. Step after step. Closer and closer. He couldn't run yet. If he started to run…he pushed the thought form his mind, eyes bouncing from Iris to Caitlin and Cadence, who continued to tear into each other. Repeatedly, Barry's eyes darted around the arena, seeing only Savitar, Iris, Killer Frost, and Cadence. He looked closer at Killer Frost, noticing the blank look to her face.

Panic swelled within him.

No, they couldn't die.

No.

He had to save them.

Had to stop Savitar.

Where were his other friends? Where was everyone? Cisco? Wally? Jesse? Were they safe? Did Savitar get to them too? Where was Brady? Joe? What happened to them? Were they hurt? Dead? Barry couldn't run fast enough to save them all. Not when Savitar was faster than him, when he still "Please, I'm begging you."

"Make your choice," Savitar declared. "Life is full of choices, Barry, and now it's time for you to make yours. Who do you want to save?" He shook Iris in front of him like a ragdoll, breaking Barry's concentration, trying to come up with the best plan of action in seconds.

"Don't do it, Barry," Iris bravely warned. Tears slid down her cheeks, but she fought to keep her voice calm. Steady. But he could see her shaking, saw her hands trembling as she tried to hold them steady in front of her. Barry looked into the eyes of his oldest friend, saw the determination in her eyes, how strong she was. Somewhere, deep inside, she truly believed she was getting out of the situation alive. "Don't worry about me."

Barry shook his head. Iris looked back at him, eyebrows coming together. Confused. Was he giving up? _I'm sorry,_ Barry thought. He stretched his hand out toward Savitar, watching as Savitar held Iris tighter. Savitar tilted his eyes, watching Barry as the seconds passed. Barry's mind whirred a mile a minute, working to figure out what to do.

Where to run first.

"Please," Barry continued.

"Choose!" Savitar spat.

"I can't!"

Savitar pulled his arm back. "You already have." And he thrust his arm forward, driving the spike directly through Iris's heart. Savitar lifted his spike and flung his arm to the side, Iris's body slid off and dumped to the ground.

"No!" Barry yelled, squeezing his eyes shut.

He turned, finding Killer Frost and Cadence came to their demise at that exact moment. Watched as the ice metahuman and fire metahuman shot forward at the same time. Both finding just the right opening. He watched as the spear of ice and the tip of the flame sword slid through each other like butter. Blood sprayed the air, in a wide sprinkler arc.

For a few seconds, they stood still, staring at each other. Then Killer Frost pulled back her icicle and Cadence's flame sword slowly dissipated. The two looked at each other before letting out low groans and slowly falling to the ground.

" ** _NO_**!"

Barry raced over and knelt over Killer Frost—Caitlin—pressing his violently shaking fingers to her neck. No pulse. He moved to Cadence, hearing her gurgle and cough, blood spraying over her lips and chin. The Flash grabbed her and cradled her in his arms, tears sliding down his cheeks.

"No, no, no," he whispered, wheezed, gasping for air. "Cay. Cay! Stay with me." Barry shook her, Cadence's head lolling back and forth. Her eyelids fluttered, before her eyes focused on him. Barely focused. She didn't seem to recognize him.

Even for a second seemed scared. Unsure of who was holding her. Barry held her tighter, stroked her hair, brushed it back from her eyes tenderly. So, she could see, so she knew it was _him_ that held her. Not Savitar. Barry, not Savitar. She looked at him, tried to focus, face spasming with pain before it relaxed. He felt her whole body relax, saw a ghost of a smile come to her lips.

Barry managed a small smile in response, noticing and ignoring her healing not kicking in. Blood dripped over his hands and arms, weighing down his leather suit. "It's going to be okay," Barry whispered to her, voice hoarse. "You're going to be okay. We'll get you back to STAR Labs and…and…" his words died on his lips as he glanced at Killer Frost.

One of his best friends, laying prone on the ground.

He swallowed hard, the truth striking him then, sitting in his gut like a dropped bowling ball. Landed with a sickening thud. None of the metas he'd ever gone up against before, none of the attacks he'd endured hurt more than the truth.

He wasn't fast enough, strong enough, to save anyone.

Barry looked back at Cadence, whose breathing started to slow. Coming out in choked gasps and gurgles, rather than actual breath. His lower jaw trembled horribly, painfully as he watched her struggle to regain her breath.

"Cay!" Barry brought up his hand and ripped off his glove with his teeth. Once the leather was free from his hand, he gently stroked her cheek with his fingertips. "I love you. C'mon. Don't do this." He sucked in a deep breath, tears gathering on his chin, dripping onto her face. They washed away the blood but couldn't keep it from coming as it bubbled up over her chin. "Don't do this." He felt her body growing colder. "Don't do this, Cay. Please." He grabbed her hand and held it tightly in his before moving it to press against his cheek.

Hoping it'd start their joint power.

Maybe he could heal her.

Maybe…

Her hand slid from his cheek and dropped heavily to the ground.

"Cay…don't…no…"

Barry bent forward, howling in only the way a man could when he lost everything, his body violently racking with sobs. He cried. Oh, he cried. Enough so that his muscles ached when he breathed in to start sobbing once more. Barry held her tighter, memories of their relationship, all the ups and downs flashing through his mind. Of how they first met…

 _"Barry Allen?"_

 _The voice nearly made him jump out of his skin as he pulled his eyes away from the TV screen. How much time had passed? The waiting room wasn't as full as it had been before. Maybe he found a way to speed up time while he was waiting. Taking another deep breath, Barry got to his feet and walked over to the nurse who waited patiently for him, holding a clipboard against her light pink scrubs._

 _She looked to be about his age, greeting him with such a warm smile that he felt his anxiety wash away. "It's good to see you in here, Mr. Allen. You seem to have missed many appointments," she stated, allowing him into the hallway right before the examining rooms._

 _"Yeah, I've just been, really busy." Barry reached up and rubbed the back of his neck. "I have crazy work hours and they're always changing so..."_

 _"Trust me, I understand the work hours thing, mine are changing all the time," the nurse said with a light laugh. "I'm in residency. This is my last day here before I move to work at the hospital." She motioned for him to stand against the wall, so she could record his height._

 _Barry did as he was told, taking off his shoes, and pressing his back against the wall and shifting his heels back. He watched as she reached up to pull the meter down, so it rested on his head. His eyes flicked down to her face. She looked back at him and smiled, making him smiled back nervously._

 _"You're in residency?" It surprised him when he spoke. Unsure of what was the best way to start conversation._

 _"Is there a problem with that?" She asked, a teasing lift to her tone. She took her gaze from his to write down his height._

 _"What? No! It's just...you look a little young. Not that you can't be young to be a doctor. But that must mean you're really smart to get through school and into residency." The nurse gave him a look and Barry gritted his teeth, rushing to fix his blunder. "Not that I don't think you're smart or that you don't look smart. It's just...really cool," he finished lamely._

 _The nurse laughed. "I'm glad you think it's cool." She gripped his shoulder, a stronger grip than he anticipated. "Relax, Barry. I don't think you want a heart attack before your physical." She then motioned for him to stand on the scale which he did as well. "And if it helps you, I'm twenty-four."_

 _Barry let out a deep breath and waited for that to be done as well. Then he followed her to the examination room, sitting down on the table. The nurse left the room for a minute before coming back with his shoes in hand. She glanced at the bottom, eyes flickering over the lowered heel compared to the level of the rest of the sole. "I think you might need these," she said._

 _"Thank you." Barry leaned over to read her nametag. "Candace."_

 _"Cadence," she corrected him with an easygoing smile. "Cadence Nash."_

 _"Oh, I'm sorry."_

 _"That's alright, it's a common mistake." The way her eyebrows twitched upwards as she lowered her eyes to the keyboard proved how common it truly was._

 _"Right. Yeah, I mean, I, uh, haven't really met many people with your name. Not that it's a bad name, just unusual." He started to babble even further, hoping to dig himself out of the whole he just fell into. "Not unusual in a bad way. B-but, uh, you, uh, unique. It's unique." He let out a long breath. "It's nice to meet you. I'm Barry Allen." He squeezed his eyes shut and brought a hand up to smack himself on the forehead. Then he brought his hand through his hair. "Which you already knew because you were the one...who called me in here...yeah."_

And their relationship had simply blossomed from them, becoming easy friends, working through the betrayal of her work with the Assassination Bureau, through his grief from Zoom, and everything in between as partners, friends, and lovers.

And now…

Barry felt something cannonball into his side, nearly knocking Cadence from his grasp. Barry simply held on tighter, more protective, then looked to his side. His heart nearly stopped when he saw Brady kneeling over his mother, goggles around his neck, much like she did when she wasn't too concerned of her identity being revealed.

"Muh…muh…" whimpered form his mouth, unable to form the word. Brady's eyes searched his mother's face for any sign of life, wide with horror, darkened with despair at seeing his mom, the person who'd protected him long before he was born, who, in his eyes, was the strongest person he knew, struck down.

 _Be part of work, obviously_ _,_ _Brady thought, still listening to everything his mother was saying about Frankie as they went into their apartment. Brady tossed his backpack aside and ran a hand through his hair, blue hair dye sticking to his fingers as they ran over the tips. He was going to need a touchup soon. Not that she'd even notice, Brady thought._

 _"Is Frankie a meta?" He asked, interrupting her explanation._

 _"Not that I'm aware of," Cadence replied, taking a long gulp of water from a water bottle that sat at her side. "Why?" She asked, wiping off her mouth and re-capped the bottle._

 _"I'm just wondering why you're suddenly so interested in her," Brady said. "If it's a meta it'd make sense." He shrugged. "You're always so preoccupied with meta stuff. When you're not too busy with Barry, anyway. Not since he got back."_

 _Cadence leveled her gaze at her son and looked at him seriously. "What are you talking about?" Brady stared back at her. "Okay." Cadence set her water bottle aside and folded her arms. She continued to look her son in the eye for a long moment before asking, "Did something happen at school today?"_

 _"Nothing ever happens at school, mom, or else it'd be all over the news. That's the only time that you'd care." Brady's voice dripped with sarcasm. "You don't like the PTA and you don't like doing any of things school puts on because you're always so worried about what the other parents have to say about you."_

 _"I just don't have patience for it," Cadence corrected him. "I always know what they're saying or at least thinking."_

 _Brady continued, as if he hadn't heard her. "And the guys in my class, they're always saying things about you." He looked her up and down, taking in the blazer over the blouse that barely touched the top of her jeans. Different from the usual crop-tops, cold shoulder blouses, and shorts she typically wore to stave off the warmth her body gave off. But not by much. "Why do you have to dress like that? And why do you always have to act like nothing else exists when you and Barry are together."_

 _Cadence lifted an eyebrow and let out a short, frustrated breath. Her hands clenched into fists at her side and she closed her eyes before saying evenly, "What is it you want me to do?"_

 _"Stop embarrassing me," Brady snapped, cheeks flushing when his voice cracked._

 _Cadence immediately matched his temper. "What is your problem?"_

 _"I just want you to stop dressing like—" Brady cut himself off, crossed his arms, and stubbornly looked away. It was like a gun had gone off. The silence that stretched after Brady cutting himself off was excruciatingly loud. She got the message loud and clear._

 _"Like a slut?" Cadence surmised. With a roll of his eyes, Brady turned and walked to his room. Cadence followed him. "I'm still speaking to you. Like a what?"_

 _"Nothing," Brady said._

 _"No, what were you going to say?"_

 _"Nothing! God!" Brady snapped back. "You ruin everything." He went into his room, slamming the door shut behind him. Cadence gritted her teeth and entered the room after him. Brady grabbed his pillow and threw it at his mother. "GET OUT OF MY ROOM!"_

 _Cadence batted the pillow aside and grabbed him by the arms. Jerking him around, Cadence grasped his chin, forcing him to look at her. Her eyes blazed with fury. "Never in the eleven years that you've been alive have I ever wanted to hit you, but right now I'm really holding myself back from doing it. I'm an adult, Braden, and I'm the one who decides the way I dress and the way I act with whomever I'm seeing. And you know that I've always respected you and kept things to a minimum if I ever thought it'd make you uncomfortable. I'm sorry if you can't handle the way your friends talk about me, but I'd prefer it, if you're embarrassed, that you tell your friends that their comments are inappropriate, and you don't appreciate it. And that they're the ones who need to change, not me. You know you're the most important thing in my life and accusing me of not caring about you is pure bullshit."_

 _Cadence dropped her hand from his chin._

 _Still glaring, Brady turned away from her._

 _"But then again, what do I know?" Cadence asked, voice quiet. "I'm just a mom, right?" Brady's back to her was like a stone wall, but she saw his shoulders hunch up. Tense. She got him as easily as he got to her. Cadence turned to leave his room, reaching to close the door behind her._

 _"I hate you," Brady murmured. Quiet enough that he knew it slipped from his lips, but loud enough for her to hear._

Brady reached out, pressing a finger to one eyelid to lift it, waited a second, then did it with the other. He dropped his hand back, waiting for a response. "Mom?" He waited and did it again, pressed his finger to her eyelid, lifted it, then lifted the other.

She didn't stir.

Eyes stayed unfocused, though continued to shift ever so slightly, trying in vain to find him. Brady leaned forward, pressing his cheek against his mother's gently rubbed his face against hers.

"Brady," Barry started, then stopped when Brady tightened his grasp against his mother's suit. He grasped Brady's shoulder. "Brady—"

"No," Brady murmured. He pushed Barry away. "No, no." He shook his head, looking down at his mother, jaw dropping.

It trembled viciously, giving him strength to suck in a deep breath and let out the most bloodcurdling, tragic scream that echoed across the empty streets, and struck Barry's heart like a lightning strike, filled with only the horrendous pain of child losing their parent could muster, " _Mom!_ "

Brady's scream echoed to silence.

* * *

 **A/N:** Honestly, I was a bit surprised people hadn't wondered where Barry was this whole time. Anyway, what did you think of the chapter? I hope to have the story updated a lot sooner than I had for this one to come up. I apologize for that, a long stretch of long hours at work can zap my motivation quickly.

Well, I'll see you at the next one. I'll add review replies tomorrow, right now I'm too tired.

 **Cheers,**

 **-Riley**


	56. Fire Extinguisher

**56**

 _Fire Extinguisher_

* * *

 _"Mom!"_

 _"Mo-om!"_

" _Mooooom_!"

" _MOM!"_

Brady repeatedly screamed, each one punctuated with only a deep shuddering breath to fill his lungs before expelling his anguish once more. Barry leaned back on his heels, lifting his chin as he stared straight across the clearing. Damage done, Savitar had already fled the scene, taking Killer Frost with him. Iris lay crumpled on the ground nearby, breathing heavily as the seconds passed. Tears trickled down Barry's face, pooling in his mask and sticking to his cheeks, hot and itchy. He wanted to reach up and wipe them away, but couldn't bare the thought of losing any grip on her.

There was a bright flash of light as Wally and Jesse appeared in the plaza, spinning their arms in circles to keep themselves upright. Leah, who Barry hadn't noticed before, had her hands clasped over her mouth and nose as she cried, Frankie stood nearby, biting her lower lip as she worked to keep back her own tears.

"Iris!" Wally hurried to his sister's side, gathering her into his arms. "Iris!" He grasped her shoulders, shaking her rapidly.

A swirling vortex opened in the plaza, releasing Cisco who stumbled forward and fell to his knees. Gasping for air, Cisco brought a hand to his chest and looked toward Barry. His eyebrows rose behind his goggles as if to ask, _"Well?"_

Barry sniffed hard and nodded.

Cisco nodded back. Straightening, he let out a long breath, pressing his hands to his hips. "It worked," he breathed. "It really worked."

"It did," Barry replied.

Brady glared up at Barry, eyes filled with rage-fueled heartbreak. His lips pulled back into the fiercest snarl that was even possible on the young boy's face. Seconds away from blowing his top completely. His eyes darkened and darkened further. Turning an inky black compared to the bright hazel, an even mixture of his parent's eyes. Barry gave him a sad smile then nodded toward Cisco once more. Brady lifted his chin and watched as Cisco turned aside and punched the air, creating another breach.

Within seconds, the breach opened to its maximum size. And within those seconds two figures jumped through the breach, landing on the ground in a crouch. A speedster and a fire metahuman. The _real_ Barry and Cadence dressed in their casual clothes rather than their suits. The suits that were being worn by Earth-2 Barry and Burnout. The breach closed behind them and Cadence hurried toward Brady, who gaped back at her.

He flinched away when she tried to hug him to her side. Looked down at the body that lay in Earth-2 Barry's arms. Then back up to Cadence. "It's not me," Cadence quickly explained. "It's not me." She grabbed Burnout's wrist and pulled up her glove to show a tattoo on her wrist; _Mon Rêve_ , written in fancy script, the same tattoo Cadence had written on her ribcage.

Brady blinked at it, large teardrops rolling down his cheeks. Then he looked back up at his mother. "W-what?"

"We couldn't tell you." Cadence gathered Brady in her arms, hugging him tightly. "I'm so sorry. We couldn't tell you."

Brady accepted the hug, wrapping his arms so tightly around his mother's neck and shoulders that he was in danger of choking her out. Cadence didn't care, didn't mind, instead she soothingly rubbed Brady's back, trying her best to keep her eyes from welling with tears. Eyes still haunted, shell shocked, he looked from Barry to Earth-2 Barry.

"But, how-?"

"Velocity-9," Barry explained. "Or what was left of it." He held out his hand. Earth-2 Barry handed the empty syringe clenched tightly in his palm over to Barry. Barry knelt next to Earth-2 Barry's side. "I'm sorry," he murmured.

Earth-2 Barry gave a small, sad smile in response. He shook his head. "Don't be," he murmured. "It's what she wanted." He looked down at Burnout's blank face, half-lidded eyes staring into space. "It's the only thing that would've worked." He lifted his chin and looked to Cadence, who nodded back. "We had no other choice. We knew that going into it."

She carefully dropped Brady to the ground, who then turned and grabbed onto Barry's arm, almost as if afraid the speedster would take off again. Cadence knelt to Earth-2 Barry's other side and leaned over Burnout. She worked off Burnout's glove then wrapped her hand around her doppelganger's.

Her skin was still warm, though steadily growing cooler as the seconds passed. There was no indication it'd work like everything else of their plan had, but it was their last chance to ensure they could defeat Savitar and Breathtaker.

Cadence kept her hand clasped around Burnout's for a long moment, waiting in silence. Nothing. Burnout didn't move. She continued to lay lifeless in Earth-2 Barry's tight grasp. Cadence started to bring her hand away. Then stopped.

She sucked in a sharp gasp.

What felt like an electrical current shot through her head, running through every nook and cranny of her brain. Winced in pain as the feeling of every experienced moment from life and death was shoved into her brain, filling every empty space that could be crammed with a new memory. Blood started to trickle from her nose, dripping off her chin and splashing against the ground the longer she held on.

A long, low moan of pain escaped her lips.

Finally, she wrenched her hand back, cradling it to her chest as if it burned her. The blood stopped trickling from her nose, healing in seconds. Though a dull, pounding headache repeatedly pulsed at her temples.

"I'm okay," she said after seconds of silence. Though she completely ignored the tingling at her fingertips.

"That's all amazing," Cisco said. "I hate to break up this love fest, but I don't think we thought to add _that_ into our plans." He swept his arm behind him, where, over the top of the plaza, they could see the growing energy surrounding STAR Labs in one direction, and the crumbling buildings shooting fragments of metal into the other in the other. "We can't stay here, we have to get somewhere safe before Savitar realizes what we've done."

"There isn't anywhere safe," Frankie declared. She shook her head, watching the destruction that played out in front of them. "Even I can't stop that. I don't think any of us can. Not without a plan."

Barry nodded. He turned on his heel and disappeared with a flash of yellow lightning. He re-appeared seconds later, stopping long enough to grab Earth-2 Barry's arm and flash him away. One by one, he grabbed his companions and flashed them to safety; an abandoned CC Jitters.

When he came to a stop, Earth-2 Barry looked around Jitters, frowning. The last time he'd been there, everyone was busy going about their day. Without a care in the world. Not knowing there was anything coming to throw their lives in danger. Central City was growing more and more dangerous, even with the presence of Flash and Flare, and yet they continued their normal lives as if nothing would happen to them.

They had something to believe in.

Earth-2 Barry had that at the very beginning.

Since Barry and his Earth-1 counterparts had stopped Zoom, everything got better. The Flash there—Jesse Quick—had done a good job in making sure that any of the new metas that popped up were easily and quickly taken care of. Because of his doppelganger's presence, Earth-2 Barry became much braver in comparison; often speaking up on any injustices within his job and life. He wasn't the meek, bespectacled wall flower that sat back waiting for things to happen and letting the chips fall where they lay within certain circumstances.

 _Barry followed the others and ran out of the caverns all the way back to STAR Labs. He arrived just as Harry raced back and forth through the laboratories, grabbing things left and right as they went. Barry turned to Earth-2 Barry, who was righting his fumbled glasses along his face and said, "You need to get out of Central City. Somewhere as far as you can go so that Zoom would never think of finding you. Do…you know…"_

 _"I have an idea of where to go, yes," Earth-2 Barry said shortly. He sniffed and turned away, working hard to quench the emotions he'd shared with Barry from their mind-meld._

 _Barry reached out and grabbed his arm. "You may not have been struck by lightning, but today you risked your life to save someone you didn't know and someone you loved…" Earth-2 Barry closed his eyes. "That's a hero to me. And everyone would agree. But please…you need to go."_

 _"I just need to see my dad first," Earth-2 Barry said. "And Joe. And figure some things out, then I'll be gone."_

 _Barry nodded. He turned back towards Harry as he continued to move around at top speed. "Harry, you need to get somewhere safe."_

 _"I know, I'm getting our stuff together," Harry explained._

 _Jesse's eyebrows lowered in concern. "What? Y-you just want us to leave? You want us to leave everything we have here?" Realization dawned in her, her voice growing frantic. "But my friends are here! My family, my life-"_

 _"We don't have a life here anymore, Jesse," Harry snapped. Jesse's mouth slowly closed. "Do you get that? Do you? Zoom has our life here. He's going to hunt us down until we're dead. We have to go!"_

 _Jesse shook her head. "Dad, I…I just found out I have a sister here," she explained. "I just saw her, I saw…" Jesse's mouth opened and closed in disbelief. In grief over what she was slowly growing to understand she'd leave behind. Cadence moved and grabbed her hands._

 _"You have a sister on Earth-1, if you want one, Jesse," she said hastily. Jesse's eyes searched Cadence's for any insincere words. "Me. But you need to get back to that Earth where you'll be safe, okay?" Jesse nodded. Then Cadence turned back to Barry. "You need to open a breach, like, yesterday."_

 _Barry nodded and started to run around in circles, going as fast as he could. Finally, a swirling blue vortex opened just as an alarm started to blare. Harry looked over his alarm system and shook his head. "Zoom's coming," he said frantically, we have to go now."_

 _Barry and Earth-2 Barry nodded at each other before Barry raced him out of the Vortex._

And while his work life had grown better, his social life had come to a standstill. He'd long left Central City, only traveling back when he'd absolutely needed to, and didn't stay too long. There wasn't anything for him there. He'd convinced his parents to move away under duress of Zoom coming after them, and they'd willing retreated to a cabin in the mountains they'd owned since Earth-2 Barry's youth. Nevertheless, there was no one around he'd wanted to spend any added time with.

Sure, there had been women here and there who'd asked him out or expressed interested in him, but he couldn't bring himself to do so. It was too dangerous for him to do so. Mostly due to his job and those that threatened his life when going to court to testify against criminals and metas put in jail. He isolated himself enough that no one knew what he did when he didn't make his daily and brief appearances in Central City.

That's why it surprised him when he returned to his quiet, rundown apartment and found Burnout waiting for him. He'd been more than surprised—scared to death really-when she slapped one hand over his mouth to keep him from screaming, and the other to knock his hand from the light switch he moved to turn on.

The scream bubbled up in his mouth, muffled by her warm hand before she conjured her own sense of light—something Earth-2 Barry was still trying to figure out how she did—and whipped him around to face her, eyes glowing fiercely.

"What the hell?" His voice continued to stay muffled behind her hand. Burnout removed her hand from his mouth and stared hard at him. Panic washed through him, firstly due to being found when he was sure no one had any idea where he was, secondly due to the most important point that, she was supposed to be in prison. "What are you—what—I don't—how did you get out?" He pressed his glasses up his nose before sticking it in her face. "How did you know where I was?"

Burnout stared at him, jutting out her chin. A 'duh' expression came to her face. "I was trained to find people, Barry. And, trust me, you're not hard to find. Humans are creatures of habit and you're definitely one of the biggest."

Earth-2 Barry pursed his lips, trying to figure out whether he was offended. Then, finally, he shook his head and stepped toward her, pressing his hands to her shoulders. "How'd you get here?" He asked.

He watched as she moved around the apartment, poking her head around corners and examining the darkened shadows to ensure they were, in fact, alone. "That doesn't matter," she replied. "I can't go back. I've already got a breacher on my tail."

"A breacher?" Earth-2 Barry's nose wrinkled as he thought. "Like, our doppelgangers?"

"Yeah, only they haven't escaped from prison the last time I checked," Burnout agreed. "And this one, a collector, wants me dead or alive." She peered at him closely, eyeing him up and down. "You don't look _that_ surprised to see me," she said.

Earth-2 Barry rubbed at his neck. "I didn't expect to see you so soon," he admitted. "I thought it would've taken some more time…I haven't prepared anything."

"Well, I don't know about you, but the thought of being held in prison while I awaited a trial wasn't one I was very fond of." She turned away, running a hand through her hair. A long sigh escaped her lips, a wistful look in her eye.

Earth-2 Barry started to move through the apartment, gathering his things together, hastily writing a note as he did so. "Did you go see him?" He asked. Burnout nodded. "Did you talk to him?"

"Sort of."

"What do you mean?"

"I left a note."

Earth-2 Barry stopped in his own note and looked up at her, creased eyebrows that shaded his concerned gaze. Burnout look at him then looked away again. He wanted to say something to reassure her, wanted to comfort her about her decision. If it were him, he would've taken that time to explain everything, to give an idea of what'd been going on.

But he wasn't Burnout and Burnout wasn't him. As it was, he was being a bit of a hypocrite anyway, leaving a note for his parents instead of going to tell them in person that he may not be coming back. Nevertheless, Earth-2 Barry packed his back and slung it over his shoulder, ready to go.

Burnout shook her head. "You're not going to need all that. It'll just slow you down."

"Trust me," he replied simply. She looked skeptical. Earth-2 Barry moved closer and grabbed her hand, threading his fingers between hers. "You've trusted me so far. Trust me, now. I mean, I'm no _Commander Carl_ and quite obviously, I'm no Flash—I certainly don't have the body mass and I can't even begin to fathom the immense amount of calories he has to take in every day—" he cut himself off, noticing the way Burnout was looking at him. "But I can at least promise this; we're going to get you out of here."

Burnout look at him with an expression he couldn't quite place. Almost as if she were blaming him for everything she was going through. _Well,_ Earth-2 Barry thought. _You were the one who convinced her how to get out. About everything._

Seeming to read his mind, Burnout squeezed his hand. "It was my decision to do it, you didn't make me decide on anything else. Hate to break it to you, but you can't make me do anything."

"Zoom can." Earth-2 Barry leveled his eyes at her. "And Breathtaker." His voice then turned bitter. "Apparently, Savitar can, too."

Burnout pressed her lips together.

Earth-2 Barry stood back, dropping his hand from hers. In the moment he turned away from her, the apathetic expression on her face—a direct different from her doppelganger's—changed to one of hurt. Then it was engulfed in apathy in seconds, a flame doused by water.

He'd grow used to that.

Earth-2 Barry finished his note then went to his phone. He looked over the numbers he could call; _Bruce, Clark, Diana, Hal…_ he dialed his parents, breathing heavily as the seconds passed, waiting for the dial tone to stop. He breathed out a sigh of relief when he got their answering machine. It'd be much easier for them to read what he wrote, instead of having to explain it face to face.

If he saw them…he wouldn't be able to go through with it. The guilt and overwhelming sadness would be too much.

Burnout waited patiently as he left his message, then reached her hand out to him. Earth-2 Barry grabbed it, quickly squeezing it three times. She didn't respond to it, the message he silently gave her, instead lifting her other hand to open a fire portal.

Escaping Earth-2 was the easy part. They bounced around from one Earth to another, biding their time when they got word a collector was following them. It was hard to catch a teleporter, no matter how the collector tried. They'd come across her once, surprised by a vibrational blast that left the two diving for cover as she bellowed their crime of "Earth jumping" across the Parisian-esque Star City they found themselves in. And the collector certainly tried to find them once news spread of what Burnout's escape from prison made headlines.

Finally, they'd made it to Earth-1, where they'd laid low, often escaping to another Earth—mostly Earth-3—in case the collector got word of where they were. They watched the goings on of the city from afar, stepped in to help their doppelgangers when the time was needed. Earth-2 Barry still remembered the way Oliver looked at him suspiciously when Earth-2 Barry explained what was going on with the sentient gorillas. And it'd been painful to watch Flash's and Flare's reputations take a hit once that missile blew.

Nevertheless, he and Burnout found themselves—or at least he found himself enjoying the quiet time they had together on other Earths, when they could be whomever they wanted to be. Where they didn't have to have bounties on their heads and could enjoy normal life as much as they wanted.

A smile played at Earth-2 Barry's lips, looking over the scattered remains of coffee cups and napkins that held cronuts and other patisserie s the chain served. Just like the last one they'd shared as they came up with their plan.

 _Earth-2 Barry turned his face away as a young couple walked through the doors of Jitters, directly to his left. Once he was sure the coast was clear, he brought his hand away from his face. He took off his glasses and rubbed the bridge of his nose._

 _Across from him, Burnout lifted an eyebrow as she brought her cup of coffee to her mouth. The steam fogged her face, making her scrunch her nose in irritation, before she lowered it and said, "No one's looking at us, Barry. You don't have to worry." She glared when Earth-2 Barry shushed her. "Did you just shush me?"_

 _"I'm sorry," Earth-2 Barry whispered, meaning it. His eyes shifted over the faces around them, taking them in, in case he needed to know it later. "But we can't risk anything here."_

 _"Oh really? I hadn't noticed."_

 _Earth-2 Barry shot her an exasperated look, turning to his own cup of coffee. He brought it to his mouth then jerked it back when a cloud of steam hit him in the face. He glared over the rim at Burnout, who smirked back at him, eyes shining with mirth, and replaced it. He took off his glasses to wipe them on the bottom of his dress shirt. Earth-2 Barry replaced his glasses, nearly dropping them to the table top. "I can't be the only one who's worried," he said. Lowering his voice, he leaned toward her, studying her face. "We're on a different Earth, where things are literally falling apart. There's not much for us here."_

 _"There's plenty for you here." Burnout pulled her hair behind her ears, looking at him just as seriously as he was her. Her voice dropped to a soft tone of acceptance. "There's not much for me anywhere."_

 _"Burnout…" Earth-2 Barry lifted his gaze to the ceiling when Burnout gave him a pointed look. Oh, right. She didn't want him to call her that. Didn't want him to call her 'Cadence' either. "Catherine." It sounded weird on his lips, nice, but weird. If only they had the time where he could use the identity more, so that it became real. "There's plenty for you to have on any Earth you want to go to."_

 _Burnout shook her head. She gathered her hair behind her, brought it back into her ponytail and fastened it. Earth-2 Barry watched as she did so, suddenly feeling a mix of emotions. She looked so normal with her hair pulled back and a pair of glasses on her face. A paper-thin disguise, but it seemed to work as people barely looked at him when he walked the streets of Earth-1. (Despite his worries of going to CC Jitters, where his doppelganger frequented on almost a daily basis)._

 _Made her look so normal that if it were any other life, any other time, any other dimension, they would've bene mistaken to be on a date. And maybe they were, he rationalized. Maybe it wasn't wishful thinking. Maybe it wasn't their last chance._

 _"You know that's not true," she said, leveling her gaze at him. Burnout laced her fingers together, resting her chin atop of her hands. "It was never going to be true."_

 _"You just need to—"_

 _"—have faith? Believe?"_

 _"Trust me." Earth-2 Barry said. He said it so simply that Burnout's eyebrows furrowed. Her eye shot back and forth, darting over his face as if trying to find a crack in his armor. But Earth-2 Barry continued to look back at her, his eyes wide with earnest behind his glasses. "You just need to trust me."_

 _Burnout slowly smiled. A genuine one. Prompting Earth-2 Barry to smile in response. "I thought I already did, considering you convinced me to come here." She pursed her lips, then tapped her cheek with her fingertip. A smug smile came to her face. "And when you said you'd get me out of prison."_

 _Earth-2 Barry's smile faded. Just slightly. "Well, you're not the only one who can't go back home anytime soon."_

 _"If I didn't know any better, Mr. Allen, I'd think you were trying to get me alone."_

 _Earth-2 blushed at the implication that arose in Burnout's voice. He pulled at the collar of his shit and started to respond. "Well, I, uh, that's not, it's not exactly what I was trying t-to do."_ Liar. _He cleared his throat, shifting in his seat. "I-I mean, it's, I was j-just trying to help." He blushed harder, his voice cracking at the end of his sentence._

 _Letting out a quiet, 'whew' Earth-2 Barry picked up the water he ordered with his coffee—claiming he was too nervous for solely caffeinated drinks—and took a long sip, while Burnout continued to giggle quietly._

 _"I haven't seen you laugh like that in a while," he remarked._

 _Burnout shrugged, though the smile stayed on her face. "Not much to laugh at lately."_

 _Reaching out, Earth-2 Barry grasped Burnout's hand. He focused on the warmth that radiated from it and how she didn't pull back from the sign of affection, something she worked to shrug off nearly every other time he tried. "I promise, things are going to be better," he said. "Things are going to work out." Burnout didn't look convinced. Earth-2 Barry brought back his hand and licked his lips. "'Look, I know thing with that Julian guy didn't go over so well—"_

 _"—Yeah, he really seemed to hate you."_

 _"—He hates_ this _Barry, anyway. I can't control that. But I think things are going to work out." He sat back in his seat. "So, instead of sitting back and moping, waiting for whatever's going to happen, I think we should check out the waterfront. Blend in with the crowd."_

 _Burnout nodded slowly. "Stand out by blending in," she mused. "Sounds like a plan. The whole 'what would you do with your last day' sort of thing." She used air quotes around the words. "There's worst ways I could spend my last day."_

 _"It's not your last day," Earth-2 Barry reminded her. Not if they didn't want it to be._

 _This time when Burnout lifted an eyebrow, a quick jerk of the muscle that shot it upwards, her cup of coffee immediately started to bellow with steam. Of which she didn't pay much attention to despite Earth-2 Barry's gaze continuously drawn to it, wanting to flap a napkin around it._

 _"Can you promise me that, Barry?" She asked._

 _Earth-2 Barry didn't hesitate. "Promise, Catherine."_

 _Burnout smiled, the tiniest of smiles, almost as if she'd forgotten how to do it. Then she stood up, dropping some money on the table. Earth-2 Barry stood up as well, making sure his glasses were set firmly on his face and followed her out of the restaurant._

 _The two headed down the street before blending in with the crowd of citizens. Those that may be the exact doppelgangers of those they knew on their Earth. Those that didn't look their way, that didn't shout a warning, but made them feel as if they were at peace._

 _Probably for the last time._

 _Earth-2 Barry's hand twitched at his side as they went along. He stretched it out for a second, paused, then brought his hand back to his side, clenching his hand into a fist. Burnout reached out and grasped his hand, pulling him forward as she did so. She wedged her fingers between his and leaned into his side, resting her head on his shoulder._

 _Earth-2 Barry smiled, leaning back into her embrace. Whether it was to keep up appearances, to appear that they truly were Barry and Cadence, Earth-2 Barry didn't care. To everyone else, they were pretending to be other people._

 _To them, it was real._

 _And it was one of the best days he'd had in a long time. Truly, all they did was take the time they had to see the sites, see Central City as it could be. Watch as the day moved at a leisurely pace. And the entire time, Burnout didn't let go of him once. She really smiled, really laughed, really enjoyed his company in the way that was truly her. And not the version of her so weighed down by her actions when she was a teenager, when she'd grown to become so unencumbered by the Assassination Bureau._

 _A literal weight lifted off her shoulders._

 _But, as everything else, it came to an end. They saw it, in their mind's eye, from the mental connection with their doppelgangers, they didn't have much time left. Earth-2 Barry felt it in the pit of his very being as they found themselves in front of the CCPD. Which looked, to him, a bit duller in comparison. But while Earth-1's Central City was duller in color, compared to the vibrant golden hue that covered their Earth, it was certainly much livelier in the faith of having another day._

 _Earth-2 Barry opened his mouth to say something, then stopped, dropping his head. Burnout turned ot him, placing a hand on his shoulder. She moved her hand to his chin, tilting it up so he was forced to look at her, and surprised him by pressing a long, needy kiss to his lips. A kiss that ended long before he was ready. He felt, what he thought, were warm tears trickling down his face from her eyes, but saw her face was dry when the kiss ended.  
_

 _She leaned back and looked at him, eyes searching his. His searched hers in response. Searched for what she was trying to say. It hit him quickly, like a supersonic punch to the side of his head. The breath knocked out him. He briefly shook his head._

 _No._

 _It wasn't part of the plan._

 _But Burnout had already turned and ducked her head as she went into the precinct. Earth-2 Barry had no choice but to follow, pushing his glasses further up his nose, forcing himself to blink rapidly and contort his face. A paper-thin disguise against those who may spot him for more than a second. But a good enough disguise that made them able to get to their targets._

 _Barry gaped at them in surprise when Burnout strode into his lab with Earth-2 Barry following behind. At first, he appeared happy, then noticed it wasn't actually his fiancé in front of him. His happiness turned to confusion as he stood form his desk._

 _"What are you doing here?" He breathed. "Did something happen on your Earth?"_

 _"Yeah, Zoom rose from the dead and decided to have some haunted fun with us," Burnout said sarcastically. A quick change from the tender moment before. "What do you think?"_

 _Stung, Barry turned to his doppelganger, who raised a hand, as if giving himself permission to speak. Honestly, he was surprised the words came to him with how choked up he felt. Knowing what was coming. He struggled to speak around the lump forming in this throat. "You can't beat Breathtaker and Savitar on your own," he said, voice hoarse and scratchy._

 _Barry lifted his hands in a pleading gesture before putting them to his sides once more. "We can't let them win. We have to eat least try."_

 _"No one said anything about not trying," Earth-2 Barry said. "You're going to beat them. Just not on your own." Burnout nodded. "We saw…through our mind-meld what's been going on, tried to help out as we've tried to stay out of the way—"_

 _"—Why would you need to stay out of the way?" Barry demanded. His voice took on a pleading, desperate tone that Earth-2 Barry could hardly bear to hear. "Why wouldn't you come and help us sooner if you knew—"_

 _"—Because this is the only way," Burnout interrupted._

 _Earth-2 Barry took in a deep breath and looked his spitting image in the eye, hoped his meaning would be clear enough as he said, "We're going to take your place."_

Earth-2 walked to the empty table closest to him and draped Burnout across it. He smoothed her hair back from her forehead, pulling her doppelganger's goggles down around her neck. Burnout's head lolled to the side. The front of her suit splashed with blood, a gaping hole from where she'd been stabbed in the heart. A feat that hadn't taken much to ring true, a subtle twist of her body and Killer Frost's icicle went clean through.

Just as a subtle twist of her flame sword kept Killer Frost from taking the fatal blow as well.

Earth-2 Barry looked over as the others were brought into Jitters. Barry looked at Burnout's prone form and ran a hand through his hair. He looked to Cadence and asked gently, "I guess there's no way to heal her from this?"

Cadence shook her head. "I can heal a lot of things, but the heart…"

"The heart can't be mended after it's been broken," Earth-2 Barry croaked. He looked meaningfully at Barry, who looked away, remembering similar circumstances from the year before with his father. Then Earth-2 Barry looked at Brady, who stared at Burnout's form. "But things can be forgiven. I had to keep this to as little people as possible. Understand?"

Brady nodded mutely.

Earth-2 Barry nodded back. Brady understood, knew there were going to be difficult things to go through as a meta, as a superhero. But it wouldn't be something he could get through without anger at some points, without really talking about it. Seeing a loved one dead like that, it messed people up. Released a sort of darkness that could never be contained.

Even if they were struck down to protect others.

Even if it was the only way to stop Savitar and Breathtaker.

"And when Iris wakes up," Earth-2 Barry continued, nodding to the prone form in Wally's arms. "You'll need her just as much as the others." Earth-2 Barry took in a deep breath. He leaned over Burnout's body, pressing a gentle kiss to her forehead, and stepped back. He nodded to Barry. "Okay," he said. "What do we do now?"

* * *

 **A/N:** This entire chapter was originally completely different. But my Microsoft Word crashed and no matter all the tricks I know to get it back, it was gone. Two weeks' worth of work, over 8k words down the drain. I had to completely re-do the chapter as I'd forgotten everything I'd done before. Honestly, though, I think it's better now compared to what I had before.

So, what did you guys think of the reveal in this? I'm surprised no one guessed before I got to it. I've been hinting toward Earth-2 Barry and Burnout switching places with Barry and Cadence from the very beginning of the story as well as in the chapter where they were first taken by Savitar, and subsequent moments since then.

One instance, for example, is the way things played out with Savitar killing Iris and Killer Frost/"Cadence" killing each other was subtly different compared to when Barry had seen the future.

Well, I'll see you at the next one where things really pick back up.

 **Cheers,**

 **-Riley**

 **Review Replies**

 **DarkHelm145:** Well, I get a lot of inspiration from superhero movies as well as some of my favorite anime. I've never seen My Hero Academia though I've been suggested to watch, so maybe one day soon. Thank you for pointing out the issue with the KF/Cadence fight, I'll be sure to fix it. And, that's what the flashbacks were for, so Ii'm glad it worked. But did you see this twist coming?

 **Ethan:** Clive Yorking is a meta from the show, the one who nearly killed Iris if Caitlin didn't freeze her arm. My number one love for writing this story is definitely the relationship between Cadence and Brady so to show how close they are in any of these moments is fun (and traumatizing) at times. But something big is going to happen because of what Brady saw.

 **Guest:** Well, I said from the beginning I'd do it, just not in the way you were probably expecting.

 **EunLi:** Thank you for the review! I hope what happened doesn't turn you off from the story completely!


	57. Stand Up

**57**

 _Stand Up_

* * *

"Iris?"

"Iris…"

"She's in shock, it may take a while for her to wake up."

Iris's eyebrows twitched, listening to everything going on around her. But on the inside, she played over the same scene in her head. The scene of being at her father's house with Wally and Jesse, the scene of her arms being yanked behind her back, being lifted away from the table and the family dinner they were indulging in. The looks on Wally's, Jesse's, and her father's faces—all horrified expressions—burned through her mind.

She could practically see Savitar's face behind them as he lifted her high in the air, off her seat and over the back, knocking it over within the second he grabbed her. Using his super speed to his advantage to simultaneously knock over the dishes that lay across the table.

Iris had brought her hands up, hoping to tear herself free from Savitar's hold. Her fingers collided with the metallic talons of the claws that dug into the fabric of her jacket. Part of her was relieved at the revelation, that he was in his suit. She didn't know how she'd react if it were that it was Barry's doppelganger's face she was seeing who had a hold on her. An evil grin on his face as he tightened the collar around Iris's neck, pulling twice.

Joe slowly rose to his feet. "You don't want to do this," he breathed, holding out his hand.

Iris gasped for air as she leveled her gaze on her father. In that moment, she saw the utmost fear in his eyes. Not just fear for what Savitar could do within the blink of an eye, with speeds so fast that something could be done before a thought could even be formed.

"You don't know what I want to do…" Savitar rasped, slowly, ever so slowly, lifting Iris up off the ground. Iris kicked her legs back and forth, struggling to break free. She gasped, seeing streaks of lightning bolt from her peripherals on both sides. Only seconds before seeing Jesse and Wally both crash to the ground so hard that Iris felt the reverberations of their hit run through his suit and through her body. Savitar slowly lowered his free hand.

 _He's too fast,_ she thought. The realization struck her at once, tears welling at her eyes then dripping down her cheeks, pinpricking her skin. The hot, salty tears itched her skin as they dribbled down but she didn't dare move. Any slight movement would've been an invitation for Savitar to do what he was supposed to do.

To drive a spike through her heart and kill her.

She was ready for it…just not ready for her father to see it.

"Please," Joe continued. He slowly inched his way from his seat, around the table towards Savitar. He continued to hold his hands out, fingers twitching, hands shaking gently, afraid to move too quickly. Savitar merely continued to watch him, Iris could feel his calm, steady breath against the back of her neck. "Please, you don't have to do this."

"Oh yes, I do."

"No, you don't." Joe shook his head. "Because this is Iris. This is your best friend. This is the person who was there for you at every turn. This is the person who was there for you when your parents died. When you were sent to live with us, she kept people from picking on you, she's your best friend."

Iris continued to keep her eyes on her father, unable to look anywhere else. Tears continued to fall down her cheeks, dropping off one after the other, staining the ground along with the desecrated food. She watched, heart hurting with each pump of adrenaline, as her father's eyes welled up as well. His evident desperation was heartbreaking.

Heartbreaking, but even less though than Savitar's flat, "No, she's not. In my life…I barely know you. In my life, my parents are still alive. I didn't go to live with you. I didn't have you there to comfort me. And you certainly weren't there when I watched my life play out in front of me over and over and over. You see, Joe, to me…" he paused. "To me, you may as well not exist!"

Iris screamed as everything happened at once. She slammed her eyes shut, unsure of, when she managed to open her eyes again, which way was up. Colors surged around, she heard repeated gunshots, deafening and horrifically silent all at once. It was terrifying, to feel the force that Savitar exuded while he ran, dragging his captive with him. Much different than being pulled by Barry.

When Barry ran with someone, he ensured their safety, held their heads in place to keep from suffering from whiplash, held the person close so that they didn't burst into flames upon the friction that resulted from moving so fast at top speed. Barry made sure whomever he held onto was safe.

Savitar flung Iris around like a ragdoll. Like someone he truly, didn't care about.

Then she was flung to the ground, rolling across a cold, dusty floor. Iris came to a stop, coughing hard, choking on the cloud that appeared around her. She sucked in hard, expelling the dust with an equally hard cough. Seconds before she felt the air around her drop in temperature. It fell so fast, she shook violently, fingers curling into her palms as she tried to stay warm.

Her entire body spasmed, working hard to keep her internal temperature up, but found herself unable to do so. She curled herself up in a ball, looking up when she felt the

"Go," Killer Frost said, tilting her head toward the entrance.

Iris held her arms close to her body. "You're…letting me go?" It took her a long time to get the words out, her jaw violently quivering as she shivered. Frost was an apt name, the air around her growing colder the closer the ice metahuman got, just as the air around Cadence grew warmer the closer the fire metahuman came. "Why…after taking the time to kidnap me?"

"For fun," Killer Frost said. She straightened her head, looking above and past Iris. A hint of a smile came to her lips. "Savitar always likes a chase. He plans on killing you, anyway. You mean nothing ot him. Why not let him have some fun with it before he does? It's not quite time yet but…" she shrugged. "I'll let you get a head start."

Iris slowly pushed herself to her knees. "You don't want to do this," she murmured, remembering her father's words seconds before she was whisked away. "You don't have to work for him. This isn't you, Caitlin."

Killer Frost snorted. "I'm not Caitlin. I've never been Caitlin. Caitlin is a weak, pathetic excuse for a human and I'm glad she's gone. Now…" she extended her finger, pointing behind Iris. "Are you going to run or…?"

"Are you going to…" Iris swallowed hard. "Chase me down?" She wouldn't put it past the ice meta to stab her in the back the second she turned to run. It wouldn't be the first time she'd have someone who was working to take her down.

"No, I'm saving that for Savitar. I've got some other things I need to handle. There's a little fire bug I need to get out of my hair." Killer Frost nodded once more. "Now go, before I change my mind."

And Iris was on her feet, stumbling as far as her legs would take her. She stumbled at first, unable to get the frozen feeling from her toes. But then found herself, as the minutes passed, running as hard and fast as she could, warmed up the further she got away from her captor.

She ran and ran, finding herself stuck in the twists and turns of…wherever she was being held captive. She called for her friends as she ran, stumbling along the darkness, worked to keep herself moving. As she ran, her thoughts turned to her friends. To Barry. If Savitar had her, he certainly had to have gone after all the others. But Barry…it had to be more difficult than she could ever imagine for everything to turn out with Savitar the way it had.

To know the one who was threatening everything in his life was…himself? His actual self. The part of him that would've been from the original timeline, had his mother not died. But a part of him that stewed in his anger and devastation for the life ripped away from him for thousands upon thousands of years—if time in the Speed Force was any different. To know that he wouldn't have the same support system in her and her father in his actual life. It probably fueled the anger for him, fueled the rage and need to take her down in what was coming.

And yet, Barry continued to run, continued to throw himself forward, created a life for himself that anyone would be proud of.

She hoped he was safe. Hoped he was doing everything he could to save the city.

Iris continued to run, pushing herself forward, running until she was exhausted, then used the walls to push herself forward. Every now and then, she would whip around at a scraping sound. A loud, metallic grating sound that would make her heart race faster than her prolonged running. She'd press herself against the wall, having no space to protect herself and waited for the inevitable. When it didn't come, she'd start running again. It didn't take Iris long to realize that Savitar was purposefully isolating her. Using her in a cat and mouse game as she worked to figure out which way she was going.

Then she was swept up again, taken on by the rapid pace of a speedster taking her along for the ride. Next thing she knew, she saw Barry's nightmare played out in front of him.

Savitar held her tightly as Barry suddenly sped to a stop at the bottom of the plaza. He stretched his hand out toward her, before there was a commotion to the side. Iris looked over and saw Killer Frost and Cadence.

"Don't!" Barry's voice rang out. He inched towards Savitar. Every step he took forward, the tighter, Savitar's grasp on her became.

"It's time to choose," Savitar growled. He tilted his head back and forth between Killer Frost, Cadence, and Iris. "Who will be saved?"

"No, no!" Barry cried, hand outstretched. He continued to inch towards Savitar. Step after step. Closer and closer. Repeatedly, Barry's eyes darted around, seeing only Savitar, Iris, Killer Frost, and Cadence. "Please, I'm begging you."

"Make your choice," Savitar declared. "Life is full of choices, Barry, and now it's time for you to make yours. Who do you want to save?" He shook Iris in front of him like a ragdoll, making Iris break through her stoic expression, tap into the fear she tried to hold back.

Tears welled in her eyes. "Don't do it, Barry," she said, before realizing she spoke. She needed to keep herself strong, so Barry would be strong. Tears escaped her eyes and slipped down her cheeks, nevertheless she continued to speak strongly. She fought to keep her voice calm. Steady. She tried to hide her shaking legs, trembling hands, quivering voice. She had faith in Barry. He would get her out of it, would save the city. Even if it meant facing her own death, she could do it bravely, with dignity. "Don't worry about me."

Barry shook his head. Iris looked back at him, eyebrows coming together. Confused. Was he giving up? Just like her father had done, Barry stretched his hand out toward Savitar, a silent plea.

"Please," Barry continued.

"Choose!" Savitar spat. Iris could hear the disgust in Savitar's voice, utmost disgust at Barry's perceived weakness.

"I can't!"

Savitar pulled his arm back. "You already have." And he thrust his arm forward, driving the spike directly through Iris's heart. Iris gasped, feeling it move through her body. A strange sensation of her organs moving aside to make space for it to come through.

She glanced down at the blade, waiting to see the blood collect at the tip, but as flung away before she could tell. It wasn't until she hit the ground that she realized what's happened. Savitar's attention had been taken by Barry. Killer Frost and Cadence had stabbed each other. And when Iris was flung aside, she phased through the ground.

It was an even stranger sensation than being taken by a speedster. She was aware of the strength and roughness of the concrete around her as she fell in and rose through the solid matter before laying sprawled out on the ground. And within that second, she found Brady reappearing in front of her. He removed his arms from around her and brought a hand up to his own chest, feeling the area directly in front of his heart.

Then he looked at her, eyes shielded by his goggles. "Are you okay?" He asked.

It came to Iris at once, what happened. Brady had, somehow, made it from his capture and saved her. Had turned invisible so that Savitar hadn't noticed him and grabbed onto Iris either just before or at the exact moment that Savitar had shoved his blade through her.

"Iris," he insisted when she didn't originally respond. "Are you okay?"

Iris nodded in response. "Yeah, thanks."

He nodded back and turned his attention to his mother lying on the ground with Barry hunched over her. Iris brought her hand to her heart, felt it ramming in her chest against her ribcage, so hard it made her sick. She'd thought Savitar had come back to finish the job when the edges of her vision started to darken, all until she slid into the darkness that quickly consumed her.

All until she heard Wally's voice call her name. "Iris?"

Her eyelids fluttered, she slowly opened her eyes. She recognized Jitters quickly. She'd spent enough time closing Jitters, studying late at night, darkening the rooms for ambiance when certain musicians came to play. Jitters was like a second home to her, so recognizing it when she opened her eyes made her feel safe. Seeing Wally's excited face energized her even more.

Then there was a sea of faces above her; Cisco, Frankie, Leah, Brady, Jesse, Wally, Cadence, and Barry. Barry hugged her tightly as she sat up, bringing a hand to her forehead. The roughness of his suit, the suit that'd gone through the ringer over the past year, scratched against her cheek as she hugged her

best friend.

"Are you okay?" He asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Iris replied.

Barry pulled back, searching her face with his eyes. "But…Savitar…I saw…" He swallowed hard. "He stabbed you."

Iris motioned to Brady, who quietly stood aside, hood pulled back and goggles around his neck hands clasped behind his back. "I have to thank him for saving my life," She said. "Who would've thought Savitar could've been tricked by an eleven-year-old."

Brady smiled bashfully when Barry turned his way with a nod. "Thank you," he said. Brady shrugged back, glanced at Burnout's body that lay nearby, and shuddered, turning away.

Iris followed his gaze and her eyebrows came together, seeing Burnout quietly lay on the table. Then her eyes shifted over to Earth-2 Barry, who stood on the outside of the group, a hand brought up to his mouth and her eyes widened even further. "What-?"

"It's a long story," Cadence said wearily. She ran a hand through her hair.

"What are we going to do now?" Jesse demanded. She gestured towards the front of Jitters. "Savitar still has Caitlin! We don't know where he is! We don't know what he's going to do now! And the city is imploding!"

"If we were going to use the Philosopher's Stone to take on Savitar with the Speed Force bazooka, what does that mean?" Wally ran a hand through the hair that poked through the top of his suit. "STAR Labs is going to explode if we don't do something to stop it and if it keeps going the way it currently is, it may funnel into the pipeline and after that—"

"—After that, it may as well be another Particle Accelerator explosion," Cisco murmured. "And considering the Philosopher's Stone is inside it, then, there's a good chance we're unleashing the same energy that made Frankie a meta onto everyone else in Central City."

"That's a real tourist trap," Cadence remarked with a humorless half smile. "The city that holds thousands and thousands of metahumans due to numerous Particle Accelerator programs."

"Well." Brady shrugged. "At least grandpa isn't the reason for it this time."

Iris looked to Brady, briefly stumped by it being the first time that Brady had ever referred to Harrison as his grandfather. But due to everything else that was going on while she'd been knocked out and hidden away. Not to mention, seeing doppelgangers for the first time. It was one thing to hear about it, to hear about Earth-2, one thing to know the real identity of Savitar. But to see it in front of her with Earth-2 Barry and…she assumed it was Earth-2 Cadence, it was trippy.

Iris shook her head, taking in a deep breath. "So, what's out there?"

"The end of the world," Leah said.

"Or something that will finally take care of that thin crust pizza Savitar calls a face," Cisco remarked.

"No, that's not what he needs it for," Earth-2 Barry said. "It's not why he let Tracy come to be part of our team. Savitar knows everything we were and are going to do. The only way he doesn't is if we don't let him create new memories. Like how Burnout and I…" he swallowed hard. "How we were able to make Savitar think what he did was what he needed to do. We tricked him. He's scrambling. We need to stop him now!"

"Or?" Frankie prompted. "This seems like an 'or' moment."

Earth-2 Barry pressed his lips together. "Or he's going to use the power of the Philosopher's Stone to create an opening for the speed force where he can project himself across time." His eyes shifted over the group. "The more places he puts himself, the harder it'll be for us to stop him."

"How can he do that?" Jesse asked. "What's so great about the Philosopher's Stone that he'd be able to do it?"

"Because the Philosopher's Stone is calcificed Speed Force energy," Earth-2 Barry explained to the stunned silence around him. "So, whatever it is we're going to do to stop it, we need to stop it now." As soon as the last word left his lips, the ground beneath them seemed to pulse with energy, just as there was another bright pulse of light from outside.

The group hurried to the windows and peered out, wincing against the light that continued to emanate from STAR Labs. Cisco shook his head as he watched it grow bigger and bigger. "I don't know how much longer we've got," he said. "All that energy, who knows how catastrophic it'll be. The Philosopher's Stone taking over the city…"

"What can we do?" Frankie asked. She tilted her head in the opposite direction, where metallic pieces continued to shoot through the air like mosquitos in a swamp. "Even if we stop the explosion, we can't stop Breathtaker."

"We have to," Iris said firmly. "Not just for us, and for our families, but for all of Central City." She winced as Jitters shuttered and groaned ominously around them. As the seconds passed, they were leaving themselves in more danger than they'd been before. Some part of her knew her father was out there, knew he wouldn't have given up chasing after her even if he were on his own death bed. The second he, Wally, and Jesse were gone, he would've raced to STAR Labs to sound the alarm. He was out there, somewhere, fighting for her.

Just as he had when coming toe to toe with Savitar, moving closer to give himself the shot to taken down Savitar if he moved fast enough. He wouldn't let anything happen to her, she wouldn't let anything happen to him.

"So, we'll take them down," Cadence said. "Once and for all." She turned from the window, the backlight behind her making her look demonic. "There's no more 'what ifs' or 'how longs' for us. Just here and now." She clenched her hand into a fist. "No matter what happens…" She looked to Barry. "You're going to take down Savitar and I'm going to take down Breathtaker. He's waiting for me, has waited for this for years. And I'm not going to let him have the satisfaction of thinking I'm scared. He boosted my abilities and, well, sort of made what I am. And I'm not going to let him have his control over me anymore."

Barry nodded in agreement. "I hated Thawne and Zoom. They took so much from me."

Iris lowered her gaze, remembering going to Barry's mother's funeral. Remembered how she had looked up at her father he stood by her gave and was fearful of the hard look on his face. It didn't take long for her to realize it was because of how torn he was over his own best friend who may or may not have murdered his wife. Torn over his own thoughts of what he thought happened that night. Then her thoughts shifted to the funeral for his father. And how Barry had stood next to his grave with a blank look on his face, the same blank look he'd given when standing by his mother's grave.

He was right.

They'd taken a lot from him.

"And I've hated Savitar for threatening to take everything else away from me, too," Barry continued. "Threatening to destroy my life because…he's had my life. And he knows how to hurt me." He took a deep breath. "Each of them has taught me that there's strength in anger." Barry nodded to Cadence. "You've taught me how to channel it, from watching you take on the being that is Flare, I've used it before. But we sit here with our anger, trying think of a way to hurt Savitar. And I just don't think hate's going to get it done this time."

Brady's eyebrows furrowed. "What do you mean?"

"Something Snart said once," Barry said. His voice turned soft, almost flippant. Almost, Iris thought with a smile, that he had taken on Snart's personality all together. "That Flash should stay a hero all the time. And sometimes that's not about who can punch the hardest or be the fastest. Or save the most lives."

"So…what are we going to do?" Leah asked.

Barry lifted his chin. "The last thing he'd expect." Lightning flashed through his eyes.

* * *

Savitar viciously threw Killer Frost to the ground as soon as he came to a stop. His chest heaved as he watched her gasp with pain, trying to push herself up. She brought her hand to the closing wound on her chest, sucking in as much wind as she could. Savitar then tilted his head up, watching as Breathtaker continued to easily deflect the vibrational blasts Gypsy tried to attack him with.

No, Breathtaker didn't even have eyes on her. She was throwing all her power toward him, whatever energy it was that he harnessed protected him in a cocoon. An ability Savitar watched him create the longer they worked together. An ability that Savitar had grown to do as well. Now was the time to unleash it. To harness it, to ensure that things would turn out the way they'd planned.

 _Now,_ he thought glaring at Killer Frost, _if only she'd shut up!_ She brought up a hand to cover her chest, where her wound was slowly healing itself. Not as fast as her other wounds had been, the more it healed, the more it seemed to open and bleed more profusely. Almost as if another part of her was trying to come out and win.

Gritting his teeth, Savitar lifted his foot and pressed it against Killer Frost's back, knocking her over. She rolled to her back, icy eyes staring up at him, face twisted into an expression of pouty irritation. Though continued to quiver when Savitar moved closer to her. "We have to hurry," Savitar said. "I must become immortal before the paradox reaches me. I must become a God."

Killer Frost nodded and struggled to her feet. Her knees buckled as Savitar grabbed her arm and shoved her forward. She started to fall. Savitar grabbed her arm with one hand, then grabbed her hair with the other, ripping her head back. Killer Frost cried out as her head flew back. "I don't think you understand what's about to happen here," he hissed. "Because I could kill you faster than you could even think. I don't know what happened with you and the fire starter, but I can finish what she can't. But right now, I need you because the speed force doesn't like speedsters messing with time. And when I'm done." He kicked Killer Frost behind the knees, forcing her back to the ground. "Trust me, you don't want to find out what'll happen."

Savitar stepped forward and opened his arms. He stretched them as far and wide as he could before stretching them, rolling his shoulders. "But that might be fun." He grinned then hunched forward, starting to run.

He ran in a giant circle, starting to open a portal. There was a second where it appeared that nothing was happening, then the portal continued to grow wider and wider. Wide enough that it blended in with the color of the explosion still taking over STAR Labs.

Killer Frost carefully got to her feet, holding out her hands. She gasped in surprise, eyes widening when she saw a black figure shoot from the portal. She remembered seeing it before, when she was still Caitlin. Caitlin no longer existed and yet there were memories still inside that worked its way to the forefront. Memories that she couldn't quite quell.

Such as the figurative pain of watching Cadence come toward her with a flaming sword while she held a large icicle back at the fire metahumans. Feelings that were quickly and easily snuffed out. This time, however, she was affected by the familiar feelings she'd felt for Hunter Zoloman or Zoom as she knew, when she saw the Black Flash come flying out of the portal.

It screeched as it stretched out its arms, racing toward Savitar.

Savitar shot out of the way and turned to Killer Frost, who took Black Flash's attention by throwing icicles toward him. Savitar nodded in appreciation, then turned back to the portal. "Finally," he declared. His hands clenched into fists, sucking in a sharp breath that made his chest swell. "To be a God!"

He held out his arms and started toward the portal.

There was a second and third jolt of lightning that caught him off-guard. Instead of the trail being red like Black Flash's, a yellow one came from behind, striking him in the back with lightning while a more orange hued trail came from the portal, striking him in the chest, sending him into the air.

Savitar crashed to the ground and looked up, glaring. "No!" He snarled, baring his teeth as the orange lightning streak appeared in front of him.

Jay smirked, folding his arms tightly over his chest. "I've been waiting a long time to do that," Jay declared, smugness coming to his voice, easily matching his stance.

Barry then came to a stop beside him. He tilted his head, cracking his neck as Savitar's snarling deepened. "Let's end this."

His words were nearly drowned out as STAR Labs exploded.

* * *

 **A/N:** So? What'd you think? I'm so so sorry it took so long—almost a month-for this chapter to be released to you all. I know you don't care so much about what's been keeping me from updating so much as I do it when I'm ready, but I do tend to be a bit hard on myself when I'm working on stuff and don't update in a while. But than you all for being so patient with me.

Also, looking back on this story (as I tend to do when I don't update in a bit, have to catch myself back up sometimes) I'm a bit disappointed with how little I used Alchemy/Julian in this story compared to what I planned, but I am working to make up for it for the end of the story.

Oh my god, you guys! I'm super excited!

 **Cheers,**

 **-Riley**


	58. Ticketing The Speed Demon

**58**

 _Ticketing The Speed Demon_

* * *

Breathtaker continued to watch as Gypsy tried her hand at taking him down. His eyes shifted over Central City. Watching as it cleared out amongst the police force that pointed them to safety.

"Run as much as you'd like," Breathtaker murmured. His eyes twitched into slits. "There's no hiding from this." He turned to look back at STAR Labs, watched as the bright pillar of light exceeded into the air, growing as the seconds passed. Then he turned his head back to Gypsy, just as she opened a breach above him and threw a vibrational blast toward him.

Breathtaker lifted his hand, deflecting the attacked, and allowed Gypsy to fall toward him, letting her open another breach to come at him once more. It was fun, he mused, watching the metas use all their energy to take him down. Fun in a completely mindless way. They didn't know what they were fighting for. Fighting for what? For the lives of those that didn't care for them?

That wanted to take them down at every chance they had? That wanted to turn them into mere humans? And for what? Because of their infantile jealousy that made them feel less than, when it was the metahumans they were making to feel less than?

 _No matter,_ Breathtaker thought. _Once these citizens become metas, they will understand what it means to have power. What it truly means to be the powerful and understand what life has to offer. For those to worship those of us that want the best of this life. A few lives lost for the plan to proceed is a fair enough sacrifice._

"It's almost time for me," Breathtaker murmured. He whipped around and reached up his hand, grabbing Gypsy by the throat as she tried to attack him once more. She gasped, bringing up her hands, trying to rip them from his neck. "But it's an even better time for you." He brought her close to her face, eyeing her carefully. "You're not meant to be here," he said.

Gypsy sucked in a guttural breath through her nose but didn't respond. Breathtaker loosened his grasp around her neck. "Don't fret," he said, bringing up his other hand to pet her hair. To smooth it from her face. "Once this new world starts, there's going to be a place for you in it. On your own Earth, for once I conquer this one, I'll have al Earths at my disposal." He hummed when Gypsy tilted her head away from his touch. "I'll spare you, but It would be better if you didn't make me mad."

"That's my line." Breathtaker turned, watching as Cadence, Brady, Leah, and Frankie all land on the rooftop of the building, aided by Leah's gravity powers. His eyes landed on Cadence, as she was the one who spoke. "And, it sounds better coming from me."

"Ah, my child." Breathtaker reached his hand toward her. "Did you finally come to your senses?"

"Why?" She lifted her chin. "Did you decide to brainwash me again?"

Breathtaker shifted his gaze to the side, a step below rolling his eyes. He wasn't one to lose his temper in such trivial, such human ways. Not since he'd stop being a human, in his mind, years ago. When the world had stopped treating him like one. Started treating him as anything less than despite the power he had to crush an entire city in seconds, if he'd felt prompted.

"Such is the problem with humans, they allow their emotions to get in the way of things they don't understand is good for them. Such as this one not understanding what it is I'm trying to achieve." In a vicious move, Breathtaker, as quick as a speedster, slammed Gypsy to the ground, face first. Leah moved as quick as Breathtaker, if not a bit slower, to relieve Gypsy's gravitational pull before she smashed every bone in her face.

She still hit the ground, Breathtaker's power certainly wouldn't have been taken down by an eleven year old girl who didn't have so much training with her powers, but the damage wasn't as painful, her own metahuman physiology aiding her as well. She rolled to her back, groaning lightly. Not knocked out, but getting there.

Leah lowered her hands, doing her best not to look Breathtaker in the eye.

"I see you've been working hard to train the others," Breathtaker remarked. "Just as I've trained you."

"You treated us like dogs," Cadence shot back.

"I treated you well."

"We were disposable to you."

"All the best things in life are."

"Michael Bloom, Incognito, me…" she clenched her hands. "You're ready to take anyone else in when things don't go your way."

"All a means to an end." Breathtaker waved his free hand carelessly. "You'll understand once everything finishes." He held out his hands, lifting his gaze toward the sky, where the missiles continued to arch upwards, reaching their highest highs. "You'll be willing to help me again, when you know what is to happen." He lowered his chin. "But if you are to still be so stubborn, I trust there to be a way to break you." His eyes shifted towards Brady. "And I believe I know where to find it."

Brady took a step back. He looked to his mother, as if asking a question, and she looked back at him, giving a single nod of determination.

Are you sure?

Yes, it'll work.

Brady nodded back then stepped toward Breathtaker once more, aligning himself with the others. He wasn't going to back down.

Breathtaker smiled. He should've known—did know but hoped they would've been a bit smarter—that they would want to fight a little bit more before willingly bowing toward him. Well, if it was what they wanted, it was what they were going to get.

He would give them what they wanted as a last rites sort of thing.

It was the least he could do.

Breathtaker flicked his chin, signaling, and watched as White Hot appeared in a flurry of flames, and Stratos appeared in a whirlwind. Both looked disgruntled and out of sorts—hair askew from following Savitar's previous commands to slow down the group with their fights. Seems that speedster and the fire meta worked White Hot and Stratos hard.

Just as Breathtaker wanted, really. Similar abilities vs. similar abilities. What a fight to see. Survival of the fittest.

"Brigade," Breathtaker said to Cadence. "I know you don't see the endgame of my plans," he said. "But I've told you time and time again, my child, that you're the one to help me get there." His eyes briefly rolled back in his head as he took in a deep breath, as if the weight of the world suddenly fell onto his shoulders. "No matter what, you're going to help me. But if you want to waste time," he lifted a hand and waved her off. "Go ahead."

Permission granted.

Stratos and White Hot surged toward Brady, Leah, Frankie, and Cadence.

Cadence immediately teleported out of the way, grasped Gypsy, and teleported the interdimensional breacher to safety. She gently dropped Gypsy to the ground. "Are you alright?"

Gypsy nodded and spat out a mouthful of blood. Fire raged through her eyes. "It takes a lot more an albino raisin to take me down."

Cadence grinned and threw her head back to Breathtaker. "Ready to take him down?"

It was then Gypsy took a good look at her. She looked Cadence up and down, her upper lip curling with disgust that Cadence couldn't quite understand. She did just save the breacher's life, so to speak. Whatever it was Gypsy was upset about, she got over it quickly, nodding back to the fire metahuman. "I've been ready a long time ago," she said.

With that, Gypsy threw out a breach and leap through it while Cadence leapt up and ran toward Breathtaker, teleporting at the last moment. The two popped out behind Breathtaker and punched him at the same time.

* * *

They were supposed to contain the power of the Philosopher's Stone. To use the power of the calcified Speed Force that was threatening to blow up STAR Labs and siphon the power of the stone's implosion. That was the plan anyway. Once Barry and Cadence had given their ideas of what was to finally take down Savitar and Breathtaker, the first thing they turned their eyes to were the Philosopher's Stone and STAR Labs.

Not just because they needed to save the city, but because of everything that went along with it. If STAR Labs was destroyed, then all the work an information they'd compiled over the years of the Flash and Flare's exploits, their metahuman levels, the upward trajectory of Brady's and then Leah's training, the beginning of Cisco's and Caitlin's powers, the villains' they'd gone up against, etc. etc. would be destroyed. Lost to everyone.

Lost to those that hadn't had the chance to take the information when it had been shared with Amunter's Back Market. Lost to everyone and everything.

That had been Wally's and Jesse's first order of business. They had to get as many backups of the files as they could, to hide in a safe place in case they couldn't stop the explosion when it came. Then they had to take care of the Speed Force. The idea came from Barry and Jay, when they'd traveled to the future the first time, where Barry had traveled to the past for the first time, when Barry had breached to Earth-38 for the first time, they had to siphon as much of the Speed Force as they could.

If the Philosopher's Stone was calcified Speed Force energy, then if they siphoned it and had it go through their bodies, maybe stored it up enough so that they could throw it in a bolt of lightning, release it into the atmosphere, and disperse the energy so that Savitar couldn't get to it.

That was the plan.

Wally and Jesse screeched to a stop beside the growing energy field that stretched its limbs and reached for the rafters of the pipeline as it continued to grow. The two looked at each other, at the growing power field, then back at each other.

"Whatever I expected," Wally breathed. "It wasn't this."

"You can say that again," Jesse declared. She took in a deep breath, shaking her head. "But we have to do something."

"Right," Wally agreed.

The two bent down into a crouch, lightning flashing off their bodies in waves, then raced into the pipeline and started to run the track that looped around the building. They ran and ran, their lightning trails stretching further and further behind them as they did so, until they reached the tail of it once more. Much like a game of snake. As they ran, the energy of the philosopher's stone stretched and followed them, as if attracted to the live speed force energy the speedsters gave off.

They continued to run, working to combat the exceeding energy of the Philosopher's Stone. But they weren't Savitar. They weren't Barry, they weren't Jay, and as young speedsters, who hadn't had the luxury of taking a few years to learn how to get up to their top speed and even further, they were slowing down.

Fast.

And the more they slowed down, the more the Philosopher's Stone gained in energy behind them. Sweat poured down Wally's face. He brought up a hand to swipe over his face, flicked the droplets away. The droplets, instead of falling to the ground, hovered in the air, much like water from an aquarium. They held in place within Wally's continuous revolutions.

Finally, he couldn't take it anymore and had to run back to the hallway leading to the pipeline. He pressed his back against the wall, feeling his legs quiver like jelly, trying to regain his strength. Chest heaving, he looked up to see Jesse's lightning trail continue to increase and decrease in brightness as she raced by.

 _She's still running,_ Wally thought. He shook his head, trying to hold himself up. "Jess," he called. Voice weak. She didn't hear him. Kept running. The Philosopher's Stone energy continued to trail after her, though not as strong as it had been before. "Jesse! We have to go! This isn't working!"

Being a speedster, Wally was able to see Jesse's facia expressions every time she blew by the door. Could see her shake her head every time Wally would shout her name. Would shake it harder as he became more insistent.

"Jesse! This place is going to blow! There's nothing we can do!" They had the information on memory sticks, they didn't need to save anything else. There was no one in the pipeline, no one in the pods that would be in danger. The only danger was anyone in the immediate vicinity of STAR Labs.

"No, Wally!" Jesse shouted back. "I have to do this!" She continued to pump her arms and legs. Her breathing became louder, more desperate. Blood started to trickle down her nose, rolling over her chin. She smeared it away, sniffing hard, trying to keep back the continuous flow.

"He's right, Jesse."

Wally looked over his shoulder, finding HR standing behind him, nervously tapping a drumstick against his leg. He hadn't noticed HR approach. His forehead gleamed with sweat, chest heaved, showing the effort it took for him to run from the streets to STAR Labs.

"This isn't going to work," HR continued. He leaned toward the screen beside him that controlled the opening to the pipeline. His fingers inching towards the screen. "We have to contain this, funnel it somewhere else. There's nothing we can do."

"I have to try!" Jesse shouted.

"If you do this, if you deplete your energy this way, Savitar's going to win," HR continued.

"I'm not afraid of him!" Jesse declared.

"Jesse!" Wally pleaded.

"You can't talk me out of this!"

Wally swallowed hard. He looked to HR, who looked just as helpless as he did. If Jesse wore herself out, it would take too long for the speed force energy to come back to her body, to energize her to be the top speed speedster she could be. And without all their help, the entire team, Savitar and Breathtaker would win. He pressed his lips together, watching her continue to push herself forward.

What happened to her, when she was captured, to have her act like this? He'd faced Stratos without much fanfare, Stratos had been less than interested in him, saying he didn't need to waste his energy on him when it was just a means for Breathtaker to bide his time.

Something had to have happened to her, had to have spurned her on to want to push herself to the very end. Wally looked back to HR, who looked back at him with a sad expression in his eyes, despite the smile that came to his lips. Then, Wally noticed the placement of HR's hand, and the sign on the screen. He was seconds away from closing the door to the opening of the pipeline.

Trapping her inside.

"No," Wally murmured.

HR's smile widened. "I always said you had more potential than you thought," HR said, voice low. A warning klaxon started to go off all around STAR LABS. Jesse continued to run, her lightning trail dimming in its vibrancy as it went. "That was my special talent, to help the out the team…finding the potential in everyone. Just as Harrison helped me find my potential. What I can truly do to help the team."

"HR…" Wally said. "You can't do this. You can't leave her…"

HR cut him off. "Wallace, always remember that you've got what it takes, to be the best speedster you can be. Not the best _Barry_ you can be, but the best Wally. That's all we need you to be. Now…" his fingers twitched. "I hope you remember who told you that." He swallowed hard. "We know Savitar's identity. Appeal to that. But he's going to fight back first, they…they always do, right? Must be in some villain handbook somewhere. That'd come in handy." He looked to the brightening light as it washed over him. He was silent for a long moment then spoke again, almost as if speaking to himself. "He's a speed God. But he's invulnerable. Then why does he need a speed of armor? He's vulnerable under the suit, find a gap, find an opening and go for it. That's what'll take him down."

Wally stared at HR, trying to find the words that would help convey everything he was feeling. That would explain everything that HR had done for him and for the team, who took his licks from the team, was treated that he was less than nothing, an afterthought, but was going to be the one to save them all. And Wally couldn't find the words to explain how grateful he was for all of it.

Hopefully, HR understood.

Hopefully, that last glimmer he saw in HR's eyes proved HR understood, for Wally's legs moved before he realized what was happening. He surged after Jesse, easily catching up to her as she slowed, and grabbed her arm. Jesse waved him off at first, but Wally grabbed her harder, tightened his grasp around her elbow, and pulled as hard as he could as they passed by the opening once more.

Everything happened at once.

There was a sudden pulse of speed force energy that swept them through the opening and back into the safety of STAR Labs just as the hatch fell. Wally closed his eyes against the light and brought his arms up to shield himself. He felt the energy course through him, before it deposited him against the wall behind him before it faded.

Finally, the light dissipated, and he looked around. STAR Labs was in ruin. Even from where he lay, there was a good part of the ceiling that let him see the sky between ensnarled and snaggled beams, twisting and turning around each other. He tried to move his legs, stopped when he found immense pressure put against it.

Wally quickly phased through it and got to his feet, working to stay as steady as he could on the rubble that loosened between his feet. He raced back to where he'd just been standing only seconds before. He gasped for air g for air. Lightning rolled down from his shoulders to his feet as his body adjusted to his speed going from 1000 to 0. His eyes darted around the blast zone, heart ramming against his chest.

"No."

She had to be there.

He'd seen her right before the explosion.

He'd grabbed her.

Wally thought hard, trying to figure it out rationally. The alarms went off, HR closed the door, did he close it in time? What happened when he grabbed Jesse? When did he lose his grip on her?

He'd run fast enough to chase her as she slowed down. Fasterfasterfaster. Until he reached her. He'd raced forward, everything moving slowly around him, his eyes shifting into tunnel vision, the fingers of the Speed Force energy reaching out for him. His footsteps felt like cement as it moved closer to them. Wally screamed as he grabbed onto Jesse, his fingers desperately clawed at the air as he grabbed her.

Now…

What happened?

Terror filled him, clutching at his heart as he looked around. Then he took a breath and raced at top speed to knock large chunks of rock and wall aside, moving them haphazardly with no regard to where they landed. Sweat poured down his face as he pushed himself harder and harder.

Finally, he heard a rustling sound behind him and whipped around, watching as rocks rolled away from a pile. Jesse slowly phased through a large the floor, carefully holding HR's lifeless body as she did so.

"Jesse," Wally breathed.

Jesse looked up at him

Wally felt his heart simultaneously soar and sink. Soar, seeing Jesse was okay, but sink at the state of STAR Labs and HR. He'd failed. They'd failed. Even when HR tried to help them, STAR Labs still blew up…the Speed Force energy still escaped…

Wally wiped at his eyes and—without his superspeed—rushed towards the two, grabbing Jesse in a tight hug. He knelt and scanned Jesse's face and arms and legs before squeezing her in a hug, boa constrictor tight. Then he pulled back and regarded Jesse's face, her eyes were wide behind her domino mask. "You're okay," he said. "You're…you're…"

Wally breathlessly grabbed Jesse's face and peppered her with frantic kisses. "I thought you were dead," he managed to say between each passionate one. "You were by the blast. I don't understand. I thought you were dead."

Jesse held him just as tightly, her tears mixing with his. "I know, I know." She wrapped her arms around his neck, hugging him as tightly as she could. Wally squeezed her back with one arm, reaching out with the other to hold HR to him as well.

He had nearly lost his entire family.

Nearly.

And yet, he still lost a member. They all did. HR lay quietly, draped over Jesse's lap. As the silence stretched around them, their tears of exhilaration of finding each other turned to ones of loss. They cried over HR sacrificing his life for theirs. Had he not been there to close the gate, the explosion wouldn't have funneled straight through STAR Labs, would've washed over the city and did the dirty work that Savitar wanted of them.

He was the hero that day.

They'd gone through tougher things before. It would take more than the Philosopher's Stone to tear them down, tear them apart. Wally shifted his face and kissed Jesse again, this time with less desperation, but with relief that she was okay, that she was still alive—thanks to HR—to take down Savitar.

He wasn't going to let go until the end.

They sat with each other for a long time, almost as if waiting for HR to wake up again. But he would never wake up. He'd lie peacefully with half-lidded eyes, drumsticks in hand, and a tiny smile on his face. As if he'd simply closed his eyes and basked in the love he had for Team Flash as the power of the Philosopher's Stone washed over him.

A casualty in the war they were stuck within.

Wally removed his hands from Jesse and grasped HR. He gently moved him aside, propping him up by a small pile of rubble, a makeshift pillow for his endless sleep, out of way of harm. If he had a blanket, he would've tucked HR in as well, nevertheless, he tucked HR's hand over his chest, holding his palm against his drumsticks, his drumsticks close to his chest.

Then Wally turned back to Jesse and reached his hand out to her. Jesse looked back at him and he started, taking a step back. Her eyes were cold. Blazing with an icy fire of revenge that Wally had never seen in her eyes before. A darkness that he'd never seen.

He faltered, dropping his hand. "Jesse?" He asked.

Jesse got to her feet, brushing off her knees. "We have to make sure to come back for HR," she said. "He deserves more than to sit down here." She leveled her gaze on him. "We have to honor him, Wally."

"We will," Wally insisted. He swallowed hard, taking a step toward her. "Jesse—"

"—We don't have time," she said quickly, taking in a deep breath. Put up a wall. Cut herself off from whatever she was feeling. It was strange to him, Wally thought. She was the one who should've been comforting him and yet…he was the one trying to help her. He was the closest to HR and felt nothing but insurmountable pain of losing his friend, and it appeared she wasn't noticing it. "Breathtaker and Savitar are more important."

It was true, but…

Wally couldn't help it. Something was off. Nevertheless. It was true, they had to defeat the villains first. Had to save Central City. "Let's go."

The speedsters raced out of STAR Labs, leaving their lightning trails and a deceased HR in their wake.

* * *

Savitar stared at Jay and Barry, the three almost not reacting to STAR Labs exploding behind them. Barry, at least, tried not to let any reaction show on his face. The explosion was going to happen, no matter what, some of the energy was going to escape. They'd only find, later, if the Speed Force energy was made to be contained. It appeared so, if the explosion didn't spread as far as the rest of Central City.

"Garrick," Savitar, being Barry—or ese having the same thought process—only had eyes for Jay. He literally spat, "How'd you get out?" How'd you get out of the Speed Force? How'd you escape your prison? How'd you make it out when I couldn't for years?

"I had some help from some friends," Jay said. With that, he turned and held out his hand, his helmet spinning into it like a frisbee. He grasped it and placed it firmly on his head before smiling to Cisco, who breached behind him and nodded.

Cisco nodded back. Barry looked to him and asked a question with a simple move of his eyebrows. _Earth-2 Barry? Iris?_ Cisco nodded once more, this time a smaller nod. A silent, "they're safe," which made Barry smile. Then his gaze shifted toward Killer Frost, who was still working on keeping Black Flash at bay, thrusting out her hands, throwing icicles to keep him from getting to her co-conspirator.

Savitar gritted his teeth. He reached up, shoved his hair from his face to glare pointedly at them with his sightless eye, and turned on his heel. All at once, there was a blast of white light that shot to the side of the street, capturing everyone's attention. His suit. Savitar superspeeded into it with Barry and Jay racing after him. Seconds later, Cisco saw the Black Flash run, following the trail of any speedster that moved, before two more lightning trails came from STAR Labs.

Wally and Jesse.

 _They must've done it,_ Cisco thought. The thought barely crossed his mind before he noticed the sudden drop in temperature around him. He turned his head just in time to receive a sucker punch to the ice of the face. Not just a sucker punch, but an icy punch that hit so hard Cisco felt a tooth work loose before blood filled his mouth. He hit the ground, rolling away, leaving little pools of blood as he opened his mouth to emit small cries.

He looked up to find Killer Frost standing above him, an icy vapor washing over her as her wounds from Savitar's abuse healed. Cisco shook his head. Why couldn't she stay down? Stay out of the way? See the light for what Savitar truly was doing to her. _Or else, why doesn't Cade finally get rid of her? Burnout at least had the right idea._ A heavy sigh escaped Cisco's lips at the thought, guilt weighing him down. But it was just as Cadence had been saying, Caitlin didn't exist anymore, only Killer Frost remained.

He had to treat her as such.

"Savitar's going to turn on you one day," Cisco murmured, slowly getting ot his feet.

Killer Frost created a long icicle that she slapped against her palm, walking toward him. Her expression never chance. Simply continued being an icy mask that covered any piece of Caitlin that may still be left. "No, he won't." She said it so simply. She truly believed it.

Cisco clenched his hands. He slowly held them up to Killer Frost. A warning that a vibrational blast wasn't out of the question. She kept toward him, eyes flickering toward his gloved hands, but her expression never changing. "A bad guy like Savitar always turn on his partners," he reminded her. "Think of the others he was working on. Frankie…The Rival…Clive Yorkin…the minute he didn't need them anymore, the minute they were gone."

"Not this time." The ringlets of Killer Frost's hair bounced as she shook her head.

Anger surged through Cisco at that moment. Not just because of the fury towards losing his best friend. But toward everything that had been going on since Barry created Flashpoint. And the hell hole that was made in the speedster's wake.

If only…

If only, what?

If only the Reverse-Flash—Eobard Thawne—hadn't become so obsessed with the Flash to the point of hating him…none of this would've happened. But Cisco couldn't hate the Reverse Flash as much as the hate that Barry harbored for him. He could only hate Killer Frost, the entity that was keeping his best friend from getting bac to her true self.

Cisco bared his teeth, blood dribbling down from the empty space in his mouth. "Wake up!" He hissed. His fingers twitched, ready to go. "You're only saying that because he needs something form you. Once he's done with that, then you're toast."

Killer Frost's lips twitched. "You don't have a witty ice pun to use this time?" She tsk'd, shaking her head. "Oh, Cisco, you're losing your touch." She reached out and pressed the tip of the icicle from under his neck, forcing his head back. He felt it stick to his skin. "Are you sure you don't have one in there?"

"Fresh out," Cisco said. He tried to keep his voice steady. He could only mumble, feeling the throbbing pain in his jaw, unable to speak much louder. "I don't use them on you. I use them on Caitlin, to make her laugh despite her horrific situation." Killer Frost merely blinked. She had his attention. "Listen to me, he'll do it, he'll kill you."

"Just like you all want to kill me." Killer Frost tilted her head. She removed the icicle from beneath his chin, tearing the skin away, making him wince. Then bobbed it, repeatedly tapping him under the jaw, as if tapping her own chin in thought. "I get it. There's not enough for me to go around, but if I am going to be killed, it's going to be the fire bug that does it." She looked Cisco up and down. "Though I'll have a good time killing you."

Cisco caught her off-guard with a vibrational blast to the chest. She fell back, tumbling heels overhead, only barely able to catch herself before Cisco threw open a breach and leapt through it, barely missing the javelin-like through of an icicle toward him. Killer Frost whipped around and started to attack when Cisco appeared through the other breach.

The ground became slick, making his feet fly out from beneath him. He crashed hard to the ground, feeling it shudder beneath him. He thought back to his breakout from his cell and turned back to Killer Frost. She still didn't know, not really. He'd only done it once before, but maybe…

Cisco focused on the dissipating waves beneath him. Could practically see it as ripples and focused his energy onto it. Killer Frost, who was running toward him, stumbled, feeling the ground shake beneath her feet. As she started to fall, Cisco placed his hands on the ground and swung his body around, swiping her feet from beneath her in a sweeping arc, a breakdance move he'd learned years before when Dante had taught him how to dance. (One of the few times that the brothers had gotten along, when they took dance classes together).

Killer Frost fell hard on her chest, the wind immediately becoming knocked out of her. Cisco punched a vibrational blast into her back then opened a beach beneath her. She fell through it and Cisco rolled after her, breaching across the city at different intervals as Killer Frost got up and started to fight back.

Over and over the breached and fought before Cisco finally got the upper hand, using a breach to send a vibrational blast from one hand to hit her in the front and the other to simultaneously hit her in the back, freezing her in place.

He slowly stepped toward her.

Killer Frost's lips pulled back into a taunting snarl. "Go ahead Cisco, go bad," she hissed.

Cisco stared into the once brown eyes of his once best friend. Only saw the icy blue ones of a stranger staring back. He made a decision. She was right. It wasn't his fight. As much as he wanted to take her down…it'd be on her own merits.

"No," Cisco murmured. "If this is going to happen, like you said, it'll be whatever Cadence decides. I'm not going to do this. I'm not going to kill Killer Frost because it's what you want." He stepped back. "I can't force you to not be Killer Frost anymore. I understand that." He nodded. "But, you're my best friend, Caitlin." Killer Frost's upper lip curled even further. But she continued to watch him. "You can say you're not her all you want, but I know Caitlin, my best friend, is still in there. My best friend." His lower jaw trembled at his words, knowing more of the truth beneath the words. What he wasn't saying out loud. "The only thing I can do is help you. It's your choice, I don't want to have to hurt you. But I will if it means saving everyone I love."

"Love?" Killer Frost taunted.

"Yeah, love," Cisco insisted. "Just like Caitlin loves us. Do you want to be Killer Frost?"

Killer Frost parted her lips to respond.

But she didn't get the chance to say anything in response.

Cisco reached forward and grabbed onto Killer Frost, vibing he and saw Caitlin trudging through the snowy recesses of her mind. Her hands were brought up, holding her elbows, rubbing her arms, trying to keep herself warm among the snow that continued to fall among the forest she traversed.

She wasn't shivering.

She didn't look scared.

No, she looked determined.

"Caitlin," Cisco murmured.

Caitlin immediately stopped and turned Cisco's way. He wasn't sure if she could see him. And yet…Caitlin looked at him. Her lips pulled back in a small smile, brown eyes flashing with determination. She nodded. Dropped her arms from her elbows and turned back as Killer Frost leapt to attack her.

A sneak attack.

Caitlin fended her off with an icicle, chased after her, running further away from Cisco.

"Caitlin!" Cisco shouted.

The vibe ended.

He gasped, dropping his hands and stepped back.

Killer Frost's eyes, for a second, shifted from an icy blue to a brown and back.

Cisco smiled.

Caitlin was fighting back.

* * *

Savitar raced between the trees in the forest surrounding Central City, weaving in and out of the foliage that lined the forest floor, darting behind and over fallen trees to hide himself. His lightning trail gave him away. Barry, Jay, Jesse, Wally and the Black Flash ran after him, running in front of each other, then ahead and behind, to try and catch up to the speed God.

Savitar did all he could to take them down, even sending out spikes from his sleeves to knock down trees and leaping high into the air to throw concentrated speed force energy to the ground, knocking the speedsters over. However, it wasn't just the explosion of power that caught them off guard, but the electricity that ran through the cracked ground and up into the speedsters.

Barry threw himself aside before he could be hit, moving his feet fast enough that he was in mid-air when the electricity coursed through the rest of his team. He could see his friends in his peripheral fall, seconds before coming up behind him once more with Jay at the head. Savitar hadn't caught him off-guard, he, in a way, knew it was coming.

Not just because of Savitar being a future version of him, not because they were one and the same, but because it was something he'd thought of using against Savitar when the time came. So, when it was thrown back at him, he knew how to dodge it.

Savitar seemed to notice and grunted in frustration. He turned on his heel, planting it firmly in the ground to use as a pivot point and stomped the other one as hard as he could. The ground rumbled, threatening to pitch the speedsters over. He used the moment to run in rapid circles around the speedsters. Instead of allowing himself to be sucked into chasing after him, Barry tried to follow Savitar's trajectory. Each time Barry moved his head, it had to be a violent, quick jerk of his head. His eyes weren't fast enough, even with the added perception. The flashes of light as they moved around. Moving faster, much faster than he'd ever managed before—

Savitar appeared in front of him, charged towards him. Arms pumping, he ran directly in front of Barry, a beeline to take the speedster down. Then Barry noticed, too late, when Savitar moved, started to race towards him, that he was charging up a lightning throw. Barry's eyes drifted down, seeing the lightning gather around Savitar's hands that increased in size as the seconds passed. When Savitar was close enough, he threw his arms forward.

There was what looked like an explosion in front of him. Then Barry felt his body completely stiffen, like a board. His arms clamped to his sides, teeth clenched so hard he was sure they'd crack, he lost all cognizant thought. Then the energy became too great and Barry was blasted off his feet. He arched through the air, only to be caught by Wally and Jesse.

"Man, you're heavier than you look," Wally grunted.

"Yeah, man, you've got to lay off the Big Belly Burger," Jesse added.

Barry managed a low chuckle and nod, "Thanks," he breathed, allowing them to push him back to his feet.

He looked over at the cry of pain and saw Savitar send a strong punch to Jay's stomach, knock him over. Savitar crouched over Jay and pressed his palm against Jay's chest. With his other hand, he brought his arm back, a large spike sliding from above his hand. He brough this arm back and started to bring it forward, ready to pierce Jay's chest, then turned aside as the Black Flash screeched, reaching towards Savitar.

Savitar spun and punched the Black Flash hard in the chest, sending it flying back into the woods.

Barry looked to Wally and Jesse and the three nodded and ran towards Savitar at the same time. They conjured lightning and threw it, striking Savitar at the same time. The lightning traversed through the spike above his hand and through his suit, freezing him in place.

Jay grinned up at him, wheezing as he held his chest. "Looks like you _can_ teach an old dog new tricks," he murmured before racing to safety.

Barry, finally, regained control of his body. His limbs violently shook, muscles clenching and unclenching as he worked to stave off the electricity that continued to course through his veins.

Then he was up and running with Wally and Jesse, chugging his arms and legs, propelling himself to run as fast as he could. They had to catch Savitar off-guard. Had to find a way to be faster than him. But Savitar was faster. Every step Barry took, Savitar moved right in front of him. Savitar stopped Barry cold with a solid punch to the chest. Barry fell backwards and as he fell, Savitar shifted behind him and kicked him hard in the spine.

 _Thwack!_

"Aaah!" Barry fell to his knees, writhing in pain. Something snapped, he could hear it, feel the lick of pain as it burned up his spine. On the verge of blacking out, Barry sucked in sharp breaths between his teeth. Hyperventilated. His lungs wouldn't fill up, he was choking.

Savitar battered Wally and Jesse away, turning his attention to Barry and threw out his arm, clotheslining him when Barry circled around and tried to sneak attack him. "Nice try, Flash." He curled his fingers into his palm. "But you lose. I only have a few minutes left, I can feel it. But before I go, I'm going to kill Joe and Wally and Iris and Brady and Cadence…" Then he motioned toward the speedsters that lay on the ground, taken down b his handiwork. "if I'm going to die, then everything you love is going to die, too."

He turned and started toward Jay, Jesse, and Wally, taking long, confident strides as he went. Barry shook his head. No. He wasn't going to let that happen. He hadn't done all that work, lived through some of the hardest times of his life just for Savitar to win.

"No!" Barry surged to his feet and phased into the Savitar suit, knocking Savitar out as he did so. Savitar turned to him, staring in disbelief. Barry took a step toward Savitar, towering over him. "How does it feel to get so close to your ascension and end up on the ground?"

Savitar got up and in a series of flashes, the two grappled with each other, until Barry got the upper hand, pining Savitar to the ground with a spear in his doppelganger's face. Savitar held out his arms, making himself as vulnerable as possible. "Do it," Savitar taunted. "End me! You kill me, you become me. Either way, I live."

Silence stretched between them.

The forest was silent.

In the distance, sirens rang out from Central City.

And Barry continued to stand over Savitar.

Worked to decide.

If he took him down, finally, everything would be over. And yet…could he do that? Could he take down his doppelganger? Do what he was unable to do before? When he felt nothing but sadness for the boy, the man, who had such a great life until he was stuck in the Speed Force while Barry's life was so terrible, starting with the death of his mother.

Could he really take a life like that?

Even when he deserved it.

Savitar's eyes glinted in the moonlight that bathed them in the clearing.

No.

Barry lowered his hand. Shook his head. Took a step back. He vibrated rapidly, breaking the Savitar suit. It crumbled to pieces, falling around Savitar. Showering him in shrapnel. Savitar gaped at him, eyes widening in growing horror.

"I'll never let the pain, the darkness, determine who I am," Barry hissed, looking down on Savitar, literally and figurateively. "I'll never be _you_." Savitar glared back at him, started to move. Barry super speeded a punch to the side of Savitar's face.

Savitar fell to the ground, only to turn back and race toward Barry once more, having followed the sped up punch, to allow himself the momentum to spin around. Savitar surged to his feet and started toward Barry, gaining momentum as he went, lightning flashing around his feet.

He brought back his hand to send a punch back to Barry.

A shot rang out.

Savitar paused. His eyes widened as a rose of blood bloomed across his front. He slowly fell to the ground, arms stretched out to his side. Cadence slowly brought herself up from her crouching position, lowering her hands, tucking her pistol back into her thigh holster.

A gasping, choking breath escaped Savitar's lips. Eyes, now both sightless, turned toward the sky. He sucked in a deep breath, lips quivering and exhaled once, sharply before pitching forward onto the ground.

"Look at that," she declared humorlessly. "I killed the Flash."

* * *

 **A/N:** Well, Savitar's taken down.,,sort of. I only hope you guys enjoyed his end more than what happened on the show. Sort of similar but gives explanations for some things that I have happen. Not to mention I think was a bit cooler, lol.

Now onto Breathtaker!

Fun Fact: The scene with Wally and Jesse I originally had between Barry and Cadence. I had actually written it shortly after the episode aired and thought it'd be in the same context when I got to it, but after what happened with Jesse and Mindboggler, I realized it made more sense for Wally and Jesse.

 **Cheers,**

 **-Riley**


	59. Fire Fall

**59**

 _Fire Fall_

* * *

Barry gasped as he stared down at Savitar, then back to Cadence. His eyebrows furrowed as he watched her, wondered what she was doing. It wasn't part of the plan for her to break away from Breathtaker and attack Savitar, the speedsters were all supposed to deal with him. But there she was, calmly retrieving her weapon as if she didn't notice the stares around her.

Then she turned his way and looked him in the eye.

Barry gently shook his head, silently asked _What are you doing?_ Then his eyes briefly dropped to the holsters on her thighs and wondered if he'd be able to move fast enough if she tried to shoot him, too. The thought crossed his mind quicker than he would've liked. Quicker than he would've admitted. He'd had the thought many times since having met her, it was her mission so to speak, to lure him in under a false friendship until she had him alone long enough to kill him.

He thought of the many times that they raced through the woods around Central City in their game of 'tag' that was a playful way for them to work on their powers. As a means to train. Though of the times they sparred in STAR Labs before standing back and watching the others train, giving out pointes when the time came. She'd never shown, at any time, that she was about to turn her back on him and shoot him.

But in that moment, if she could take down Savitar without so much as blinking, what did that mean for him?

He started to turn away, then stopped, noticing a flicker that caught his eye. Looked harder before Cadence shimmered out of sight, making his head jerk back in surprise before understanding. It wasn't really her. A fire mirage. She created a fire mirage to shoot down Savitar, due to how quickly they were being taken down.

Barry then cried out as he was knocked aside by a sudden streak of white lightning. He spun across the clearing, crashing into a tree and landing hard on the ground. He looked over and saw the same had happened to Wally, Jesse, and Jay, watched them hit the ground hard as Savitar came to a stop.

"You have to do better than that," Savitar declared. His gunshot wound was already starting to heal. He spread his arms, wiggling his fingers in a mocking tone.

"Then we'll do better," Barry replied. He got to his feet and ran once more. Jay, Wally, and Jesse fell in line behind him, all streamlining as they ran. They circled the clearing, creating tighter circles as they went.

Lightning crackled around them. Savitar rolled his eyes, turning his head away. He frowned when his shoulder jerked back, something suddenly striking into him. Barry's lips pulled back into a smirk, ignoring the pain of his arm as he continued to shift it back and forth, making the broken bones rub against each other. And yet, he still ran along with the rest of the speedsters. Finally, they started to space out to an even path between each other. Lightning trailed between the speedsters before crackling off and striking the ground where little pieces of Savitar's suit lay scattered along the ground.

As the seconds passed, the pieces came off the ground, attracted by the magnetic pull of the lightning, hovering in the air. Barry stopped and threw out his arm, throwing a lightning bolt to Savitar. The shrapnel closest to him followed and struck Savitar in the arms and legs. One at a tie, Jay, Wally, and Jesse stopped running and threw out their lightning, sending shrapnel flying.

Savitar screamed as the metal shards flew forward and pierced his body. Struck him over and over like a pin cushion, like a little kid with their own version of a voodoo doll. He took a step forward, struggling to keep himself up, knees threatening to take him down. Still, he moved forward. Blood dripped from his mouth, spurted between his teeth with each ragged breath.

"I'm not going down that easily!" He snarled. "God's don't die! You can do whatever you want, and I'll always come back!" He spread his arms, moving directly toward Barry. "What now, hero? I'm always going to be one step ahead of you, what trick are you going to try now?"

In response, Barry raced forward towards Savitar. Savitar laughed and ran back toward him. They ran and ran, closing the gap between each other. Moving so fast that everything blurred around them. Barry didn't know what Jay, Wally, or Jesse were doing. Didn't care. He simply needed to stop Savitar, that growing need in his heart increasing with each step he took.

It was his fault.

Everything was his fault.

His mother's death.

His father's death.

Flashpoint.

Savitar's appearance.

The re-emergence of Breathtaker.

Caitlin turning into Killer Frost.

Brady being targeted by Breathtaker.

Wally being taken into the Speed Force.

Everything, and so much more.

It was going to end.

He was finally going to end it.

They came together at the same time, punching forward, their fists striking each other so hard that the lightning charged into it forced them apart and created a sonic boom so loud that it ceased all noise around them. Barry screamed in pain, feeling every bone in his arm break from the force of the blow. Savitar's scream was similar. The only thing that made Barry smile despite his pain.

Savitar whirled around to face Barry once more, the force of their punching each other had spun him around, teeth bared in a snarl only seconds before he had a hand thrust through his chest. Jesse and Wally yelped in surprise while Jay closed his eyes, turning away from the sight. Blood splattered Black Flash's fingertips before he curled his hand against Savitar's chest, pulling him close to him. Savitar made a gasping, wheezing sound of air, and weakly reached out towards Barry and the rest of the speedsters.

"Look," Black Flash growled. He tightened his grip on Savitar, holding him so hard he started to shake. " _I_ killed the Flash!"

With that, the Black Flash raced around the clearing, racing into the breach that opened as he did so. The two disappeared into the swirling vortex that blinked out of sight.

* * *

Earth-2 Barry ducked his head at the sound of an explosion and launched himself behind the nearest and largest source of protection he could find. A hollowed-out car, windows blown out over the street, metal twisted and mangled beyond recognition. And yet, he kept his hands over his ears waiting for the instantaneous death of something large crushing him. He squeezed his eyes shut, breathing heavily, trying to calm himself, keep his mind off wondering if he'd feel it if he actually did get crushed by falling debris.

When it didn't come, he looked up, wincing when he saw Breathtaker still beating down Cadence, Brady, Leah, Frankie, and Gypsy, no matter how many attacks they threw at him. It looked like an intricate dance from where he sat, but he couldn't focus on it too long.

"Move!"

Iris certainly wasn't going to let him. She ran by Earth-2 Barry, grabbing his arm and dragging him out from behind his hiding spot. They ran as fast as they could, moving to get away from the blast zone as soon as they could. They didn't come across many people, a few running in the opposite direction here and there, but the streets were otherwise deserted, their footsteps sounding much louder in the empty streets.

Central City was deserted, looking much like a warzone, as the two ran. Trash cans spilled in the streets, there were hollowed out cars sitting in their parked spots not he sides of the road, storefronts were broken into, and as she continued to run, she could see people in the distance zigzagging back and forth across the street, unsure where to go. Still, they themselves as hard as they could, looking for solace.

"Where are we going?" Earth-2 Barry asked. Their instructions had been unclear; get to safety. What safety was there in a city that was under attack? His incredulous look in response had made Barry give an exasperated expression despite dishing out orders.

"Somewhere safe," Iris replied, looking at her phone in determination. Earth-2 Barry looked over her shoulder, seeing a sort of beacon was being shone the faster they moved. "It's nearby."

"Where?" Earth-2 Barry gestured widely. "Hardly anything is still standing."

Iris looked at him then back to her phone. She directed the two down an alleyway, stopping at a sketchy door. "Here." She pressed her thumb into the middle of her phone, making it beep repeatedly. Earth-2 Barry looked over his shoulder as there was another explosion before looking back as the door was ripped open.

Ryder appeared in the doorway, gesturing them inside. "Hurry!" He cried. He held the door open, so they could slip inside. "Did anyone follow you?" The door closed behind them, sealing them, momentarily, in darkness. Ryder turned on a flashlight and started to lead them further inside the building.

"No, no one was following us," Iris replied.

"Good."

"Where are we?" Earth-2 Barry asked.

"A safe room," Ryder replied. He paused. He led them down a flight of stairs, the dip in temperature evident as they went.

"Huh?" Iris murmured. Ryder led them through numerous doorways before finally coming up to a room that had a solid, thick door holding it shut. He knocked hard on the door, three times, once, then twice and waited. The door opened, and Ryder, Iris, and Earth-2 Barry stepped inside. Iris gasped. "Dad?"

Tears came to her eyes as she saw her father for the first time in…she couldn't even think of it. Joe turned at the sound of his daughter's voice and nearly collapsed when he saw her. He held himself up against the table he, Tracy, Maya, Tess, and Harrison huddled around. He covered his mouth with his hand before reaching out to her.

"Hey, baby." Joe grasped his daughter in a warm hug. "You're okay."

"'I'm okay, dad," Iris replied.

"I hoped you were somewhere safe," Joe said, still holding onto her. "Somewhere far away from all this."

Iris laughed quietly. "You really don't know me, dad," she said. Joe smiled and hugged her tighter. No, he really didn't know her if he thought she would sit somewhere and hide. She was never one to sit still. It wasn't just the man she loved most in her life out there, it was he family, and she wouldn't sit back and allow her family to be in trouble without trying to help. "So," she regarded the scientists and Maya. "You've set up a new headquarters here?" With all the computers and tablets set up, it could've been a second Cortex.

Harrison nodded. "HR transmitted the information to us from STAR Labs."

Earth-2 Barry looked around. "Where _is_ HR?"

Harrison ignored the question—or ignored Barry's doppelganger all together, things seemed to be too dire for anyone to react to another Barry being there—and focused on the screen of the tablet in front of him. "Ryder found us."

"He collected us from the streets when we were trying to get away from Breathtaker," Maya agreed.

Ryder shrugged modestly. "Can't work in construction and not know where the safe rooms in Central City are," he said. "With as many buildings as I've put back together and have been commissioned to work with, there've been many people who want to have safe rooms added to their home sand businesses." He nodded around the room. "I'm just glad y'all were able to still be connected in this one."

"What's going on, out there?" Tracy asked.

Earth-2 Barry shook his head. "A lot." Low, muffled sounding explosions punctuated his sentence. Far enough away, but close enough that the ground rumbled beneath their feet.

"By now, Savitar and Breathtaker probably know everything we're working on to stop them," Iris added.

"Well, if they're smart, they'll know not to do anything when they realize we have their ace in the hole," Tess said. Earth-2 Barry and Iris exchanged glances. Tess tilted her head aside and they followed her head tilt until they saw Julian sitting on the floor, tied up.

Iris swallowed thickly, doing her best to keep her steady gaze on the man in front of her. Julian looked defiantly back at her. Tried to. She could see the fear in his eyes. The fear of the unknown.

"We don't have time to talk about it," Joe interrupted. "We have to make sure…well, I don't know what ti is that we can do form here. I guess we can only watch now that the Speed Force Bazooka was destroyed."

"That's not true," Tracy said. She motioned to Julian. "We still have him."

"I don't know anything," Julian hissed. "I already told you all of that. I don't know why I'm here, I don't—" Julian broke off and cowered when Harrison swiftly stood up and moved towards the young man, holding his rifle close to his side. "Y-you're not going to shoot me, are you?"

"I won't unless you tell me everything I want to know," Harrison said, soundly very much like Harry in the moment.

Ryder held out his hand. "Hold on, y'all didn't say anything about torturing him."

"I won't have to if he talks."

Tess held her hand out toward her husband. "We want you to tell us everything you know about the Philosopher's Stone and the energy it brings."

Julian snorted, shaking his head. "The power is unparalleled."

"It blew up STAR Labs," Earth-2 Barry said flatly.

Julian looked at him, looked away, then did a double take. He looked Earth-2 Barry up and down suspiciously, his upper lip curling. No matter the version of Barry, it was clear he wouldn't get along with him. "Then whomever was in the path…I pity that bloody fool. I've been under the power of that stone…it's more dangerous than anyone could ever imagine."

"Wait." Maya's face screwed up. "You're aware you were under the spell of the stone?"

"After you've seen the things I've seen, you don't doubt it. But that stone is like a drug, and when it comes along with another life, with reasons to explain why you're doing what you're doing, it's hard to ignore." Julian shook his head. His voice took on an arrogant tone, the same tone that made Barry dislike him for so long. "There's so much I wish I could take back, but there's a lot I would never change."

Harrison shook his head, mentally dismissing Julian. He stalked back to the table and dropped heavily into his chair. Setting his rifle aside, Harrison leaned toward the tablet in front of him, running his thumb over his fingertips, watching the footage of the heroes against Breathtaker. His blue eye shifted back and forth over their progress. As the seconds passed, he moved his thumb over his fingers faster and faster, a nervous habit that showed up once again.

"They can't take much more of this," Tess said. She looked away when Maya made a squeaking sound, clasping her hands over her mouth at a particularly hard hit. "Breathtaker's too strong. Stratos and White Hot…it's not helping."

"They don't have a choice," Tracy said. "Without the Bazooka, without the power from the Philosopher's Stone, they only have themselves to rely on."

Earth-2 Barry shook his head. He hovered behind the scientists, transfixed on the footage that played around them. Every now and then he would change the view on the screen to the five heroes that were fighting to save the city, wincing with each hard blow.

He let out a low breath.

If they were going to do something to stop Breathtaker, they had to do it now.

* * *

Gypsy fell hard to her side, curling up in a ball. She held up her hands, working up another vibrational blast, before she was kicked hard in the side by White Hot. White Hot pulled back her hands and threw a fire blast toward her. Gypsy closed her eyes and threw out a vibrational blast to shield herself, sending the fire in all directions but directly toward her.

Stratos swirled nearby, using his air powers to jet propel himself away from Frankie, who threw chunks of metal back toward him. As he went around, Leah used her gravitational powers to slingshot around the ones that missed.

"Argh!" Stratos cried out as he was hit in the face. He growled and produced a bolt of lightning that struck her in the chest, sending her backwards.

"Geo!" Frankie cried as the younger girl went tumbling head over heels. She barely got the cry out before she was struck as well. Knocked hard to the rooftop they stood upon.

Breathtaker watched, smiling as the fight took place. They were growing tired. Unable to keep in control of fighting his lackeys. If they couldn't handle that, things wouldn't bode well for them when they were working under him. "Simpletons."

The word barely escaped his mouth before— _clang!_ He was struck on the side of the head with a long, metal pole. Breathtaker turned aside and saw Brady turn his bow staff back into a slingshot, sending multiple pellets into Breathtaker's shoulder. Breathtaker lifted his hand, deflecting it back toward him. Brady pulled his frisbee out and with a forward thrust of his arm, opened it into a shield.

He flinched at the loud sound of metal upon metal, like bullets striking his shield. Seconds before a concussive force hit him, knocking him flat to his back. Stars exploded in front of Brady's eyes seconds before he was hit again. This time, he felt it in his bones, felt his teeth rattle in his head, felt exhaustion finally start to set in.

"If you want to play a big boy's game, play by big boy rules," Breathtaker said. He turned toward Brady but was distracted by a fire kick to the side of his face curtesy of Cadence, who flipped back down, crouching on the roof.

She gasped for air, the toll of the long battle clearly working on her. Every time Breathtaker came toward Brady, she would quickly move in and deflect with some of her more powerful moves, of which Breathtaker would easily take on. This time, however, Breathtaker seemed more than bothered by her.

With that, Breathtaker put the beatdown on Cadence. With a multitude of powers, Breathtaker struck her over and over agin, moving faster than the Flash to grab her and throw her when she got too far. With extended strength that broke the bones in her leg the second he ducked one of her punches to strike her in the shin. To mindcontrolling her to freezing in place as he delivered a crushing blow to her cheek. To a fire blast that sent her into the roof top, leaving a singe mark in the shape of her body when she moved out of the way.

And then there were the attacks he was able to hit her with, without touching her. No matter how quickly she healed from the attacks that rained on her body, his powers were much more advanced. He moved closer to her as her body jerked back and forth, taking each and every hit Breathtaker put upon her, coming back from them slower and slower as the seconds passed.

And all Brady could do was sit back and watch.

Watch as his mother was attacked.

Watch as his mother was brutally and viciously beaten to protect him.

Watched as, once again, she was giving everything to keep him safe.

All until he couldn't watch anymore.

His entire body started to quake, tapping into something deep inside him. A rage he hadn't felt other than when he'd seen his mother's lifeless form, when he thought she was dead. When he didn't know Burnout had taken her place. Before, he was afraid of that rage, afraid of what it meant to have it within him. Afraid to release that grief that slowly mounted upon him over the years; the grief of not having a father for so long, grief of losing his grandfather, grief of losing friends close to him, grief of seeing his mother die, but come back to life, and potentially die in front of him once more. Grief of knowing how much of his lfie was decided for him and having lost so many things he couldn't change.

And he liked the feeling.

He tapped into it.

His eyes darkened, darkened into an inky black before lighting into an aspen gold, a bright yellow that contrasted to the darkness that covered his body, from his clothes to his skin. Breaths heaved forth from him like an ogre waiting under a bridge for the next poor soul that came too close to his home.

Breathtaker was attacking him home.

Brady wasn't going to let that happen.

The moment Breathtaker took his attention off Brady's mother, Brady attacked.

Snarling, Brady leapt back to Breathtaker and landed on him, swiping his hands in a wide circle, like an animal, clawing at Breathtaker's face. Breathtaker's head jerked back in surprise at seeing the phasing metahuman able to inflict so much damage upon him. Then he took in Brady's appearance, all shadowy with wide yellow eyes and sharp teeth, and claws. His appearance made a smile came to Breathtaker's lips.

"It's not our fight yet," Breathtaker said.

Lightning flashed out the corner of Brady's eye, signaling Barry's presence to the fight.

A significantly short presence.

Breathtaker grabbed Brady by the scruff of his cloak and heaved him aside, lifted his arm, and clapped his hands together. A concussive shockwave shot towards him. He phased at the last moment, closing his eyes and turning away while simultaneously opening his frisbee into a shield to protect himself, and Frankie, who caught him.

Barry and Cadence, who were right behind him, caught the blast instead. The blast, that rendered large chunks of rock, concrete, and metal to dust, struck them in a head on blast.

One moment they were there, the next they were gone, knocked far away from Breathtaker and the blast zone.

Barry and Cadence arched through the air, flew over the forest before momentum and gravity finally caught them, where they slammed hard into the ground. The combined sudden stop along with Breathtaker's attack knocked them out.

…

..

.

Cadence slowly fell through the swirling darkness around her. An empty pit that seemed to have no end. But the further she fell, the lighter the darkness seemed to become until she was able to recognize some sort of pattern below her. Something she would only recognize from picture of some of the more beautiful churches in the world. What looked like a stained glass coming toward her.

Twisting her body around, pointing her head towards the ground, straining to see through the darkness, Cadence found her movements were slow and sluggish, almost as if she were moving through water. She took in a deep breath, remembering the last time she'd been in that scenario, when Breathtaker had attacked her in her mind. The same as when he'd, personally, take over her mind to move his plan forward in killing the Flash, in trying to get to Harrison in…in wanting to get to Brady.

She should've seen it coming. She'd seen people come and go within the Assassination Bureau, had been the reason for some of their deaths; Breathtaker had no qualms about replacing her with White Hot—Hailey—the moment Cadence decided to break her hold over the group, had known that he was thinking of working with other people—had met with some of the new recruits once, she briefly remembered them going by the name the 2000 Committee, Incognito sacrificed himself and his ability to blend in. She should've known the closest thing he had to replace it, to use it with his own powers, was Brady.

Part of her even wondered if he'd been the one to ensure she had powers so that Brady would and then…but that was preposterous. About as preposterous as it was that she realized, upon closer inspection of the bright thing she drifted toward, was a platform made of stained glass.

Swirling around, Cadence dropped her feet toward the ground, wincing as she waited for the glass to crack between her feet. But it didn't move. Didn't shatter. Didn't even crack as she suddenly came to a stop on it. The stop was so sudden that Cadence nearly fell as she hit the ground. She gasped, staring at the stained glass in surprise.

Each panel of the stained glass was a single color, coming together to create a rainbow of flames that encircled the platform she stood upon. Each way she turned, the colors would change though continue to hold what appeared to be a fire within each piece of glass itself. A fire that burned alive beneath it. As if the stained glass was alive itself.

 _"Do you remember this place?"_

The voice made Cadence whip her head around, moving her arms out to her sides to create flames, her power pose. Then stopped, looking down at her hands when she realized no flames were coming. She felt…ordinary. Powerless. But not afraid.

 _"It's been a long time since you've been here,"_ the voice continued.

Cadence lifted her chin when she saw a bright light seem to stretch upwards into the distance of the darkness. She paused for a moment, eyes shifting around for any trap she may be walking herself into and followed the steps of light up a winding staircase to another platform.

This time, the shards within the stained glass created a picture of herself, when she was young. Like the last platform, each piece was its own color, with an alive flame within that created the picture. Cadence stared at the picture, recognizing her eight-year-old self.

 _"Do you remember now?"_

Mutely, she nodded.

She remembered it, remembered how she'd grown sick one day, didn't understand what was happening while her parents were white as ghosts, rushing her off to the hospital. Didn't understand why the kind nurse was being so gentle to her and continuously saying, "I know this isn't comfortable, sweetie, but we've got to get your temperature down," while helping her put on the hospital gown that left her feeling exposed. Didn't understand why doctors were running back and forth as she slowly became sleepy, lying in the big bed, with white sheets bundled up by pillows around her. Didn't understand why her parents were crying as they patted her hand before leaving her alone for the doctors to handle.

Then she remembered nothing but darkness, a warm darkness that swirled around her in a comforting embrace. Much more comforting than the itchy sheets of the hospital bed. It was so warm and inviting, she didn't want to leave. She didn't remember hearing any voice or seeing any platforms while she was there.

 _Wherever 'there' is,_ Cadence thought.

 _"This is the Fire Fall,"_ the voice said, answering her question. _"The Fire Fall is where it is determined whether or not the person that retrieves their fire powers has the true heart to wield the power and not fall into temptation."_

"Temptation?" Cadence repeated.

 _"Just as there is light, there is darkness. Just as there are brighter flames, there are darker flames. Light and dark, one cannot live without the other. Just as it is within people."_ A rush of flames appeared in front of Cadence, revealing her eight-year-old self in front of her.

Cadence's eyebrows twitched together. Eight-year-old-Cadence's eyebrows twitched together as well. When Cadence lifted her hand, her younger self lifted her hand. Every move, every facial expression was mimicked between old and young. Finally, young Cadence dropped her hand, eyes appearing sad as she dropped it to her chest. She lifted her chin and looked up at Cadence, her eyes brimming with sadness and fear.

 _"There will be times you have to fight. Keep your light burning strong."_

Young Cadence nodded, and the light came back to her eyes, a determined expression coming to her face. She clenched her hand into a fist with flames appearing around it. Young Cadence looked at the flames in awe. Cadence did the same motions, finding, all at once, her powers come back to her. A power boost she could feel from the tip of her toes to her head.

 _"What are you afraid of?"_ The voice continued.

Cadence pressed her lips together. She walked towards young Cadence, who shook her hair out of her eyes and looked up at her. Cadence knelt to her and smoothed her hair back from her younger self's face. Young Cadence smiled widely, closing her eyes against the touch. Cadence smiled back, feeling the familiar warmth, almost like a rolling wave, of her powers moving through her.

"I died," she said. "When I was in the hospital. When I had my fever. I died. I was supposed to die."

Young Cadence nodded.

"But it was the meta powers that kept me alive."

Young Cadence nodded again.

 _"What's most important to you?"_

Young Cadence tilted her head and looked at Cadence earnestly. A smile came to her face, dimples appearing her cheeks, her lips pulled back to show her winning smile that was plastered all over her parents' house with the photos they put up. She excitedly reached out and grasped Cadence's hands, practically bouncing on her feet with that unbridled energy she'd channeled into cheerleading and gymnastics at a young age.

"Making sure people I love are safe," Cadence said. Young Cadence nodded and continued bouncing. "I'd do anything to make sure they're safe. Even without my powers."

 _"And it's because of that, that you've been entrusted within the Fire Fall. Those that can't be trusted…Hell Fire. There have been many moments where you could've gone that way, but your brightness continues to shine, your passion continues to burn. The Fire Fall embraces you."_

Young Cadence giggled as she stopped bouncing. She squeezed Cadence's hand once more and backed away, clasping her hands behind her. She twisted back and forth before waving to Cadence, disappearing in a rush of flame.

 _"You're on the verge of good things, Firestarter. Don't let the power sway you."_

 _Craa-ack!_

The stained glass beneath Cadence's feet shattered and she fell through the darkness once more. This time, instead of being confused, concerned, she felt more powerful than ever. The darkness continued to swirl around her, until she couldn't tell which way was up. Her lids fell heavier and heavier until her eyes were closed.

When she opened them again, she found herself back on the ground, staring up at the starry sky. Carefully, she pulled herself from the hole that was created from her body hitting the ground. Beside her, she saw Barry struggling to pull himself up as well. She looked to him, taking stock of his body, of the wounds that were starting to heal. He looked around himself, taking in the trees and everything around him.

He pushed back his cowl, tilted his head back, and started to laugh.

Cadence lifted an eyebrow. "What?" She asked, noticing the amused smile on his face.

Barry shook his head incredulously. He gestured feebly then weakly dropped his hand to his lap. "This is where we first met."

Cadence looked at him for a moment, about to call him out, about to call him a dummy because, no, it wasn't where they first met. They'd first met in the doctor's office when she was aiding in the preliminary notes taken before the doctor would come in.

Then she understood what he meant. It was where they truly met, showcasing their metahuman abilities to each other. It didn't matter, at that moment, that it was a manufactured meeting. That Cadence was watching him to get an idea of his power set at that point in time, waiting to take him down when she felt he was the most vulnerable. What mattered was that they were two metahumans who had to keep their identities hidden and were able to let it all out in the open. A true meeting of metas.

Cadence smiled back and shook her head the same way she would've had he said one of his numerous puns that rolled off his tongue. She held out her hand; fire trailed off her fingertips, sparking at the end.

Barry held out his, lightning trailed down his arms and connected with the sparks of flame. They lifted their gaze, locking eyes as they tried to work out what was happening. As the lightnign and fire connected, the light they created continued to increase in brightness before it enveloped the two. Continued to stretch around their bodies, morphing together until Barry and Cadence could no longer be seen inside. Until a being made entirely of fire and lightning stood in their place.

The fire-lightning being lifted off the ground, looked at itself, then put its hands at its sides. As quick as a flash it shot forward, streaking across the sky and back toward the city, where Breathtaker stood, looking down upon the destruction below him.

"You'll bow to me!" He called, voice echoing over the otherwise silent city. "There's no one here to save you. Your so-called heroes were defeated! You all will fall, and the sooner you turn yourselves to me, the better!"

Breathtaker lifted his hands, bringing himself higher into the air, to look over Central City. He smiled. Just as quickly as it came, it was gone, noticing a light streaking toward him. His frown deepened. He moved back. "No," he murmured, realizing what was happening. He gritted his teeth and clenched his hand into a fist. "No!"

The light, the being made of fire and electricity, rose high into the air.

"NO!"

The being plunged down, racing through Breathtaker's body, cutting off his last, enraged cry.

* * *

 **A/N:** Well, did I fake you out with the beginning of the chapter? Honestly…that was supposed to be at the end of the last chapter, where Black Flash 'killed' Savitar, but I didn't realize until too late that I hadn't copied that part over to the chapter so I had to put it here. So, no the end was not the same to the episode, but better in my opinion.

Ooh, what's going to happen next?

 **Cheers,**

 **-Riley**

 **Review Replies**

 **Ethan:** Yes! It was where they first met! I'm glad you picked up on it.

 **DarkHelm142:** I get inspiration from a lot of places, haha.


	60. Legacy

**60**

 _Legacy_

* * *

For once, Central City wasn't bright. The sun wasn't shining, the sky wasn't clear, the people weren't smiling despite the very small potential of an attack. They didn't wait around to cheer while The Flash and Flare streaked by, finishing off whatever had attracted them into the city that day, barely noticed when they worked to take on the task of cleaning up the mess Breathtaker had left. Central City had practically come to a standstill. There were no runs in the park, honking cars, or people waiting to see what the new day would bring.

There was no excitement over the reconstruction, over the promise of a new city. No, if anything, it just made things worse. The people of Central City didn't forget. Wouldn't forget, _couldn't_ forget the lives that were lost from the missile that Flash and Flare couldn't stop. It was more than enough fodder for government and city officials to fly into a frenzy.

Were metahumans a help or a hinder to the city?

Were the residents in more danger not knowing the identities of those that had powers?

Should the MRA be re-evaluated?

Should every metahuman be registered and known to the public in case any of the increasing dangers were to put anyone else in more danger than they thought possible? Was Central City a liability? Did it neglect its residents to make sure those that had the fantastic powers were safe?

Bruce Wayne went on many talk shows and interviews to give his two cents about what was going on in Central City as well as with the act of vigilantism within Gotham. He kept names out of the press, kept a level head on his shoulders, and yet it didn't seem to be enough to quell the fear. Even Clark Kent doing interview after interview to show all sides of the situation, going so far as to relate it to the 'Meteor Freaks' that popped up in Smallville and Metropolis all those years ago.

He as partial, but even those that watched when he would do an interview could see he was on edge.

The city was taking a long time to heal.

Central City was covered in rain. Dark clouds gathered above, casting a shadow over everything the dark, pinpricking fingers could touch.

Cadence tilted her head back, shifting her umbrella aside so she could glance at the sky. She closed her eyes, allowing the rain drops to bask over her. It was letting up, but the dark clouds continued to swirl above. The raindrops clung to her eyelashes, glittering off when she opened her eyes, blinked rapidly so that they fell. Allowed them to spill over her cheeks and over her chin. Tears she couldn't otherwise let fall, but not real tears all the same. She held out her hand, the cold droplets fell to her palm, rolling over the sides of her hand, between the planes of her fingers. Puddling, only to be replaced by more. They dried in seconds, by the sudden twitch of her fingertips.

Steam arose from her hand. She didn't even need the umbrella, the drops should've evaporated long before they reached her, unless she let them contact her skin. Even on a dreary day she had to keep up appearances. Make sure everything was normal. But what was normal when one their own had fallen while in a battle that was anything but normal.

The sound of the drops bouncing off the ground around her, relaxed but annoyed at the same time. The same way HR could be at times. He was encouraging and positive and willful, but naïve and almost childlike. He was ready for everything life had to offer. His life should've been filled with excitement and wonder and looking forward to the future.

Just as her father's should've been. If she hadn't been so selfish, so stupid, so…

So what?

There was no point in dwelling. There was no word that'd be good enough to describe what she'd done. All Cadence knew was it was too late for her father, as much as it was too late for HR. Too late for any of them to change the past. He'd made his decision just like the rest of them had.

Cadence glanced at the sodden ground as she continued forward, the environment matching her mood. Rain drops were the tears she refused to cry. Could no longer cry. The cloudy sky, gray and dull echoed the thoughts and confusion in her head; what if, what if, what if?

Too many what ifs, not enough answers.

A storm that appearing form nowhere just like tragedy always happened to be. Ice cold droplets each a bad thought or memory, falling around her, threatening to soak her from head to toe. Cadence closed her eyes once more; the rain drops forever clinging to her eye lashes. She lowered her chin and gathered herself, let herself dry within seconds.

Cadence shivered, not from the cold but from the numbness she felt inside. It was too easy to let things like that slip by. But, sometimes, it was the way life had to be. They had to move forward if they were going to take every lesson Professor Stein had taught them.

She took one last look at the cloud covered sky then back to the headstone situated in front of her.

 _"The two most important days in your life are the day you are born and the day you find out way," -Mark Twain._

Watched as Harrison took his turn with the shovel to dump a pile of dirt down into the hole where their friend's body was to lay at rest. She watched for a moment before turning away completely, following her movement with her umbrella.

A hand slipped into hers, she held onto it for dear life, shifting her umbrella higher to cover them both. Barry wedged his fingers between hers, sparks shooting back and forth between their hands. The sign of their connection. It was still there, no matter how much tragedy the two had personally faced. Stronger now, since their powers combined.

It had been a strange feeling, coming together and separating like that. Their powers working so freely together. A far cry from where they'd been at the beginning of the year, stretching apart with unbridled friction because of his choice to create Flashpoint.

So much so that she was surprised they hadn't come up with a way to combine their powers together in the first place to stop Breathtaker. After having passed through him, Breathtaker had fallen to his knees, still barely alive. Barry and Cadence had separated, moved back to their own selves, falling, leaning heavily against each other from the sudden influx of power that'd coursed through their veins.

And still, Breathtaker had managed to get back to his feet. The hood of his cloak fell back from the force of the blast. Revealed his skeleton appearance with glowing eyes as he snarled and gnashed his teeth. "You can't beat me! I'm invincible, I've got the powers of life! And life always has a way of coming back!"

He lifted his hand and conjured a long sword. With a snarl, Breathtaker lunged toward Cadence. He stopped in his tracks, suddenly unable to move his arms forward. Breathtaker looked behind him and saw Brady's yo-yo wrapped around the top of his blade, Brady and Leah holding onto the other end, lowering themselves down so that their weight held him.

Then he screamed in pain, suddenly hit by a flurry of metallic shrapnel, Frankie throwing them into his back one after another. Gypsy and Cisco held him still with vibrational blasts punching him in the front. Wally and Jesse vibrated so quickly that it caused the ground to become unstable, threatening to knock Breathtaker over.

He gnashed his teeth, frantically and violently pulling forward, trying to break free from his restraints. Though it was evident the direct hit from Barry's and Cadence's attack had significantly weakened him. His surges forward came few and further between as the seconds passed.

"You can't beat me!" He cried.

"I already did," Cadence replied, hissing between her teeth. She pushed herself from Barry and moved to stand before Breathtaker, swallowing thickly every few seconds to keep her voice steady. "All this…" she gestured to her friends. "It's merely insurance that things go well. And it's always starting to work out." She leaned toward him. "Patience, my dear. Patience." She placed her hand on his shoulder, then rapidly shoved her other one forward, sinking a fire sword through his stomach.

Breathtaker gurgled, looking up at her. She looked back at him, eyes unwavering. He coughed, a dry cough, the sounds of his bones shifting and grinding against each other at the movement. She brought her hand back, releasing him from her grasp.

"Things will be over soon," she murmured.

Breathtaker's eyes shone with fury. He started to move forward, then stopped as, suddenly, portals opened and closed around his form, breaking him in two. Breathtaker's eyes darkened before his body pitched to the ground, slowly falling apart as he did so.

Cadence stepped back, looking down at the face of her tormentor for the last time.

Now, she looked at HR's grave they stood before, knowing there was nothing, no new tricks they could come up with, that'd bring him back.

"When I think of HR, I'm reminded of a story that John Lennon once told," Iris said, standing at the foot of HR's grace, solemnly holding her hands in front of her. "When Lennon was five years old, his teacher asked him to write down what he wanted to be when he grew up. Lennon wrote happy, his teacher said he didn't understand, and Lennon said he didn't understand life. HR understood life. He wasn't a genius and he didn't have superspeed, but when we needed him the most, he was a hero. He sacrificed himself to save the city from more chaos and destruction than we could've ever imagined. He saved us all."

She stepped aside so that Cisco could move forward and place HR's drumsticks on his head marker. Then Wally moved in next, pressing his fingertips to the front of HR's grave. He took a deep breath and said, "Thanks for believing in me, HR," before stepping back by Jesse, holding her hand tightly.

The rain stopped falling.

* * *

Barry slowly moved through the wreckage of STAR Labs. He nudged aside as many concrete blocks as he could, dusting his hands off between each one, watching the cloud of dust float through the air. He sighed, placing his hands on his hips as he looked around the Cortex. At the computers that lay strew on the floor, at the holes in the ceiling, leading up to other floors. At the crumbling walls. At the broken pieces of the Cosmic Treadmill that used to stand proudly.

He wasn't sure how much more of STAR Labs had been taken down. HR had done his best to hold back the explosion of the Philosopher's Stone, but it hadn't been enough. There was still a lot of damage that needed to eb fixed. Damage he wasn't sure where to start fixing. Maybe, if he were being honest, he'd had to look at the damage he had inside himself. From his parents' death.

Needed to heal from that.

Needed to fix that.

He'd done it before, it was what created Flashpoint. But things were different now. He was better. Not completely. He was _doing_ better. That was more the truth than anything else. It'd take a long time for him to heal from that. But there were more pressing things he needed to put his attention to. Like, figuring out what he was going to do about the city, how to get it back to its former glory. How to make the citizens feel safe again.

To get them to understand that metahumans weren't inherently evil. But that those that abused that power…those were the ones to look out for. To help.

Barry contemplated using his superspeed to clean everything up, but decided against it. He shouldn't shirk his work like that. It wouldn't be fair for all the apologizing he had to do. For all the mistakes he had to fix.

"You know, I really hated you." Barry turned to see Julian standing behind him, hands in the pockets of his slacks. He must've followed Barry straight from the funeral. "For a long time, I hated your guts. But I don't think you really seemed to understand why."

"You already told me why," Barry reminded him. "Because of how I was helping metahumans. I was putting their lives ahead of other humans. I was against the MRA, whatever metahuman related reason you could come up with." He scratched the back of his neck. "I'm sure it didn't help much with what happened with Caitlin."

"Yes, well, I didn't really know what was going on when I was attacked by her," Julian replied.

"You didn't get attacked by her, you got attacked by Killer Frost."

"Well, that's just semantics, isn't it, mate?"

Barry rolled his eyes and continued across the Cortex, working his way around the piles of trash and debris he worked to fix up. He could feel Julian's eyes following him as he went. He should've known once Dr. Alchemy was eradicated form him, that Julian wouldn't change much. Then again, he wasn't sure if there really was much of a difference between him and the personality that came up once he came into contact with the Philosopher's Stone. But now that the energy of the stone was gone…

"You don't remember me, do you?"

Barry whipped around once more. He looked at Julian closely, trying to tell if the British man was joking. "Should I?" he replied. "As far as I knew, I never met you in my life."

"Right, Flashpoint." Julian nodded, remembering the full explanation he received once everything had wound down. "You didn't know me before then. But…we did know each other in a way." He cleared his throat. "The night your parents died, well, the _day_ , you were stopping a bunch of bullies from beating up some little kids in the park." He looked Barry in the eye. "The kids were being bullied because the bullies thought the kids weren't cool. I was just minding my own business, walking through when they surrounded me. I tried to get away but they kept shoving me, knocking me down…" He shook his head. "Imagine my surprise when someone as scrawny as me got the bullies to chase after him instead."

Barry's lips parted, but no sound came out. "I didn't know who you were at the time. Not until a lot of kids started to crowd around and someone mentioned your name, Barry Allen. Then what happened to your parents happened, and I saw your name again, saw your picture in the paper."

"That was you?" Barry asked. He remembered everything about that day, remembered having run home after school, being chased by the bullies that grabbed him and slammed him to the ground, beating him up. He remembered taking the bullies' attention off some kids in the park but hadn't gotten a good look at them. "In Central City?"

"I was here for an international science competition," Julian explained. "Well, me and my butler. My parents couldn't be bothered to come with me. They were much too busy with their own jobs."

"I didn't know…" Barry shook his head. "What does that have to do with you hating me?"

"At the time, I hated you because you had everything I didn't. Friends. Smarts. You beat me at that competition. But most of all, I blamed you for making me look like a fool. For making it so that the bullies knew I couldn't take care of myself. Couldn't fight my own battles. You had to stick your nose in things and it made it worse while I was still in Central City. I went back home with a black eye and people continued to harass me. And, I guess after that, Flashpoint changed things...and you hated me. Every since I arrived you hated me and there was truly no reason for it. I abhorred the fact that you were able to stick your nose in mine and everyone's business, end up on top, and suddenly dislike everything about me. So much so that I meant nothing to you, nothing more than a distant memory that you couldn't even drum up and then it becomes office fodder of how much you dislike me and you continue to wind up being the victim? And...after everything with the Philosopher's Stone happened and the power of the stone pushed me forward and…" He trailed off. "Well, I guess my explanations won't help matters, yeah? A bit too late for apologies, innit?"

Barry shifted uncomfortably. "You don't have to—"

"There's more," Julian interrupted. Barry knew it wasn't what he meant. That it wasn't for Julian to apologize, but Barry. Barry opened his mouth to do so but was cut off by Julian continuing with, "While I was, admittedly, blindsided by Caitlin's transgressions against me, and for my thoughts on metahumans, I worked on something that I thought would help push forward Chief Paulson's agenda to eradicate all metahumans."

Blood running cold, Barry waited while Julian fished through his pockets for whatever it was he was speaking about. _He came up with something to eradicate metahumans?_ He thought. "Julian, what'd you do?" He asked, voice barely above a whisper. He watched as Julian produced a vial with a bright blue liquid within it. "What is that?"

" _That_ is a cure for Caitlin," Julian explained. He shook the vial back and forth. "I looked into her powers…saw what she could do…" he cleared his throat. "I'll save you the boring story; it's an experimental gene therapy. This will re-write her DNA and bring back Caitlin."

"Are you sure?" Barry asked.

"I am." Julian walked it to Barry and pressed it into his palm. "But it just goes to show it depends on whether or not you trust me. And, honestly mate, I don't know if we could ever trust each other. Not fully. Not completely." He stepped back from Barry. "And, quite frankly, I don't give a damn either way. But I hope you don't mind that I at least say goodbye."

"Goodbye?"

"Yes, I have a plane to catch." Julian nodded to Barry. "I hope we cross paths again. You're an interesting one, Allen." With that, he turned on his heel and left the Cortex, nodding to Cisco on his way out. Barry shifted his gaze to his best friend, not noticing him there before.

"Do you think we can trust him?" Barry asked as Cisco walked toward him. He looked inside the vial, watching as the blue liquid shifted back and forth. Looking closer, Barry saw what looked to be tiny snowflakes nestled inside.

"I don't know," Cisco said honestly. "We've trusted a lot of people over the years that managed to betray us." Barry swallowed hard, mind immediately flashing to the Reverse-Flash and Zoom. "But…I don't think Julian, though he can be a dick, would decide to make this for if we couldn't trust it'd work the way he said it would. His arrogance proves it.."

"Or…" Barry shifted his eyes to Cisco. "You really want Caitlin back."

"Don't you?" Cisco replied.

"I do, but…how do we know this isn't going to make things worse?" Barry replied. "How do we know it won't trap her inside?"

"Because I saw her," Cisco replied. "Or, I vibed her. When we were fighting. I saw her…she was fighting back against Killer Frost. And we know how strong Frost can be, if anything…Caitlin can hold her own. She's stronger than we she looks." He nodded toward the vial. "If she's fighting back against her, this may push her over the edge to do it."

Barry twisted his mouth to the side and looked around the Cortex. "Going to be a bit hard to find her without—"

"Oh please, nothing can take Sally down," Cisco interrupted. He gently nudged Barry out of the way and pulled out his phone, bringing up numerous screens that Barry had never seen before."

"Sally?" He repeated. Cisco gave him a funny look. "Sally…the Satellite."

"Don't act like you don't name your Satellites."

"Whatever, man. But…this stuff's been damaged, I don't think you're going to get a—"

"—Cold signature?" Cisco interrupted. He turned the phone around, showing a map of the city. "Got one. And…I think you'll find it's placement to be very interesting." He pulled the screen closer, showing off the name of the building it was nearby. Tannhauser Industries.

"She went to see her mom?" Barry asked.

"Yeah, that's not a family reunion I'm excited to see." Cisco murmured. He looked Barry in the eye, something stirred in them that Barry couldn't quite recognize. "But if she's there…"

"I understand." Barry went to Cisco, placed his hand on his shoulder, and super speeded the two to Tannhauser Industries. They came to a stop behind Killer Frost, who calmly turned away from the front of the building, her long jacket billowing around her.

"I was wondering when you'd show up," she remarked. Her voice was still frosty, her eyes less so. They seemed to oscillate between blue and brown. "You were a bit slower than I thought you'd be."

"Well, at least you're not shopping at villains-r-us anymore," Cisco joked. He smiled then looked at his feet, the joke falling flat. "Yeah, that wasn't one of my best."

"Definitely not," Killer Frost agreed. She looked between the two. "I'm sorry about HR." She turned away from the boys and looked up at the Tannhauser building once more. She sighed heavily, eyes roving over the glass.

Barry followed her gaze. "Why'd you come here?" He asked.

"I don't know."

"Maybe…" Cisco ventured. "You wanted to come home?"

Killer Frost shrugged once more. "I don't have a home," she said.

Cisco immediately frowned. He stepped towards her. Just once. His fingers twitched at his sides. Ready to protect himself I he had to. "Yes, you do! With your friends, with _me_."

"And it's funny how my supposed best friend isn't here with you," Killer Frost's voice turned dry. "There's got to be more than betrayal and promise of death to tear a friendship apart, right?"

Barry looked at his feet. He hadn't wanted to mention it to Cadence, about the potential cure, unless he knew it worked. But all the same, as much as he didn't want to keep a secret—he was going to tell her—he didn't know if she still felt the same way about Killer Frost she had before. If she wouldn't care if Caitlin came back.

If she still wanted Killer Frost dead…

Cisco looked to Barry, nodding at him. "We have something for you."

"Some sort of a present?" Killer Frost's voice turned sarcastic. "That's so sweet. You really shouldn't have." Barry took the vial from his pocket and held it up so Killer Frost could see. She didn't move to take it. Instead, she eyed it closely. Then her blue lips pulled into a smirk. "Is that some of cure?" She asked. "Something that'll turn me back? I mean, _her_ back." She shook her head. "I can't be cured of this. I'm something different." Killer Frost's voice turned soft, eyes turning back to brown. "And I need to find out what that is on my own."

For the first time in a long time, she sounded like Caitlin.

Barry nodded. He pressed the vial into Killer Frosts's hand. "We'll be here when you get back," he said.

Killer Frost nodded, eyebrows twitching upwards. She didn't believe him. That they'd be there for her, he could see it in her eyes. And he wasn't quite sure if he believed that he was ever going to come back. But he had to hold up hope. She'd at least give them something to think about. Killer Frost started to leave, but Cisco grabbed her wrist.

"Caitlin—" he started.

Killer Frost looked at him, eyes turning blue. "Cisco," she drawled. "Let me go."

Cisco looked to Barry. Barry nodded back at him. Cisco sighed and let go of her wrist. Killer Frost turned and walked down the street, becoming smaller and smaller as the seconds passed. Barry had to quell the urge to race after her. If she wanted to find things out for herself, he'd let her do it.

 _Besides,_ Barry thought. _I know exactly how that feels._

* * *

Killer Frost let out a sigh as she left the edge of Central City, moving into the tree line of the forest. It wasn't her favorite place to go. And, even then, she hated the fact that she had to stay on guard. Savitar was gone, but he'd taken her captive in those woods. Had used her, had beaten her, had threatened her life. He may be gone, but he was a speedster, and speedsters always seemed to find a way to come back.

But it was remote. There was no one out there that was going to bother her. She could take the time to figure things out by herself in tranquility. Not have to worry about people following the sounds of her screams. It was difficult to keep control. Caitlin was a lot harder to keep back than she thought she'd be.

That meek little scientist was anything but meek. She was a fighter. But the more Killer Frost fought back, the harder it was for Caitlin to keep going. She had to save her energy somehow.

 _Those winters can get really cold,_ Killer Frost thought, smirking.

She continued to walk through the woods, twigs and leaves snapping under her feet. Headed towards the cabin she knew was somewhere in there. Isolation never sounded so good. Killer Frost came to a clearing and looked down, frowning. Something about it was weird, it looked like someone had tried to burn out some underbrush. A long time ago.

"Hmm," she murmured.

She knelt and ran her fingers over the dry leaves, some of the more burned ones crumbling under her fingertips.

Suddenly, the air around her started to warm. Beads of sweat popped up on her forehead and rolled down her cheeks. Something was coming. She whipped around, just to be punched across the face.

"Ugh!"

Killer Frost fell to her hands and needs. She turned around in time to have an arm wrap around her neck and pull her body back against her chest. Killer Frost gasped, feeling the increase of pressure around her neck, seconds before feeling a hand scrabbling at the pocket on her coat. The familiar smell of smoke hung in the air.

A chuckle escaped Killer Frost's lips. "You don't have the guts," she managed to croak seconds before a needlepoint was jammed into her neck. Killer Frost's body surged once before whatever was in the vial—she had an idea—coursed through her veins, first cold then warm.

Her body went limp.

Cadence released her arm, dumping Killer Frost's prone body to the ground. She groaned softly, curling up in a ball, her hand moving to her neck. Cadence looked at the empty vial in her hand then down at Killer Frost. "Told you I was going to kill you," she said.

* * *

 **A/N:** As always, there are things I wish I did differently by the time the story gets to the end. Especially considering how they're different from how I planned them in the beginning. Key example: Julian. I wanted him to still have as big a part as he did on the show…but realized I couldn't do that while there were so many other things to go through. To that extent, having taken out his romance with Caitlin seemed to make it that he was around much less, especially since I changed how he found out about Barry being the Flash.

Anywho, I hope you enjoyed the chapter.

 **Cheers,**

 **-Riley**

 **Review Replies**

 **Ethan:** Yep, it's similar to the Speed Force, but a bit different as well. Not to mention, it brought a really cool look into how Barry's and Cadence's powers can really work together. But that was partially due to Burnout as well, which will be explained fairly soon.

 **DarkHelm142:** You weren't far off with the name of a finishing move. That's what it was originally before I decided to change it.


	61. Our Future

**61**

 _Our Future_

* * *

 _Flash Missing: Vanishes in Crisis_

Harrison nodded to himself as he looked over the newspaper article in front of him. Everything they'd already known and things that they hadn't known. He looked over the article, silently reading it as he went. The same story as always, within a battle with the Reverse-Flash, the Flash disappeared…

"It changed," Tess remarked. She motioned to the byline that showcased the article. By Iris West. "We changed the future, we saved her."

"Yes, but at what cost?" Harrison replied. Tess looked at her husband, her eyebrows coming together. Harrison sighed heavily, folding his arms tightly across his chest. "The future is set to the way we know it as, but…there's still been changes that we hadn't seen coming. Other things we couldn't anticipate."

Tess shook her head. "We've already changed the future before. Remember? When it was said that Cadence was to turn into Burnout?" She gestured towards the newspaper. "It's not happening now."

"Are you sure about that?"

"What does that mean?" Harrison turned and gave a Tess a knowing look, making his wife roll her eyes and say, "Don't give me riddles, Harrison. I'm asking you a serious question. What do you mean?" She stepped closer to him, her green eyes searching his blue ones.

Harrison sighed heavily. He leaned forward and rested his arms against the podium in front of him. He laced his fingers together, staring hard at the newspaper before him. Tess waited quietly at his side. Finally, Harrison said, "Would you say I'm more like myself than I've ever been or that I'm sort of like him?"

"Like him?" Tess repeated. "She thought for a moment. "Like Eobard?"

"Yes, that's exactly who I'm referring to."

"You think you're like Eobard?"

"I think there's a part of him within me that will never be gone. Just as I think it's the same the other way around. That…there's always a part of the Reverse-Flash that's going to be a part of me, no matter how hard I try to get away from it. There was a time where I was within the Reverse-Flash, where I couldn't tell where he started and where I ended. There's more than enough reason to believe that we're not as separate as we used to be. Or think we can be. A mind-meld is a very mysterious…and serious thing."

Tess briefly closed her eyes. Worked to figure out what it was her husband was saying. She'd thought it'd been weird—not completely out of character, but weird—that he'd waited so long after Breathtaker's defeat and HR's funeral to go into the Time Vault. Barry had superspeeded his way inside almost directly after Breathtaker's ultimate defeat. It took him a little while to see that Breathtaker certainly was gone before he moved to check for himself.

Once Barry saw the newspaper, he brought Iris, Joe, and Wally to see it, the whole family taking on the exhilaration to know they truly had changed the future and that Iris was still live. Savitar was gone, Breathtaker was gone, there was nothing that would threaten her life again.

Nothing that would threaten Cadence.

Nothing that would threaten Caitlin.

They could live life again.

Or, they could, if Harrison could leave things alone. Tess continued to study her husband, worked to put her mind in his headspace. Something that typically had the two work well together. They could understand each other in ways even the smartest beings on the planet couldn't relate to.

Relate.

Tess's eyes blinked open. She got it.

"That article before," she said slowly. "Where it said that Cadence would turn into Burnout…it wasn't speaking about her Earth-2 counterpart was it?"

"No, I don't believe it was," Harrison remarked. His eyes shifted back and forth, unable to hold still for too long. "She mind-melded with Burnout before Burnout died… _as_ Burnout died. That caused her a bout of significant pain…a bloody nose." Harrison gestured toward his face. "What does that mean, in essence to Burnout's existence?"

"And to Cadence's boost in power," Tess agreed. She hummed to herself. "There's a lot to unpack here, Harrison." She started to pace. "More than enough that'd make for many all-nighters. I know…" she paused. "I know Eobard had a hold on you for a long time. It made it so much that you wouldn't find me—"

"—He mind-melded with me for so long that we essentially became the same person." Harrison finally stepped away from the podium. He pursed his lips, lines drawing in the skin by the sides of his mouth as the seconds passed. Finally, he called, "Gideon?"

"Yes, Dr. Wells?" The newspaper article switched to the projected image of Gideon's head. She looked back and forth between the duo, waiting for her orders.

Tess grasped Harrison's arm, increasing the pressure as the seconds passed. "That's not what happened with Cadence. She's strong on her own merit. Burnout is dead, there's nothing left for we can do for her. No mystery. No scientific breakthrough. Case closed." Harrison continued to look at her, not reacting to the pressure his wife was putting on him. "I know you…you can't leave anything short of finding out everything about it. I can see it in your eyes…this isn't a scientific breakthrough that needs to be researched."

The side of Harrison's mouth turned up. "You can't fool me, Tess Morgan, you're as curious as I am." He brought up his fingers, starting to rub his fingertips along with his thumb. Silence stretched between the two. "Curious to know the truth of the mind-meld." He reached up and slowly tapped his temple. "To know how much it truly affects the other."

Tess's eyebrows twitched. She looked to the side, glancing at Gideon, then back to her husband. Dropped her hand. Silence continued to stretch between the two of them. Two scientists with similar life paths, similar enjoyment of exploring the impossible answers to impossible questions. Two, who were habitually on the same side, now seemed to standing on different sides of the chasm that stretched between them.

Finally, Harrison said to Gideon, "Thank you for your work. We'll call on you if we need anything else."

"Of course, Dr. Wells."

Gideon disappeared in a flash of light.

"I suppose," Harrison said, noticing the almost smirk that came to Tess's lips. "That it is not the opportune time to look into the future…don't want to be influenced by the things we're not supposed to know." He tapped at his temple. "Have to keep the brain moving in other ways."

Tess chuckled to herself. "Careful Harrison, I think you're starting to sound a little like DeVoe."

Harrison smiled in response.

* * *

"So, what are you going to do once you get back to your Earth?"

Cisco looked over the top of the mini figurines he worked to complete at Earth-2 Barry who stood nearby. Earth-2 Barry turned back to Cisco with raised eyebrows. Then he smiled a lowered his chin, taking a cursory sweep around Cisco's workshop before planting his hands on his hips.

It was eerie, Cisco thought. How easily Earth-2 Barry could've passed for Barry. Yet the two were so different. Just as he was different from Reverb and Caitlin was different from Killer Frost…or had been. Who knew what she would decide to do now that she had the option of taking the cure.

If it were him, if he had gone through that much anguish, he would've done it immediately. But Caitlin…Caitlin had always been different. While Cisco was more a of a firecracker with his emotions, unable to keep everything inside unless he was in a particularly foul mood and it worked to come out in other ways. It sometimes got him in trouble, but it usually worked out in the end.

Caitlin, on the other hand, she'd always lived up to her frosty name—Snow—long before she received the perceived frosty persona that went along with it. No matter what happened, She worked to keep her emotions hidden. Through her father's passing away, through her deteriorating relationship with her family, through her courses in college, through her studies with STAR Labs that may or may not have worked out, through Ronnie's death…and everything afterward. She managed to hold her emotions in, kept a small demure smile on her face, and waited, waited, waited until she had to say something, often helping everyone else out when she had problems of her own.

How was he supposed to deal with things now when he didn't have his best friend to talk to? _How am I supposed to deal with my best friend not being my best friend anymore?_ He thought.

Earth-2 Barry shrugged, the movement caught Cisco's attention and he tuned back in to the question he asked. "I don't think there's much else that I can do," he said honestly. "Let alone go back to my Earth." He pushed his glasses up his nose, saying, "There's only so much you can do when helping a criminal escape from prison." Cisco looked at him suspiciously. Earth-2 Barry blushed and looked away. "There wasn't much left for us on that Earth anyway."

"Enough to break someone out of prison?" Cisco asked.

Earth-2 Barry tilted his head aside. "Well, if we hadn't had done that, then half of you probably wouldn't have been here," pointed out. "And Savitar and Breathtaker would've taken over the city, if not the whole world. Not that, at this point, there's much of a difference. The news coverage is already doing its best to vilify everyone who may even think that metas aren't so bad."

"That's nothing new." Cisco waved his hand. "This city…some of the higher ups, have been against metahumans from the beginning. Not to mention STAR Labs not being so popular and, you know, the fact that most of us do this in secret. What would ever give you the idea that you were in a city so progressive that they'd all take in people who had powers?"

Earth-2 Barry chuckled. Then he sobered and added. "Plus, the fact that we hopped to so many different Earths to get away from those that were trying to get her back to prison—"

"—Brought you to me," Gypsy announced her arrival to Cisco's workshop. "And to that crazy space battle that you brought me into with a speedster and whomever was that floating guy."

Cisco rolled his eyes. "There's more than enough that was wrong with that sentence that I'm not even going to touch," he pointed out. "Especially considering within that battle. You and I worked so epically together that I can overlook it." He lifted his finger. "Just this time."

Gypsy turned back to him, her hair blowing over her shoulder as she did so. Her eyebrows rose in surprise. "You think what we did was epic?" She asked. "That's chump change compared to what I can do on my Earth and,"—she turned to Earth-2 Barry—"What I do with my prisoners." She pulled a contraption out from behind her back, what looked to be futuristic handcuffs. "Now that you don't have anything keeping you here, I expect you to come quietly. Though it won't be as much fun for me."

Earth-2 Barry made a slight snorting sound, though a small smile was on his face. "I've already had enough excitement," he remarked. "If you want, I can pretend to make it hard for you to take me."

"Well, at least you know how to handle things like this." Gypsy tossed her hair over her shoulder once more. She narrowed her eyes towards Cisco. "Rather than letting your target go."

Cisco sat up straight, dropping his screwdriver. He set his jaw, staring back at Gypsy. "I wasn't going to kill Caitlin."

"From where I was standing, she wasn't Caitlin anymore."

With a sarcastic laugh, Cisco got to his feet and walked around his desk. He folded his arms and stood in front of Gypsy. "I have everything under control." Gypsy snorted. "I was getting through to her!"

"You were almost killed," Gypsy sneered back.

"Maybe that's how it looks to the untrained eye."

Gypsy pursed her lips. Her eyes flashed with more than enough vitriol that it even made Earth-2 Barry take a step back and looked between the two with curiosity rolling through his eyes. "These eyes are highly trained!" She spat. "And I can't believe this is the thanks I get for saving you."

"This isn't thanks, this is the opposite of thanks," Cisco shot back. "Because you don't know what you're talking about. You don't know Caitlin. She's not someone who needs to be saved every time she steps out the door. She's going to fight back against Killer Frost and she's going to come back."

"If this Killer Frost is the same as on my Earth, then she doesn't stand a chance."

"Yeah, well…" Cisco sputtered. He searched for words that wouldn't come. And as the seconds passed, Gypsy raised her eyebrows and continued to swivel her head back and forth, waiting for him to come u with something. "What do you know?" He mentally cringed, knowing how badly it landed. "How did you know I was in trouble, anyway?"

Gypsy rolled her eyes. "Because we're connected, jackass," she hurtled. Cisco blinked in surprise, taking in the word. Connected. A small smile came to his face. He really liked that. Gypsy seemed to notice her word and she quickly backtracked, blinking rapidly. "All breachers are." Then she re-adopted her tough exterior and added, "Not that you'd even know. You couldn't even handle some of the more basic things that a breacher can do once they're born!"

"Like galivant all over worlds looking for whom you may or may not see as a threat to national security," Cisco pointed out, gesturing towards Earth-2 Barry.

Earth-2 Barry seemed to come back to life when the conversation moved to him. "Oh, so I'm finally back in this conversation?" He reached out and placed a hand on Cisco's shoulder. "There's a lot you can do with your powers, I've seen it first hand on my Earth. But the difference between you here and you on my Earth is that you know how to use your powers to help people, not hurt people."

Cisco hummed quietly.

"And, if you were able to see Caitlin, the same way you've always known her, then I think she's in pretty good hands," Earth-2 Barry agreed. He dropped his hand from Cisco's shoulder and them out to Gypsy, pressing them together. "I'll go quietly," he joked.

Gypsy's upper lip curled. She looked back and forth from Cisco to Earth-2 Barry and back again before sighing. She clasped the cuffs to her belt and folded her arms. "There's more than enough evidence that proves Burnout was the one who committed all those heinous crimes on your Earth and as there's now no _living_ body for me to collect, I suppose there's not much more for me to do as a collector."

Earth-2 Barry dropped his arms. "Thanks."

"So, what are you going to do?" Cisco asked. He looked at Gypsy out the corner of his eye. "Now that Yoko here isn't trying to split the band apart." Gypsy rolled her eyes, making Cisco smile a little.

Earth-2 Barry smiled. A sad smile, Cisco noted. "I don't know," he admitted. "There's not much for me on my Earth and I don't think anyone here is ready for two Barrys."

"I can hardly handle the one," Cisco said. "Do you know how much trouble he keeps getting us in?"

Earth-2 Barry laughed and tapped at his temple. "Yeah, I have an idea. The mind-meld can be pretty inconvenient at times," he said. "It especially becomes confusing when there are certain pieces of information I can't tell if it came from me or from this Barry." Earth-2 Barry paused. "Like this weird thing about defeating DeVoe—"

"—DeVoe?" Cisco repeated, his nose wrinkling.

Earth-2 Barry shrugged. "Probably something from my Earth." He turned to Gypsy. "I do have one place I can go, if you don't mind dropping me off on your way back out here. As far as I can tell, there's no Barry Allen on Jay Garrick's Earth, and it wouldn't be the first place people would look for me."

Gypsy frowned. "I'm not a taxi cab."

"No, but you did come back to help with the gorillas and now with this," Cisco pointed out. He shrugged casually. "So, there must be _something_ bringing you back here."

Gypsy folded her arms. "Yeah, my bounty. Now, if there's nothing left for me to do in this city, I'm going to head back to my Earth."

"Oh, really?" Cisco motioned towards the ground. "You did all this for the city?"

"That's right." Gypsy lifted her hand, extending her fist, ready to open a breach. But Cisco's words, "Right, yeah. Don't front," stopped her. Gypsy lowered her fist, though Cisco noticed she clenched it tighter into her palm. "Excuse me?"

Cisco knew he hit the nail on the head the second her bravado failed. The second she started to blink rapidly, probably not used to being challenged so openly. Especially when Cisco knew he hit the nail on the head. "You're into me."

"I hardly know you."

"That doesn't matter." Not especially when she was the one who said they were connected. No one said things like that if there wasn't some sort of a hidden meaning behind it. _Okay,_ Cisco thought. _She could just mean with our powers, but this isn't the first time she's decided to help me._

"Well, even if I was…" Gypsy moved to Cisco's side and grabbed the sides of his face, pushing his lips out. She gave him a quick kiss, first the top lip then the bottom and said, "You couldn't handle me," before pushing him away.

Cisco stumbled, working to catch himself while Gypsy punched open a breach.

Earth-2 Barry smiled, bringing a hand up to cover his mouth. Then he stepped forward and shook Cisco's hand. "Hope to see you soon," he said.

"Yeah, under better circumstances," Cisco agreed. He spoke and moved as if in a daze. Finally, he blinked hard and looked clearly at Earth-2 Barry. "You don't want to say goodbye to Barry or…"

Earth-2 Barry ran a hand through his hair. "I think, at this point, we've already seen a lot of each other. And, I've already made my peace with him, when we first decided to come up with this plan to…" he gestured vaguely with his hand, letting out a long, pained breath. Cisco nodded, understanding completely the amount of pain he was in. "I'll see you, Cisco."

"See ya."

Earth-2 Barry stepped through the breach seconds before Gypsy leapt through it. The breach winked out of sight, leaving Cisco alone in his workshop.

He went back to his desk and dropped into it. For a moment he smiled, bringing a hand to his lips, still feeling Gypsy's pressed against his. "I knew it," he murmured to himself. Then his smile faded and he sighed heavily, grabbing a tablet from his work desk. He picked it up a tablet and swiped his fingers over the screen, bringing up a map of Central City.

"Come on," he murmured. "Where are you?"

* * *

Brady tucked his soccer ball under his arm and hurried from his room, beelining straight for the front door. He had his hand on the doorknob when he heard Barry's voice ask, "Where are you going?"

Twisting around, Brady kept his hand on the doorknob. He looked back to Barry, who sat on the couch, twisting back toward her, lowering a book to his lap. "To the soccer field," Brady replied. He gestured with his ball. "I just wanted to get some practice in…you know, if the field isn't destroyed." He watched Barry wince at the mention of the destruction among the city.

There was more than enough he, Barry, and his mom had cleaned up since Savitar and Breathtaker were defeated, but still was enough that the city wondered if there was any way to come back from the presence of metahumans. But Brady couldn't stay in the apartment much longer, couldn't stay at home and do homework that was sent to him after the last few weeks of the school year had been cancelled. Couldn't stand having to look at the two people he trusted most who had…well, he wasn't quite sure.

They hadn't betrayed him.

Not really.

He understood why they didn't tell him their plan, but to see his mother dead like that…?

"I'll be back soon," Brady continued. He grabbed the doorknob and started to turn it once more, easing the door open. He leaned toward the kitchen, where his mom was busy banging pots and pans around as she washed them and called, "Bye, mom!"

"Be back before dark," Cadence called back. "Don't forget—"

"—I know," Brady interrupted. "Citywide curfew. I'll be back." He slipped through the door—phasing through the door rather than opening it—before either Barry or Cadence could say anything else. Looking around, Brady made sure no one was watching him before he phased through the floors of the building and to the lobby where he went outside to wait for the bus.

 _Have to keep up appearances,_ he thought, gently bouncing the ball next to him. _Just like everyone else in this city is._ He watched everyone that passed by him, studied the faces of those that moved on. Those that clutched their bags tighter to their bodies when they passed people they didn't care for or recognized. Watched as others continued to hold their heads high as they went along, not worrying about those that came too close.

The bus arrived, and Brady climbed on, glancing at the driver as he did so. A small smile came to Brady's face as he recognized him as the one who had allowed him to get on and drove to STAR Labs, back when he was trying to get away from Bronze Tiger and faced Breathtaker the first time.

It seemed like such a long time ago.

Brady dropped into a seat, resting his soccer ball on his lap. He turned and stared out the window, watching as the city passed by. A lot of it was undamaged, but there were significant parts that had been taken by Breathtaker for his metallic arsenal. A lot of it he'd managed to help fix, but he wasn't stupid. Wasn't a kid anymore. Knew that it wasn't just the city being rebuilt that was going to change how the city was, knew it was going to take a lot.

There were still a lot of people who were angry at Flash and Fare for what happened with the missiles and the gorilla attack. _Even though they were the ones who saved the city,_ Brady thought. He twisted his mouth to the side, continuing to watch as the dilapidated buildings morphed into ones that were untouched. It wasn't as if his parents could shield him from any of it, he was right there with them in the battlefield, and had internet access on his phone and computer to look up whatever he wanted.

But there were still things that, no matter how old he got, he wouldn't get used to seeing while being a superhero and protecting the city. He signaled for the bus to stop when it got to the school and went to the field, dropping the ball at his feet as he went.

For a while, Brady ran back and forth across the field, practicing his dribbling and techniques to keep the ball away from any defender that came toward him. Just as he had done, years before, to fend off Bronze Tiger as he attacked him in his own apartment. What was supposed to be a safe space for him easily and quickly became hostile territory. Must've been the same thing his mother thought, they'd moved from the apartment so quickly afterwards. Mostly, as his mother said, to get away from the Assassination Bureau. (If that were the case, he thought, maybe it was a good thing they didn't give Mindboggler a funeral, either).

He moved to take shots on goal, allowing his body to swing around as he did so, frowning with effort, kicking harder and harder each time he saw the image of his mom on the ground come to mind. The way her eyes stared up at the sky, and the way she looked at him when he fell by her side, and the way Barry—who he thought was _his_ Barry at the time—didn't even try to help her.

 _Poomf._

 _Swish._

"If you kick it any harder, I think you might take your whole foot off." Brady twisted around to see Leah standing behind him, hands shoved into the pockets of a light windbreaker, head tilted aside as she watched him. "Or maybe the ball will explode. I don't know what Cisco does with your stuff anymore."

Brady would've smiled if he were in a better mood. He already had multiple kids' toys turned into weapons, what would stop Cisco from doing the same with a soccer ball? Instead, he asked a deflection question, "What are you doing here?"

"I followed you."

She said it so simply that Brady blinked in surprise. "Why—"

"I was going to your apartment and saw you coming here." She then pointed towards the cloudless blue sky. "I don't think many people look up when they go around during the day, let alone to find someone who's flying." She paused. "How's your flying going?"

"It's not flying," Brady quickly corrected her. "It's phasing." He ran a hand through his hair. "Why were you coming to see me?"

"Because I haven't heard from Conner in a long time and I was wondering if you had."

"No, you didn't."

Leah smiled a little. Brady folded his arms. Waited for her to tell the truth. Her smile faded into a serious expression, brown eyes darkening. "I followed you back to your house," Leah said. Brady lifted an eyebrow. "Right before Savitar kidnapped us."

"I know," Brady agreed. He remembered her saying 'hi' right before he was taken in a blast of light. Brady studied her. "Why did you?"

"Because I saw something," Leah replied. He lifted an eyebrow. "You were talking about…well…talking about what was probably going to happen to your mom, that night—", Brady took in a deep, painful breath-"I know you didn't actually _say_ anything, but I remembered. And when you _were_ talking about it…I saw something."

Brady's eyes shifted back and forth. "Ok?" He silently prompted her to continue. "Saw what."

Leah took in a deep breath through her nose. "I saw your eyes change to this weird…black color. And I saw it again with Savitar, before your eyes turned yellow and you freaked out…" Brady looked away, rubbing the back of his neck. "It's happened before, hasn't it?"

"What?"

"Your eyes changing…your attitude."

Brady's upper lip cured. "Don't be stupi!"

"It's happened before. You can try and deny it, but I can see it in your face."

"—How—"

"—I'm one of your best friends, aren't I?"

Brady couldn't help but smile at the sincerity in her voice. And, she was part of the team, they were supposed to help each other. If he couldn't trust her, who could he trust? His best-best friend, like Leah had mentioned, hadn't been in contact with him for a long time. Suddenly dropped off the face of the Earth, there hadn't been any interaction on their fake social media account in a long while.

Finally, Brady lowered his chin, let out a long breath. He brought up a hand, scratched the back of his neck, and looked around the soccer field. He wasn't in any danger of anyone looking for him or attacking, the city had been quiet since the big battle. Nevertheless, he spoke quietly as he said, "I broke his leg."

"What?" Leah tilted her head the other way.

"I broke his leg," Brady repeated. He swiped a hand across his forehead, moving his hair from his face noticing, as he did so, that he needed to re-dye his hair considering how much was smeared across his fingertips. "My dad," he clarified. Leah nodded. "I turned into that… _thing_ before. Back over the summer. Dad calls it 'Demon' when we refer to it. I attacked him…broke his leg when he fended me off.

"I…I don't know how it happens or why, but it does." Brady licked his lips, taking a step toward her. "That's only the second time it's happened! I swear! I don't know how or why. I don't…" he trailed off, shrugging, slapping his palms against his thighs.

"Oh." Leah lowered her chin. Thought for a moment, eyes shifting back and forth as she worked through what he admitted. "Why didn't you say anything?" Brady shrugged again. "Your mom doesn't know?" He shook his head. "Not even Barry?" Again, he shook his head. "But why?"

"The same reason the rest of them keep a secret, I guess," Brady said. He worked his lower jaw, suddenly feeling very defensive. "To protect everyone? I don't know."

Leah snorted. "That's a pretty lame reason."

"Yeah…well…" Brady huffed through his nose. "You're the only one who knows. You can't tell anyone else. Not until I figure it out...figure things out."

"Okay," Leah said slowly.

"I'm being serious," Brady insisted. He stepped toward her again. "No one else can know. No one else saw it. You can help me, we'll figure it out. But no one else can know. My mom, Barry…they've already got a lot to deal with, and with what's going on with Aunt Caitlin…they don't need to worry about it right now. We can do this on our own."

"Okay."

"Promise!"

"I promise."

"On your life?"

Leah made a face. "Don't you think you're being a little dramatic? I promised, didn't I? What do you want me to do? Prick my finger and do a blood oath?"

"It'd be better than a strap mask," Brady replied.

"A what?"

"Strap mask." Brady gestured around his face. "You know…a jock strap to the—"

"—Ugh!" Leah slapped her hands over her ears. "I get it! That's so gross!" She shoved Brady hard on the arm as he laughed.

"What? All us guys on the team do it," Brady replied.

"You're such a boy."

"And you're such a girl."

Leah's eyebrows twitched upwards. She held up her hand and the soccer ball came flying toward her when she pulled her hand back. She caught it in her hands and held it out to Brady. "I have time for a game if you want," she offered.

"I thought you didn't play."

"You look like you could use the company."

Brady smiled.

* * *

Barry frowned as he watched Brady phase through the door. He turned back toward Cadence, who dried off her hands with one flick of her wrist, having finished putting away the dishes. "is it just me or are you having a hard time getting him to sit still lately?" He asked. "If I didn't know any better, I'd say he moves faster than me."

"Believe me, if he were a speedster, I'd know," Cadence replied. She moved around the counter and beelined for the couch, flopping next to him. Barry raised his arms so that she could drape her legs across his lap. "I think my pregnancy would've been much shorter."

Barry smiled. Then his smile turned to a frown when he noticed Cadence reach up her hand and started to pull off her wedding ring. He watched her for a moment, working to figure out what she was about to say to him. Wondered if it was something he truly should worry about.

"We need to talk," Cadence said, finally lifting her gaze to meet his. She curled her fist around the ring, holding it tightly in her hand.

Barry tried not to wince. He knew the truth as everyone else did, any conversation that started with the words 'we need to talk' was never a good one. He didn't think there were any words that would make him feel so much pain so quickly, though her saying 'no' to his initial proposal was certainly up there.

Taking in a deep breath, Barry asked, "Are you having second thoughts?" He eyed the engagement ring that she flipped through her fingers, opening her fist as she did so.

"No," Cadence said softly. She lifted her eyes to his. "But you might once I tell you what I have to tell you."

Barry felt his heart sink even further. That definitely wasn't a good thing. It was bad enough she needed to have the conversation, but for it to be something that he may break up with _her_ for? He couldn't quite figure out what it would be. "What happened? Wh-what's going on?"

Cadence was silent. For a few long moments, it stretched between them. Barry hardly dared to breathe, propped himself up with a fist against the side of his head, turning so he was more comfortable. If he was going to get some bad news, he may as well prepare himself for it.

"I forced the cure on Caitlin," Cadence finally admitted. She lifted her gaze, looking Barry in the eye.

"You…" Barry mulled the words around in his head. The cure. She gave Caitlin the cure. "You what?"

"I gave the cure to Caitlin."

"How…?" Barry briefly closed his eyes. He ran his hands over his face, pulling at his lids as they slid down. "How did you even know about the cure? You weren't even…"

"I followed you," Cadence explained. She ran a hand through her hair, sighing. Dropped her gaze like that of a child knowing she was about to get in trouble. "I know how you get with funerals and everything, especially after what happened with your dad. And I know how you tend to feel that everything is your fault when things like this happen—"

"—I don't," Barry started, then stopped. It wasn't the point of the conversation they were having. And the truth was in the facts, Flashpoint and everything else that happened wouldn't have happened if…he closed his eyes, shaking his head. He really did have to stop blaming himself for everything.

"—So I wanted to make sure you were doing okay. I overheard you and Julian and Cisco…heard about the cure…"

"…and you followed us to see if Caitlin would take the cure and when she didn't, you forced it on her," Barry realized. Cadence nodded. "Why would you do that?"

Cadence gave him a 'duh' look, though her tone continued to hold even when she said, "Because she asked me to." Barry tilted his head, parted his lips to respond. Cadence quickly cut him off. "She said if Killer Frost showed back up for me to kill her. I did what she asked me to."

"She may have asked you to do that before, but—"

"—But?"

Barry sighed, hearing the defensive edge to her tone. "But now she had a choice. And you took that from her." Cadence lifted her eyebrows. "She managed to fight off the part of Killer Frost that kept her from coming back to Caitlin. She said she wanted to figure things out on her own and you took that form her."

"She _asked_ me," Cadence snapped back. "And I promised her."

"If someone asked you to jump off a cliff, would you do that, too?"

Cadence shook her head. "That's so immature, Barry. This isn't a peer pressure in high school thing, I did what my best friend aske me to do!" She sat up straight. "I couldn't stand the _thought_ of her turning into such a monster like that and staying that way! Having a voice in her head telling her everything she was doing, taking her over, forcing her to be something she's not!" She jabbed a finger towards Barry's chest. "And I'm sorry if you don't like it, but I would've done the same thing for you or Cisco if you'd asked me."

Barry grabbed her hand, lowered it to her lap. "She wasn't brainwashed," he said firmly. "She wasn't being mind-controlled by anyone else. She wasn't forced to do everything she was doing. It was another part of her, a part she was trying to work out for herself." He grasped her face in his hands, making her lower her gaze. Ashamed. "The same thing that happened to you isn't going to happen to her! You shouldn't have taken her choice away from her like that…but I guess I can understand why you did." He brushed his thumb over her cheek. "The same way I took your guys' lives away from you…because of creating Flashpoint."

"That's not the same thing, Barry, and you know it." Cadence brushed her hands off her cheeks, letting out a sigh. "I don't want the same thing to happen to her, where it's things she can't come back from."

"You came back from it."

"Only because I didn't have my face plastered all over the news."

 _She has a point,_ Barry thought. That was something he worried about as well. Caitlin's face, as Killer Frost, had been shown across the air waves almost as soon as Julian opened his mouth and started to spew out his hatred towards metahumans. If she came back as Killer Frost, it would be harder for her. If she didn't come back at all…

Barry shook his head, refusing to think about it.

"And you really have to stop beating yourself up about the whole Flashpoint thing," Cadence continued. "The rest of us got over it already."

Barry nodded and smiled. A sad smile. He could say, as much as he wanted, that he would get over it. That he could move on. But the truth was, he probably never would. It was engrained in his head, and his life, that his father was murdered by a rival speedster, he went back in time to change things, to live life with his parents, and things changed afterwards. He couldn't go back after that. Just like Cadence couldn't go back and changed having had given Caitlin the cure.

It was a fixed point in time and things couldn't be changed. Places couldn't be swapped, not this time around. There weren't any more doppelgangers that could or would do the same thing. They couldn't take any of it back.

Barry smiled and laughed quietly. Cadence looked at him as if he were crazy. "What?" She asked. But Barry continued to laugh, wiping at his eyes. "Stop laughing." She seemed to read his mind, understanding what he was finding so funny. "It's not funny."

"I know," Barry replied. He wiped at his eyes. "I know it's not funny. It's just…sometimes I wonder if we're supposed to work together, if we ever could. I think of how we met, and how you were supposed to kill me and now…" he slowly stopped laughing. "Well, now I know everything happens for a reason, so why question it." Cadence smiled a little. "Are you okay?" She looked at him again. "With what you did?"

Cadence waved her hand. "I'm sure it'll hit me at some point in the future," she said. She gently tapped him with her foot. "Which I now have back, thanks to you."

"You mean, thanks to Burnout," Barry corrected her. "And my doppelganger."

"Yeah."

"We have our future," Barry agreed. "Every day of it."

Cadence grinned and sang quietly, a little off-key, "Every hour, every minute."

That time Barry laughed loudly and hysterically. He wiped the tears off his cheeks. "Wow, you're a terrible singer," he said then curled up when Cadence tried to hit him, defending herself with, "I'm not _that_ bad." It took a little while longer for Barry to stop laughing. "Okay, not _that_ bad." He placed a hand on his chest, giving a cheeky smile. "But you really can't hold a candle to me."

"Should've known that would go back to being about you in some way," Cadence said with a roll of her eyes.

Barry shrugged. "Well, I think we'll know the song we'll dance to at our wedding reception."

"Mm, that reminds me." Cadence leaned back and reached into the couch side table, producing a stack of cards. "I can officially mail these." She turned them around to show off the brightly festooned cards that sat neatly in a box. "Save the date cards for our wedding. I forgot I hadn't mailed them. I guess it's now safe to—"

Barry leapt off the couch, grabbed the save the date cards and whooshed off to the nearest mailbox, pausing there for a second, before hand delivering them to every house and arriving back in the couch. All in the span of a few seconds. "—Delivered," he declared, sitting back down.

Cadence looked at him with mild annoyance. "Do you know how much money I wasted on stamps?"

He waved it off, then asked, unable to keep the giddy smile form his face. "Are you ready to be Mrs. Allen?" The giddiness faded when she—mimicking him—waved her hand and said, "Eh." His eyes nearly bugged out of his head. "Eh?" He repeated. She had more enthusiasm about paying their bills than the idea of, finally, getting married.

"I don't know if I'm going to take your last name or not," Cadence explained. "Let alone changing Brady's last name."

"Oh come on! 'Allen' is a great last name. You can hyphenate it with almost anything!" He looked over as Cadence's phone rang. She barely looked over at it. "Aren't you going to pick that up?"

"No," Cadence said simply. "I know it's my mom." Barry lifted an eyebrow. "She has this sixth sense to know when people are talking about weddings. I don't know how she does it, but she does." Cadence thought for a moment. "Something tells me she's going to ask about what cake flavor I want."

Barry thought for a moment. "Celebrating your achievements?"

"No, for the reception. Knowing her, she'll want to cater it herself."

"Can…she…cook?" Barry couldn't quite imagine her bustling around the kitchen whipping up a four course meal.

"No, but she's got the money to pretend like she can." Cadence thought for a second. She grabbed her phone and brought it to her ear, quickly answering it with a swipe of her thumb. "Hey mom." She paused, waiting for Maya's response. "You haven't gone back to Metropolis yet, have you? Good!" She looked to Barry, who smiled. "How would you like to set up an engagement party?

* * *

 **A/N:** Not many chapters left, this has also answered some questions and tied up some loose ends before _Burn_ started.

 **Cheers,**

 **-Riley**

 **Review Replies**

 **Ethan:** No, their combined attack did do it, Cadence just did her fire sword for dramatic effect, to be the one to finally, officially, kill him. We'll really see what happens with Killer Frost in the next story! ;)

 **DarkHelm142:** I'm glad it worked out that way. I wanted to do something more with it focusing on Barry, Caitlin, Cisco, and Cadence, but it worked out better the way things turned out!


	62. His Race Was Over

**62**

 _His Race Was Over_

* * *

Joe slowly lowered himself into an empty chair on the outskirts of the dance floor. Iris laughed quietly as she lowered herself next to him. "You're wearing me out, baby girl," he said, letting out a groan as soon as he was off his feet. "And you were saying those dance classes I put you in were a waste of time and money."

"They _were_ a waste of time and money," Iris reminded him. "Remember?" She ran a hand through her hair. "I froze up at the recital before Barry got on stage and saved me. And after that, I didn't want to go anywhere near another dance class. Not even when my cousin would drag me to hers." She smiled as Joe chuckled. "Thankfully, I've paid attention to enough season so _Dancing With the Stars_ to have learned a thing or two."

"Is that why you were leading dad across the floor?" Wally teased, sitting with them as well. He tightly clutched a glass of wine in his hand. Joe looked at him funny and grabbed the glass from him. Wally's eyes widened in surprise. "Dad, it's a party."

"I don't care."

"You know I'm over twenty-one."

"And we're not going to get into the conversation about addiction running through the family," Joe pointed out. He noticed Iris's odd look, her eyes shifting aside and let out a low groan. "What? You can't think that your Grandma Esther's eggnog wasn't that strong on accident?"

Iris looked to Wally and folded her arms. "What else haven't you told us about Grandma Esther?"

"Or our family, if we want to be more specific," Wally added. The two leaned toward their father.

Joe lifted an eyebrow, his eyes shifting back and forth between them. "I hope you're not forgetting that I'm a cop," he reminded them. "And that I have ways of making you talk, some that may or may not be considered legal in a few states, so if you want to keep pushing me, go ahead. I'll just have to ask you things that have been going on at STAR Labs,"—he looked to Wally, then at Iris—"and some things I have questions about from high school that I'm sure you still think I don't know about."

Iris and Wally glanced at each other.

"Do you want to try it?" Joe pressed.

"No," the two said in unison, lowering their gaze at the same time they lowered their tones to a mumble.

"That's what I thought." Joe grinned as he looked over the dance hall. A dance hall filled to the brim with numerous residents of Central City; police officers, firemen and women, doctors and nurses from the hospital, friends, and family, and people that Joe had never met that were in connection to both Barry and Cadence. Honestly, he'd never seen so many people surrounding Barry with so much love.

He'd watched the young man since he was a young boy, isolated with little to no friends around him. With his own family that thought his father was a murderer. Even with Iris by his side, he kept to himself, kept his nose in his comic books and his science experiments and projects so he didn't pay attention to what was being said around him.

And he'd watched that young boy grow up into a young man, continuing to keep himself focused on his studies and how he was going to prove his father wasn't, in fact, a murder. And a part of Joe still felt the guilt he felt when it was proven that Henry truly hadn't done anything. Felt guilt because for a long time he thought that man had in fact murdered his wife. It was an open and shut case as far as he was concerned. Barry had seen the murder, had been so traumatized that he made up the Man-In-Yellow and everything went on from there.

"You know, one day this is going to be you," Joe said to Iris. "Or you," he added to Wally.

Wally held up his hands, shaking them. "Oh, no, that's not something I'm going to think about for a long time."

"Aww." Iris reached out and poked her brother on the shoulder. "You don't think you're going to get married? I mean, I think I might've heard Jesse saying something."

"She hasn't said much to me all night, so I doubt it," Wally said. He glanced across the room where Jesse stood with Maya, Tess, and Cadence, smiling and nodding to whatever they were talking about. Joe followed his son's gaze, even noticing from there that the smile didn't reach her eyes and hadn't been for a long time.

"Trouble in paradise?" Iris asked gently.

Wally waved it off. Instead, he turned a cheeky smile to her. "You haven't said anything about the whole marriage thing. Have you thought of it at all?" He grasped the glass of wine and took a surreptitious sip, glancing at their father out of the corner of his eye as he did so.

Silence stretched between the table for a long moment. Joe's eyebrows came together as he looked at his daughter, seeing the sudden sadness that came to her face. She took in a deep breath and ran a hand through her hair. "I used to," she said.

Joe grimaced, exchanging a look with Wally. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to bring up Eddie," he said. "I know it was something you two were talking about."

"Oh. No…it's not Eddie. It's…wow…I mean, yeah, we were talking about getting married. But I haven't thought about marriage in a long while." She leaned back in her seat, looking her father in the eye. "Not until recently, anyway," she added under her breath.

Joe wasn't someone who enjoyed prying into people's business. He only did it with the criminals he knew had been the masterminds behind the crimes they committed. And, of course, used it the few times that he needed to catch Iris and Barry in a lie. But there were other times he knew it wouldn't help things. That was one of those moments. Where he knew there was something she wasn't saying but couldn't quite put his finger on it let alone ask her about it.

"Hey! Why aren't you all dancing?" Barry asked, walking over to the table. He sat down, wiping sweat away from his forehead. "Man, I knew kids had a lot of energy, I didn't know they had _that_ much energy." He motioned over his shoulder where Brady and some of his friends were pogo-ing to the music that thumped through the speakers.

"You can't tell me you've run out of steam," Joe joked, tossing a napkin towards Barry. He made a motion to wipe his face, making Barry quickly blot himself. "Not only are you a speedster, but you can dance your ass off."

"Which is exactly why I'm sitting down," Barry said. He prodded at his cheeks. "Plus, all this smiling and pictures and…" he waved a hand.

"Not quite what you would have wanted, is it?" Joe asked gently. Barry shook his head. "You're right, it's not quite what I would've thought you'd have for a party either. Maya can be a bit…overexuberant, but you have to admit she pulls out all the stops."

"So, about that wedding, dad—" Iris broke in.

Joe gave her a warning look. "Don't start."

"Wait." Barry frowned "What?"

Iris rolled her eyes. "Don't freak out, Barry. I'm not getting married. And even if I was, it's not like dad could afford it anyway."

"I've been saving—"

"—and you've got the DA to help you out, too," Wally interrupted. He grinned when all eyes turned to him. "I know you invited her to come to the party with you." His smile widened when Barry and Iris whipped back around to Joe, eyes wide in surprise. "Hey, if you're going to interrogate us about this sort of thing, then we should be able to ask you about the DA."

"How is that going, anyway?" Barry asked. His smile turned impish. "You hardly talk about her."

"Yeah, and why did you keep her from us for so long?" Iris added.

Joe made a low humming sound, nodding quietly. He motioned to the three young adults in front of him and said. "This is exactly why." Then he lowered his voice and said, honestly. "Because of the whole Flash thing. I couldn't…I still don't know how to explain that to her. And then…you know, everything that surrounds it. I don't know what to do with that…that information. She's going to find out at some point, she's as smart as a tack."

"Then..dad…maybe you should tell her," Iris suggested.

"It's not my secret to tell, baby," Joe replied, looking Barry in the eye. Barry parted his lips and let out a shaky breath, unsure of what to say. "And, even then, there's more important things to worry about." He nodded to Barry. "All this time we were trying to save Iris, we should've been trying to save you, too?"

Barry shook his head, a warm smile coming to his face. "You did save me, Joe. You took an eleven-year-old boy with a broken heart and gave him a home and so much love. No son ever felt more love from his father."

"And no father ever felt more proud of his son." Joe's smirk widened when Wally cleared his throat, pointedly sitting up in his chair. Joe let out a wheezing laugh. "And your sentiments, while appreciated, aren't needed. I wasn't talking about this Flash stuff."

Barry's, Iris's, and Wally's faces all screwed up. "Huh?" they asked in unison.

Joe pointed behind him. Barry looked over his shoulder and groaned when he saw Maya almost at their table. But he still plastered a smile on his face when she reached them and placed a hand on his shoulder saying, "You don't mind if I steal him, do you?" She asked, then addressed Barry. "There's some more people I want you to meet."

"You know how I said my face is starting to hurt?" Barry murmured before he allowed himself to be pulled to his feet and dragged across the room.

"Oh no," Iris murmured before laughing along with Wally. Barry and Maya made it halfway across the floor before Jesse intercepted them and said something to Maya, which caught her attention, allowing Cadence to sweep by and grab her fiancé's arm and steer him towards Bruce Wayne instead. "Saved by the bell."

"More like 'Saved by the Speedster," Wally said. He watched as Jesse tucked her hair behind her ear and clasped her hands together in front of her.

"Why don't you go ask her to dance?" Iris suggested.

"Yeah, show em' some of those moves you've got," Joe agreed.

"Or else you're afraid we're going to school you," Iris said with a laugh. She grabbed her father's hand and pulled him from his seat once more. "If the DA couldn't be your date tonight, then I'm going to force you into all those dances you didn't want to do," she said.

Joe sighed and allowed himself to get pulled to the dance floor despite his throbbing feet and aching back. There was a lot of things to celebrate and he may as well enjoy the night as everyone else was.

They defeated Breathtaker, defeated Savitar, the city was safe.

That was that.

* * *

"Do you really have to go?" Wally squeezed Jesse's hand tighter as they strolled along the water front. "There's still the party, and I know you weren't having a good time, and that we haven't been spending a lot of time together, considering what happened with Savitar and…"

"I'm sorry, Wally, but I have to," Jesse broke in. She squeezed Wally's hand back but didn't look at him. "I wanted to tell you for a little while now and I'm sorry I waited until Barry's and Cade's engagement party to do it. But there's really nothing that's keeping me here."

"What about me?"

"Wally…." Jesse slowed to a stop.

She turned and, finally, looked him in the eye. Wally couldn't help but notice how long it took. There'd been many days since Breathtaker and Savitar's end that they'd spend together, and Wally had noted a definite change in Jesse's demeanor.

She rarely smiled, was quiet for long lapses of time. Had a shorter patience for things, even for running. He knew what it was, what it truly was. Knew that she was grieving over Mindboggler's death. Bering the cause of it. It was hard to be a hero and see that danger and evil were completely eradicated, when it meant there was a chance of having to kill.

Barry had put into their heads from the very beginning that they would be different. Different from Oliver, who killed daily to keep his city safe. Or, as far as Oliver told it. Barry operated in his faith, that there was always something within the evil person that could be swayed to the side of good.

Wally wasn't quite sure he believed it, but he knew something to be true—it was hard to kill someone. It was hard to look deep into someone's eyes and watch the light dim, their soul leaving their body. And for Jesse, someone who had an adventurous streak as long as the streak she left behind when she ran, it was hard to see her so broken. Even if Mindboggler deserved it.

Jesse had only spoke about it once, about what she'd seen when Mindboggler had gotten into her head. Wally could understand why she did what she did, but all the same, he had no idea if he'd have been able to do the same thing. To kill as a last-ditch effort to escape from the danger around him.

"I can't stay here," Jesse finally said. She shook her head. "And it's not just because of what happened to Mindboggler—"

"—You did what you had to do, Jess," Wally reminded her. He gently grasped her shoulders. "And it's hard to come to terms with that but…I understand how you feel."

"No, you don't," Jesse whispered incredulously.

"My mom—"

"-Your mom died because of a drug addiction," Jesse interrupted. She wiggled herself out of Wally's grasp. "You didn't have anything to do with that!"

Wally sucked in a sharp breath through his nose. "If I hadn't been so selfish, if Ii hadn't had tried running away so much, if I hadn't ignored her, she may still be here. So, yes, Jesse, my mother's death is my fault. I wish it weren't the case, but it is. So, I do know what you're going through." Jesse looked away. "You killed Mindboggler." She squeezed her eyes shut. "But you really had no choice."

"I had a choice," Jesse murmured. She looked back to him, eyes brimming with tears unshed. "I had a choice to let her go but I didn't. The sort of things she showed me, I couldn't have that happen…but they wouldn't leave my mind. I was scared, Wally. I had to keep going, I had to make them stop." Jesse shook her head. "I guess I'm more like my sister than I thought," she added sarcastically. Wally started to comfort her once more, but Jesse's sarcastic laugh cut him off. "I don't even know which one it is anymore, am I like Cade or Burnout?"

Wally grabbed her face, forced her to look at him. He held her so tightly he started to quake. Letting out all the pent-up emotion he'd been feeling since…since his duty as a hero started. Since there was nothing more for him than to save as many people as he could. If that meant saving her, too. He could do that.

"You're not like anyone, Jesse, you're _you_. You're your own person who makes her own decisions, and believe me, I've tried to get you to listen to me and to Barry but you're going to do what you want because your hearts leads you where you want to go, to what you want to do. Just like they each decided for themselves, to live out their lives the way they wanted." He gently rubbed her cheeks with his thumbs. "You're making that choice for yourself."

Jesse lowered her head and nodded.

"I can't believe you're making me go back to this engagement party without a date," Wally murmured, making the two laugh.

"You'll have to tell me all about it. When I come back from Earth-2. Jay said…Jay said that Earth needs a flash, and my dad's there…he can help. But I'll be back." Wally looked at her hopefully. "I already promised Maya I'd help her plan the wedding." She laughed to herself. "I'm already regretting it. She can be really intense about this sort of thing."

"Yeah, I noticed," Wally agreed. "I've never seen someone plan an engagement party so fast." The two laughed again, watery laughs that evolved into hiccups before the tears finally came. "I'm going to miss you, Jesse."

"I'm going to miss you, too," Jesse replied. "I'll think about every day."

"Just…don't fall for my doppelganger," Wally said, making Jesse laugh again. "I know we're all the same but…"

"…There's no other Wally West," Jesse said. She kissed Wally, tears continuing to fall down her cheeks. Finally, she backed away, gently brushing her fingertips over his cheeks. "There's no other Kid Flash. There's no one else I love."

Wally beamed. "I love you, too."

Jesse nodded, continued to step back. His hands dropped from her face and hung limply at his sides. She stepped back far enough so that she had space to not knock him over by the blowback of her running. She lifted a hand and waved. "See you later, Kid Flash."

She turned on her heel and ran, leaving a lightning trail behind. The wind pulled at Wally's clothes as she disappeared. "See you, Jesse Quick," he murmured.

* * *

"Did I _really_ have to wear a suit?" Brady groused as he yanked at the tie around his neck the second he stepped through the front door of the apartment, engagement party long over. He balled it up and tossed it to the ground, seconds before a warning look from his mother made him pick it up again and smooth it out. "I _hate_ suits."

"Blame your Mamaw," Cadence replied. She leaned against Barry's shoulder, taking her heels off. "I knew I should've thought longer about having her do our engagement party." She sighed, reaching up to take her hair down from its tight bun, shaking it out. "She can't even plan people coming over for breakfast without spending thousands of dollars."

"It wasn't that bad," Barry reassured her. He pressed a kiss to the side of her head. Then he noticed the stares Brady and Cadence shot his way and took a step back. "Yeah, okay. The ice sculpture and the photographer for our engagement photos were a bit much." They continued to stare. "And the food was kind of…weird." He scratched the back of his head.

"It was snails!" Brady cried, eyes growing wide. "Who eats snails?"

"I saw you and Alicia and Leah inhale those things," Cadence pointed out.

Brady paused. "Well, yeah…it actually tasted really good. But who thinks about that sort of thing?" He indignantly took off his jacket and handed it to his mother.

"Mom," Cadence pointed out. "My mom would. See, if dad were still around, it would've been a bit more sane but…" she shrugged. "You know my mom."

"Have to celebrate your achievements," Barry teased.

"Yeah, but this was more than a cake," Brady pointed out. He scratched the back of his neck. "Though that cake was really good," he added, making Barry and Cadence laugh. He slid his hands into his pockets and sighed. "Wish Conner could have come, though. And Aunt Caitlin."

Silence stretched between the three. Brady certainly wasn't the only one who wished Caitlin had been at the party, Cisco had said enough with his somewhat sour expression. They'd always gone to parties together, and being able to celebrate something that big was nothing short of different if the four of them weren't together. Cadence had planned on asking Caitlin to be her Maid of Honor, and now…?

Cadence pursed her lips and looked at Barry, who mimicked Brady's stance, and shrugged, looking just as concerned as she did. "I didn't hear anything back from Oliver or Thea either," she said. "If there's anything I know about Oliver Queen, it's that he doesn't like to miss a party."

"He wouldn't have missed it if it weren't for something big," Barry agreed.

Brady frowned. "Do you think something might have happened?"

"No," Cadence said quickly, shooting Barry a look. "I think they're just busy. Besides," she motioned towards the TV. "If something had happened, don't you think we would've heard about it by now?"

Brady shrugged. It was a good point. He ran a hand through his hair once more then frowned, pulling his fingers back. He was silent for a moment then muttered, "I have to dye my hair again."

"Why?" Cadence teased. "So all those little girls at the party can notice you?" Brady stuck his tongue out at her but didn't otherwise respond. Instead, he moved toward the bathroom, continuously running his fingers through his hair. Barry looked at her funny. Cadence tilted her head. "You can't tell me you didn't notice."

"Didn't notice…?" Barry repeated. Then his eyes widened, and he looked toward the bathroom then back to his fiancée. "Well, no, it's just, I didn't, I mean…wow." He ran a hand through his hair. "Don't you think he's a little, young?"

"I don't know." Cadence folded her arms then pointed at him. "Isn't he the same age you were when you were in love with Iris?"

Barry looked taken aback for a second. Then he smiled and looped an arm around her waist, pulling her closer to him. "That doesn't matter," he said. "Because I'm in love with you." He gave her a kiss. "And Brady." He kissed her again, silencing the laugh that erupted from her. "And the life we're about to start."

"I love you, too." Cadence gave him a long kiss. Then she pushed him back, grabbed him by the tie to pull him in for one more peck and said, "Now go help Brady dye his hair, I don't want my bathroom to turn into a disaster area." She patted him on the shoulder as he went.

"Fine." Barry held up his hands as he turned to do as he was told. "But if his hair turns green, it's your fault."

"I think he'd like it, anyway."

Barry laughed and followed Brady to the bathroom where he stood in front in front of the mirror, frowning over the box of hair dye. "Let me see." Barry took the instructions from him and looked it over. "It doesn't look that hard."

"I know, I just don't want my hair to turn green," Brady said. Barry laughed before snapping on a pair of gloves. "You're not going to use your powers to do this?"

"Uh, no, I think it's better if I take my time," Barry said.

He picked up the bucket that was to hold the dye and a brush. Then squirted the inky blue color inside. He paused, staring at the dye. It was real close to the shade that Brady's eyes had turned before he stared to attack Breathtaker. Honestly, Barry didn't know what to think about it. Didn't know if it was part of Brady's powers manifesting into something more.

Didn't know if it was normal or something to be concerned about. Brady was eight when Barry first met him, and had grown into his powers since then. Powers that he wasn't alone in trying to figure out, but still had to figure out on his own, with no other phasing metahuman to help him. Wally and Jesse were lucky in that aspect; they could to Barry to figure things out. Just as Barry had Harrison-Eobard—to look to.

It really struck Barry then, how similar Brady and Cadence had to come into their own powers. Starting out at a very young age to know they, in fact, had powers. Working to figure out how to stay normal around their friends. What would their parents think if they found out? Would they have to keep it a secret? Would they be ostracized?

"Whatever," Brady replied. Whatever. Just like a kid burgeoning on being a teen would say. It made Barry smile. "What?" Brady eyed him suspiciously as he started to mix the dye around in the cup. "What's so funny?"

"Nothing," Barry replied. "Just realizing how long it's been since we met. If I remember correctly, you were practically bouncing off the walls when your mom first introduced us."

"I didn't have any friends," Brady said, a defensive edge coming to his tone. "I wanted someone to talk you. And you talked to me like a person, not like a little brother or something." He rolled his eyes. "I can't believe my mom actually made you think I was her brother."

"It wasn't too hard to believe," Barry said. "She never corrected me. Come here." He grabbed Brady's arm and moved him in front of him. "How do you want it?"

"Right here." Brady motioned to the front of his hair, moving it into a point at the front. "Just cover up all the old spots."

"You don't want it all over?" Barry teased. "Look like Toucan Sam?"

"You're the only one who thinks that's funny, Barry. And, I have to say, your sense of humor is really, really bad."

"It's not _that_ bad!"

"You think MC Hammer jokes are funny…at a trivia night."

"You heard about that?"

"Well, you were interested in Felicity then, weren't you?" Barry paused, unsure of how to respond. Brady started to tick off his fingers. "It was Iris, Felicity, Linda, Patty, Aunt Caitlin, my mom—"

"—Well, what about those girls from your school?" Barry broke in, feeling his face start to heat up. He didn't need any of that attention brought to him, especially after their engagement party. It was a fun party, though he did spend most of the night trying to keep Maya from showing him off. _Cade did warn you,_ he thought with a wry smile. "They all seemed to be watching you tonight."

"So?" Brady replied.

"So, I don't know. You might have your first girlfriend soon. I mean, unless you think girls still have cooties or something." Brady made a snorting sound, eyebrows rising in disbelief. "Yeah, your mom told me about that. And about how if you had any powers, you wanted to fly."

"And now I can!" Brady grinned.

Barry laughed. "And now you can," he agreed. "But don't change the subject. I'm just saying that you're getting older and you're going to start being interested in girls and—"

"—Are you really trying to give me 'the talk' right now? You know mom's already got that covered."

"Sure, but I mean that things are going to be more confusing with your first girlfriend and first kiss and stuff—" Brady suddenly ducked his head, making Barry cry out when he dropped a blob of blue dye on the counter. "Woops." Quick as a flash, he wiped it up, grimacing as a blue streak smeared over the counter. "I can fix that." Then he noticed Brady still looking away from him, appearing that he wanted to be anywhere but there at the moment. Something kicked in Barry's head. "You've had your first kiss? Already?"

Brady wrinkled his nose.

"Does your mom know?"

"Probably. She knows everything."

"Who was it?"

"It doesn't matter," Brady mumbled. He caught Barry's eye once more and said, "It's not like I'm going to marry her or anything. I'm only eleven. It's not 'true love' or whatever." He used air quotes that were so mocking, Barry knew Brady was making fun of him. "Why are we talking about this, again?"

"Because it's going to be things we need to talk about," Barry said. He took a deep breath, letting out the stress that had been holding onto him since he first thought about proposing. "When I marry your mom and actually become your step-dad. I know I've told you that I don't want you to feel like I'm replacing Ryder and I don't. We actually get along. He's helped us out even if he didn't want anything to do with metas. In many ways I owe him my life, but with the party and everything tonight, I just wanted to make sure we were cool."

"We're cool, Barry," Brady replied. "And…you know I want you to marry mom."

"Yeah." Barry tapped him atop the head. "You were trying to set us up from the beginning."

A cheek grin. "It worked, didn't it?"

"Yeah, you're right."

Brady's smile faded and for the first time that night, Barry saw a serious expression come to his face. "I want you and my mom to be happy," he murmured. "I do. Just…" Brady shrugged and locked eyes with Barry in the mirror. "Don't hurt us, Barry."

Barry looked back at him. "I won't," he said.

" _Promise_!" Brady insisted.

"Promise." Barry nodded. "I promise."

Brady nodded back.

Silence stretched between them.

Brady reached out and tapped the counter. "You missed a spot."

"Whatever." Barry shoved Brady's head forward, making the younger boy laugh. Then he backed away and looked at the instructions once more. "Keep that in for a few minutes and wait for me before you wash it out, okay? I'm going to get some bleach to clean that up."

"Okay." Brady sat on the lid to the toilet and pulled out his phone, scrolling through the pictures he'd taken that night. "I just hope mom doesn't see."

"Yeah, yeah…" Barry left the bathroom and went to the kitchen, looking through the cupboards for the bleach they kept when they went on a deep clean of the kitchen. He'd just grabbed it from beneath the sink when the room started to rattle.

Within seconds, he saw Cadence standing in front of him—probably having teleported from their room—looking as concerned as he did. She didn't have to ask, he saw the question flicker across her face.

 _An Earthquake?_

"That wasn't an earthquake," Barry replied with a shake of his head. He was already moving toward the floor to ceiling windows to see what had happened. "Earthquakes come from below, the vibrations coming from deep within the Earth, shaking the foundation of the place. This one came from above, like a large thunderclap would."

Cadence moved by his side, both watching in stunned surprise as lightning rained down over Central City. Red an yellow lightning that lit up the sky each time it rained down. Along with a swirling something behind it.

"What is that?" Cadence asked.

 _The only thing that could ever emit that sort of energy,_ Barry thought, feeling his heart sink to his stomach. He licked his lips before saying, "The Speed Force."

"But Savitar's dead," Cadence murmured.

 _I know._ Barry shook his head. He should've seen this coming. Should've known something was going to happen once he escaped, once Jay removed himself from the prison. He got so caught up in everything good happening for once, he forgot to wait for the shoe to drop. "That's the problem, it needs an occupant. When we released Jay from the Speed Force, we emptied the prison. It's unstable." He jumped as a particularly bright bolt of lightning flashed nearby. "Now it's bleeding energy onto your Earth."

"So, what do we do?" Cadence asked. She looked to him. He could already see flames flickering ine rhe eyes. "How do we stop it?"

Barry grimaced, knowing the words were coming but hoped she wouldn't say it out loud, knowing he had to answer her truthfully. She'd be able to tell he was lying otherwise. "By giving it what it needs," he licked his lips and looked at her. Watched as the flames slowly lowered from her eyes, realization hitting her. "The speed force is unbalanced. I have to stabilize it. I have to run into it."

Cadence lowered her head, backing away from him. Barry reached out and grabbed onto her, pulling her to his side. She wasn't crying, not yet. It hit her all at once, he could tell from the way she trembled, trying to hold back her tears. Their celebration had come to an end. They had to face reality once more.

The perks of being a hero.

"There's no other way," he insisted, speaking more for himself than for her. "I have to go. I have…" a lump appeared in his throat. "I have to. The whole city, maybe even the whole planet, could be destroyed if I don't."

Cadence nodded, pressed her forehead against his chest, held tightly to him. Then she removed her hands, slowly dropping them down to his, curled her fingers over them. Barry held her tightly, felt the sparks that moved through their fingers. Then it abruptly ended when she dropped her hand from his.

"Hey," Barry nudged her chin up. "Hey, listen to me. Don't wait for me, okay?" He sniffed hard as tears started to come to his eyes, threatening to spill over his lashes. "Don't wait for me, you still have to lieve your life. Okay? I need you to keep moving forward. To keep running. Alright?"

Cadence nodded.

"Promise me you'll run."

"Promise," Cadence murmured.

Barry nodded. He lifted her chin and pressed a long kiss to her lips. Then backed away and kissed her forehead. He backed away and was gone in a flash, out of the apartment and down to the street below. Cadence watched through the window, jumping when she heard Brady's voice from behind her.

"Barry? Can I take this stuff out of my hair now?" He came around the corner and stopped short, looking at his mom. Then he followed her gaze and walked to the window. Watched as, down in the streets below, Barry walked towards the breach. Brady frowned, made a low, humorless chuckling sound. Shook his head. "Some promise," he murmured under his breath.

* * *

Barry skidded to a stop in the middle of the street. His chest heaved as he watched the lightning strike down around him. Watched as the swirling breach slowly opened, letting out the projection of his mother. His heart leapt to his throat, despite know it wasn't her. He'd seen the projection before, when he went into the Speed Force to stop Zoom.

It wasn't his mother.

But it was still nice to see her.

Speed Force-Nora walked up the street before she stood in front of him. "Like all runners must eventually, you've reached your finish line," She said. Her eyes roved over Barry's face, as if daring him to say anything different. "Your race is over."

Barry nodded. He motioned to the lightning that continued to flash. "It's my fault," he said. "All of this was my fault. My mistake. Because I made Flashpoint. It's my redemption."

"My beautiful boy." Speed Force-Nora reached out and cupped Barry's face in her hands. It wasn't her. It was the Speed Force. But the gesture was still very comforting. "it's time to rest."

She removed her hands from his face, lowering them until they grasped his. Squeezed them tightly. She removed one hand and smoothed Barry's hair back from his forehead before turning him toward the Speed Force breach.

Hand-in-hand, they walked into the Speed Force without a backwards glance. The portal closed, the lightning stopped, and all was still over the sign that let the citizens know where to call home.

 _Welcome to Central City: Home of The Flash and Flare._

* * *

 **THE END**

* * *

 **A/N:** Well, this is a bit of a surprise, I'm sure. I had actually planned on there being tow more chapters of this story, but it ended up working out better that I pushed them together for one good chapter for the end. There were a lot of things going on, hope it wasn't too much of an emotional roller coaster for you all.

So, I know the question is going to be asked, what's going to happen with Brady since he saw his mother's death? You're going to see it early in the next story. Which, the prologue of, is now up. So, everyone go read _Burn!_

Anyway, as per usual, thank you all for reading and reviewing this story as I went along with it. Thank you for being so patient with the times that I couldn't update, thank you for encouraging me when I lost motivation or got writer's block. Thank you for asking questions and helping me figure out what I wanted to do with the future of this series. Thank you all for being there!

 **Cheers,**

 **-Riley**

 **Review Replies**

 **Ethan:** You could see the chapter that way, but I don't, not so much. I'm not a huge fan of Cisco and Gypsy but I kept it for a reason. Brady and Leah are just really good friends. And, of course, BarryCade are my otp. Lol


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